Herseth Sandlin receives award for supporting ethanol from father’s association

• Herseth Sandlin award

Stephanie Herseth Sandlin received an award from the American Coalition for Ethanol Thursday. It was presented by her father, longtime South Dakota legislator Lars Herseth, pictured in the background. (Submitted photo)

Talk about it

OMAHA, Neb. — Stephanie Herseth Sandlin received an award from an ethanol association Thursday.

What made it even more interesting was the fact that the honor was presented to the former South Dakota congresswoman by her father Lars Herseth, the president of the American Coalition for Ethanol.

Herseth Sandlin was honored for her dedication to the ethanol industry, both as a member of Congress and in private industry, during a meeting in Omaha, Neb.

“It was certainly special to receive the award from my father and all the folks I’ve worked with over the past decade,” she said in an interview with Domestic Fuel, a “new media” outlet.

“To receive such a distinction makes me feel great about my public service as well as my on-going advocacy that I’ve brought value to the table for all of their efforts.”

Herseth Sandlin, a Democrat who represented South Dakota in Congress from 2004 to 2011, helped to shape energy policy at the time that included the current Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).

“Now it’s about making smart judgments in defending the RFS but looking for additional new opportunities,” she said, including the urban air initiative.

Herseth Sandlin has championed the UAI in recent months, calling for increased efforts to ensure city air is cleaner and safer.

Pregnant mothers and their babies are exposed to risks from chemicals in car exhaust and cigarette smoke, among other things, she has said in speeches and in a letter to Time magazine responding to an article titled “Pollution in Utero” by Alice Park.

“As a former member of Congress, I am keenly aware of the toll on human health resulting from expectant mothers’ increased exposure to man-made pollutants,” she wrote. “And as an advisor to the newly formed Urban Air Initiative, I immediately understood how important it was that Park specifically identified polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), found in car exhaust and cigarette smoke, as primary causes of increased exposure, especially in urban areas.”

For the first time since 2000, Herseth Sandlin is not involved in a congressional race in South Dakota. She ran and lost in 2002 and then won a special election in June 2004 and claimed general election victories in 2006 and 2008.

She was defeated by Kristi Noem in 2010 and, after a year, took a job as a lobbyist in Washington, D.C. Herseth Sandlin has since announced plans to take a job as a lawyer for a Sioux Falls firm and spend more time in her home state.

She considered another run against Noem this year but decided against it at the end of 2011. Herseth Sandlin has endorsed Matt Varilek, the Democratic candidate for the seat.

Tags: stephanie herseth sandlin, american coalition for ethanol, news, updates, honor, award, ethanol, energy