SB 60: Ban Chinese, Russians, Venezuelans from Owning Land Within Ten Miles of Military Installations; No Rapid City Hotels for Trump?

Taking a page from Kristi Noem’s posturing on foreign policy, Senator and candidate for U.S. House Casey Crabtree (R-8/Madison) seeks to expand South Dakota’s war on Evil Foreign Governments with Senate Bill 60, which would ban governments, corporations, and persons from China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, or Venezuela from owning real property within ten miles of any military installation in South Dakota.

South Dakota already bans actors from those six countries from owning agricultural land under SDCL Chapter 43-2A, a law of dubious constitutionality and infrequent enforcement. SB 60 would expand the bad-guy ban to any real property—farm, home, business, parking lot, whatever—within shouting/shooting distance of military installations.

An SB 60 no-own zone around the Air National Guard base at Joe Foss Field would cover all of Sioux Falls and out to Brandon, Harrisburg, Hartford, and Baltic. The Ellsworth Air Force Base exclusion zone would cover all of Rapid City except maybe its southwesternmost tip; the Chinese would have to move their listening posts out from Box Elder to New Underwood. The National Guard has units and, I would assume, facilities in 22 communities, so SB 60 would restrict evil encroachments into the real estate market in Aberdeen, Brookings, Watertown, Yankton, Spearfish….

SB 60 allows the Chinese and other Evil Empires to keep real property interests held by publicly traded companies acquired before July 1, 2026. SB 60 thus appears to allow China-based WH Group to keep its Smithfield plant in Sioux Falls. If SB 60 passes, WH Group/Smithfield could rush out and buy land for potential expansion before the bill would take effect.

Senator Crabtree may think SB 60 will burnish his foreign policy credentials in his campaign against Marty Jackley for the GOP Congressional nomination. But he may be stepping on his party leader’s toes. Donald Trump has declared himself the acting president of Venezuela. Therefore, I would assume he is now a foreign government and thus a prohibited entity under SDCL 43-2A-1. If Trump continues to run Venezuela, SB 60 would ban him from owning any real property in Sioux Falls, Rapid City, much of the Black Hills, and several other areas of the state.