The McGovern Center for Leadership and Public Service

08/21/2026

Cathy and Titus Roestler visited today! They are from Marion SD but Titus lives in Cambridge MA where he is working on his PHD at MIT and running marathons! And loves studying the history of the American presidency. Welcome to DWU, Cathy and Titus.

07/23/2026

Welcome to Dave Turcotte from Montreal Canada. He is the creator of the virtual museum of political history of Quebec. Very interested in George McGovern and collected some ephemera from the campaign which we were happy to share. Thank you Dave for stopping by this afternoon.

07/17/2026

Two great images of the Senator on the office wall or the Director of the McGovern Library here at DWU.

07/10/2026

Was glad to welcome Dan Ahlers’s to the Mitchell Rotary as speaker yesterday. We discussed issues and depolarization property taxes and the construction of data centers among other things. Dan is the Democratic candidate for governor of South Dakota in the upcoming election. It’s a longshot, but we sure appreciate the quality of the candidate and the possibilities that are possibly unfolding. We will be inviting the Republican candidate once that is determined in the runoff election later this month.

06/10/2026

A lovely painting of Eleanor McGovern, the heartbeat of the campaign. By Michael A. Props in 1972. Anyone know what became of him?

06/10/2026

A lovely painting of Eleanor McGovern now hanging in my office. By Michael A. Props in 1972. Anyone know what became of him?

06/08/2026

Rufus MaGaugh from Michigan wrote in our guest book, “When I came home from Nam, I worked my heart out for this man.” Thank you Rufus, all these years later.

05/23/2026

A reflection on the image of Esther in the St. John’s Bible.

"The floating crown in the image is perhaps its most haunting detail. Esther’s authority is real but fragile."

05/21/2026

Painted by a George Feder in ‘71. Do any of you recognize this? Or Know anything more? It now adorns the McGovern Center office.

05/19/2026

The artist of this is Richard Baranowski of Perrysburg, Ohio. The poster is now hanging on the wall of the McGovern Center here in Mitchell, South Dakota George’s hometown having previously been in archives.