May 1, 2015 is a new chapter in recognition and respect as Shannon County becomes Oglala Lakota County, on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.

In November 2014, county voters approved the change, and then the state legislature and Governor Dennis Daugaard authorized it.

Many changes were made through the state. The Department of Transportation and even the National Weather Service got involved in changing their software and documentation to reflect the new name.  License plate numbers will remain the same.

The only significant cost to the state is in reprogramming software to fill in the new name change. Another cost comes from installation and production of new signs on the highways, which have already been erected.

Since South Dakota became a state, the only other case where a county changed its name was in 1895 when Pyatt County became Armstrong County.

 

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