South Dakota legislator Bob Glanzer dies from coronavirus-related complications


South Dakota state Rep. Bob Glanzer (R) died on April 3, 2020 at the age of 74, according to his son on Friday night.

Glanzer tested positive for coronavirus on March 22. He was airlifted from Huron Regional Medical Center to Avera McKennan Hospital in Sioux Falls on March 24. He is the first public official in the U.S. confirmed to have lost his life in the pandemic. Glanzer was in his second term as a state representative for District 22, which contains parts of Kingsbury and Beadle counties, where there have been 21 confirmed cases of coronavirus.

Glanzer was first elected in 2016 and won re-election in 2018. Vacancies in the South Dakota State Legislature are filled by gubernatorial appointment.

Additional reading:
Politicians, candidates, and government officials diagnosed with or quarantined due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020
Political responses to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020