Health Department Secretary Melissa Magstadt talks with KWAT News (Audio)

Mike Tanner

December 26, 2022

WATERTOWN, S.D.–Watertown’s Melissa Magstadt takes on a new job this week.

The former state lawmaker assumes the role of Secretary of the South Dakota Department of Health tomorrow (Tuesday).

Her appointment was announced last week by Governor Kristi Noem.

Magstadt has owned and operated Quick Care Clinics in Watertown during the COVID 19 pandemic, and tells KWAT News she learned a lot during that time…

Magstadt talked about the issue of elder care, and the many nursing homes that have closed their doors in South Dakota in the past year–Clear Lake and Florence included….

She’ll be joining the Health Department just days before the legislative session begins…

Magstadt says the Quick Care clinics she’s been running will still be around, even in her absence…

Magstadt was a State Representative from 2011 to 2014. She holds a Master’s Degree from SDSU with a focus as a family nurse practitioner, and a Master’s in Business Administration from Mount Marty.