As South Dakota celebrates 125 years of statehood, many anniversaries come up during the course of the year.

And October 1 marked the 125th anniversary of passage of the state constitution.

Governor Dennis Daugaard's office says voters approved the document by a wide margin on October 1, 1889--70,131 votes for approval and 3,237 against.

There's no word on what the 3,237 naysayers wanted. Were they holding out for a better deal? Did they want for us to continue being a territory?

By the way, that October 1 election was fairly momentous. The Governor's Office says voters also approved prohibition(we were way ahead of the rest of the country on that one), rejected women's suffrage and proportional representation, and elected Arthur C. Mellette as the last territorial governor.

That job was a short-term deal, as Mr. Mellette was elected as the first state governor on November 2 of that year.

OK, that was an honor as well as a responsibility. So much of a responsibility that when the state treasurer (his friend) absconded with the treasury in 1895, Arthur C. Mellette, as his bondsman, put up his own money so the state could pay its bills.

You could look it up, and you should.

More From KXRB