Passion on food tax fuels early-morning trip to Pierre

Sioux Falls women braved weather to testify on tax bill

Kristin Johnson, who owns discount grocery stores in Sioux Falls, talks to reporters after testifying Jan. 26, 2023, in favor of a bill that would eliminate the state sales tax on food. (Jonathan Ellis/The Dakota Scout)

The two Sioux Falls women were on a mission.

Shortly after 3 a.m. on Thursday, they braved the frozen prairie and set out for Pierre. For Cathy Brechtelsbauer, a decades-long goal was within reach. For Kristin Johnson, it was a new, but equally passionate, goal.

The two women testified in favor of Gov. Kristi Noem’s effort to repeal the state sales tax on groceries. They weren’t the only ones who testified. Indeed, a long line of politicians and industry trade representatives weighed in on the measure which, if it becomes law, would repeal a tax that has been on the books in South Dakota for nearly 90 years.

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