Flags Ordered At Half-Staff For Rep. Tieszen; Funeral Arrangements Announced
State Rep. and former Rapid City Police Chief Craig Tieszen drowned Wednesday near the Cook Islands.
(Thursday, 11/30 Update)
PIERRE, S.D. – Gov. Dennis Daugaard has requested that all flags in the state be flown at half-staff from 8 a.m. until sunset on Monday, Dec. 4, to honor the life of state Rep. Craig Tieszen, of Rapid City, on the day of his funeral.
Tieszen died in a kayaking accident on Wednesday, Nov. 22, at the age of 68, while visiting the Cook Islands in the South Pacific. Brent Moline, age 61 of Rapid City, also died in the accident. Moline and Tieszen were brothers-in-law.
Tieszen was serving his first term in the State House of Representatives, after having served in the State Senate from 2009 to 2016. He had served as Senate Majority Whip and as the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and currently served as chairman of the House Retirement Laws Committee.
Prior to his legislative service, Tieszen spent 32 years in law enforcement, retiring as Rapid City chief of police.
A funeral for Tieszen will be held on Monday, Dec. 4, at 1 p.m. MST at the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center Fine Arts Theatre. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Rapid City Club for Boys, an organization Tieszen passionately supported for decades.
A public visitation for Moline will be held on Sunday, Dec. 3, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. MST at the Osheim & Schmidt Funeral Home at 2700 Jackson Boulevard in Rapid City. The family will hold a private funeral for Moline at a later time.
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(TUESDAY 11/28 UPDATE)
RAPID CITY, SD--In a brief statement released through the Mayor's Office Tuesday morning, the families of Craig Tieszen and Brent Moline issued the following sentiments:
"We wish to express our heartfelt appreciation for the outpouring of support our families have received in the days following the tragic deaths of Craig and Brent. We continue to work through the logistics of returning Craig and Brent to Rapid City. In response to the numerous inquiries from friends, family, citizens and media, we anticipate announcing a date for funeral services by Thursday."
Both men drowned Wednesday off the island of Rarotonga in the Cook Islands.
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(ORIGINAL RELEASE 11/23)
RAPID CITY, SD (Nov. 23)--Rapid City Mayor Steve Allender issued the following statement on the City's Facebook page and to media sources today on the tragic death Wednesday of State Rep. Craig Tieszen of Rapid City. Tieszen served with the Rapid City Police Department from 1975 to 2007, serving as Police Chief from 2000 to 2007:
"I am heartbroken to inform you that state representative Craig Tieszen and his brother-in-law Brent Moline were killed yesterday morning in a kayak accident near the Cook Islands. The Tieszen family traveled to the Cook Islands last week for their daughter Leslie's wedding which was to be the same day.
"Craig, former police chief and current state representative, was a mentor and a friend. Shirley and I are in shock over this devastating news. I have never met anyone so likeable, so professional and so dedicated to public service. We extend our personal sympathies and the condolences of the community to the Tieszen family."
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Thank you,
Darrell W. Shoemaker | Communications Coordinator
T: 605.721.6686 | M: 605.939.8551
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