Nils A. Boe

Boe was South Dakota's only bachelor governor, and his sister Borghild Marie Boe served as the state's official hostess during his terms. The road to the office opened in July 1962, when Lieutenant Governor Joseph Bottum was appointed to the U.S. Senate and a Republican convention named Boe in his place. Nixon nominated him to the Customs Court on July 28, 1971, and he was its chief judge until 1977. When the court became the Court of International Trade on November 1, 1980, he was reassigned to it, and he took senior status on April 30, 1984.

What the plaque says

Nils A. Boe 23rd Governor of South Dakota Nils A. Boe was born on September 10, 1913 in Baltic. The son of a Norwegian Lutheran minister, he came to Sioux Falls as a child and graduated from Washington High School. Boe earned his bachelor's and law degrees from the University of Wisconsin, served as deputy state's attorney for Minnehaha County, and served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. From 1951 to 1959, Boe served in the State House of Represent- atives, becoming Speaker of the House. He was elected Lieutenant Governor in 1962 and Governor of South Dakota in 1964. In his two terms as governor, Boe prioritized education by supporting the creation of four technical institutes, the estab- lishment of South Dakota Public Broadcasting, and the reorganization of rural school districts. He also emphasized efficient management and modernization in state government, moving to annual budgeting and adoption of the Uniform Commercial Code. Boe later served as White House Director of Intergovernmental Relations and as a Judge of the U.S. Customs Court in New York City. He retired to Sioux Falls, where he died in 1992. Nils A. Boe never lost the courage of his convictions. He was a strong and able Governor and a dedicated public servant.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Falls Park — 1.1 mi
  The falls a town company came for in 1856, abandoned in 1862, and tried to make pay with a seven-story quartzite mill that ran for barely two years.

More markers nearby

• Eliza Tupper Wilkes — steps away
• The Government Building — steps away
• Early Firefighting In Sioux Falls — 0.2 mi
• The 1900 Campaign Whistlestop by Theodore Roosevelt — 0.2 mi