A South Dakota lawmaker is dead after a farming accident Aug. 27.

State Rep. Richard Vasgaard, 75, died in rural Centerville, according to the Dakota Scout , who first reported the event. Vasgaard represented District 16, which covers Lincoln, Turner and Union counties.

South Dakota House leadership later confirmed Vasgaard's death in an Aug. 27 statement co-written by Speaker Jon Hansen, Speaker Pro Tempore Karla Lems, and Majority Leader Scott Odenbach.

“I was honored to serve alongside Rep. Richard Vasgaard,” Hansen stated. “Richard brought humility, wisdom, and a steady voice to our House chamber. His service was marked by an unwavering dedication to the citizens he represented, and to the agriculture industry he and his family worked in."

Lems, who served in the same legislative

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