SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — The 2023 St. Patrick’s Day Parade grand marshal was named Wednesday.
Dick Sweetman will be the first marshal in 42 years to also be a citizen of Ireland.
Sweetman, 86, grew up in Sioux Falls and graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1958, according to a release sent out by the parade organizers.
In 2001, Sweetman became an Irish citizen under a program that granted dual citizenship to people whose grandparents were born in Ireland.
Sweetman is part of a family long active in business and the community and is currently still the president of Spencer Quarries near Spencer, South Dakota.
The traditional painting of the shamrock will take place at 11 a.m. Saturday, March 18, in front of Mrs. Murphy’s Irish Gifts on Phillips Avenue. The parade route runs on Phillips Avenue from 13th Street to 5th Street. Roads adjacent to the route will close at 1:30 p.m.; the parade begins at 2 p.m.