Rep. Mary Fitzgerald, R-Saint Onge, speaks in the South Dakota House of Representatives in January 2026 at the Capitol in Pierre. (Photo by Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight)

State Rep. Mary J. Fitzgerald’s work to improve South Dakota’s open government laws has earned her recognition as the 2026 recipient of the South Dakota NewsMedia Association’s Eagle Award.

The award is given to an individual or group demonstrating outstanding efforts to protect and enhance open government and the public’s right to know.

Fitzgerald, a St. Onge Republican representing District 31, has sponsored various bills during her time in the South Dakota Legislature that have strengthened open government. This year, she sponsored a bill that helped clarify language in the open records laws to mirror similar language in the state’s open meetings laws. It becomes law on July 1.

In 2025, she sponsored a bill that requires governing boards to annually review the open meetings laws and a bill that clarified the use of teleconferencing in the open meetings laws. Both bills became law.

GET THE MORNING HEADLINES.

SUBSCRIBE

“Rep. Fitzgerald has been a true advocate for open government issues during her time in the Legislature,” SDNA Executive Director David Bordewyk said in a news release. “She is always willing to work for solutions that are reasonable, balanced and ultimately protect the public’s right to know. We are appreciative of her commitment to these issues and are proud to honor her with the SDNA Eagle Award.”

Fitzgerald is completing her third term as a state representative. She is a member of the House Judiciary Committee and the House Local Government Committee.

Fitzgerald will receive the Eagle Award during the association’s annual convention on May 1 in Deadwood.

SDNA started the Eagle Award in 2002 to honor those who support and advocate for the First Amendment and open government issues in South Dakota. The first recipients were the 2002 state Supreme Court justices for their work to bring cameras into their courtroom proceedings. Among other recipients over the years have been the late journalist and educator Chuck Baldwin (2024), Rep. Tim Reed (2022), Sen. Arthur Rusch (2019), Gov. Dennis Daugaard (2018), Sioux Falls resident Gordon Heber (2010) and Attorney General Larry Long (2004).

The South Dakota NewsMedia Association, based in Brookings, represents the state’s newspapers and digital news outlets, including South Dakota Searchlight.