PIERRE - A likeness of the only House speaker whose middle name was Speaker is coming soon to the state Capitol.
The bust of former Gov. George S. Mickelson will be, naturally, in the House lobby.
Its placement along a wall, next to a photo collection of past House speakers, won approval Thursday from a panel that oversees state buildings and grounds in Pierre.
The Legislature decided earlier this year the late governor, who died with seven other leaders and pilots in the 1993 crash of the state airplane, should be honored.
His oldest son, Rep. G. Mark Mickelson of Sioux Falls, is House speaker this term.
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George T. Mickelson, who went on to be governor, was House speaker when George Speaker Mickelson was born Jan. 31, 1941, at Mobridge.
A temporary likeness has been on display this spring.
State Administration Commissioner Scott Bollinger outlined the plan Thursday to the state Capitol Complex Restoration and Beautification Commission.
"We tried to make the pedestal match the oak on the House side in terms of the finish," Bollinger said.
He said a completion date isn't set yet.
"The last thing we want is for someone to bump that and knock it over," Bollinger said.
Commission member Pat Miller of Fort Pierre made the motion for approval. She married Gov. Walter Dale Miller months after the crash.
Miller had been Mickelson's handpicked lieutenant governor. Miller died in 2015.
