Helene Duhamel

Helene Duhamel is an American politician and journalist serving as a member of the South Dakota Senate from the 32nd district.

Career

After graduating from college, she worked as a news anchor for KDUH in Scottsbluff, Nebraska. In 1989, she returned to Rapid City.
Duhamel was appointed to the Senate by Governor Kristi Noem in 2019 to fill the vacancy left by Alan Solano. Duhamel had previously served as a television news anchor for KOTA-TV and as the public information office for the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office.

In 2020, Duhamel ran for re-election to the South Dakota State Senate to represent District 32; she was unopposed in the Republican primary. Duhamel beat Democratic challenger Michael Calabrese by 64% to 36%. Calabrese was a small business owner and served on the Rapid City Board of Parks and Recreation.

After her appointment to the State Senate, Duhamel represented District 32 during the 2020 South Dakota Legislative Session.

Duhamel also served on the Local Government Interim Committee and as the Vice Chair of the Health and Human Services Interim Committee.

Bill Number	Bill Title
HB 1056	revise drone surveillance protections
SB 60	adopt the Physical Therapist Licensure Compact
SB 61	revise certain provisions regarding a municipal office nominating petition
SB 70	revise the offenses for which an order for interception of communications may be granted

In 2020, all four pieces of legislation that Duhamel prime sponsored were passed into law and signed by the Governor Kristi Noem.