Dr. Daniel Petereit is 1 of 10 being honored in the Class of 2026: 'The thing that's ironic is, for me, it all kind of started in Chamberlain in that stretch of the river.'
One priority of the South Dakota Hall of Fame is teaching children that they can achieve success in their home state. And one place that is showcased every year is the upcoming honors ceremony for the class of Hall of Fame inductees.
For 2026 inductee Dr. Daniel Petereit, the pull of his home state brought him back, largely because of connections that were planted in childhood, and gave him opportunities to give back to the places and people in the community that is South Dakota.
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Petereit is a radiation oncologist at Monument Health in Rapid City who has worked for over 20 years to expand accessible cancer care West River. He grew up near Sioux Falls, where both of his parents worked in health care. His mother was a nurse and his father a radiologist.
Petereit said his parents were big motivators in his decision to go into health care.
Petereit's father, Frank, grew up in poverty in Nebraska. He watched his own father drown at the age of 5. He almost died around the age of 10 when a rope wrapped around his arm almost caused him to bleed to death. After living in the Nebraska Children's Home and with foster families, Frank Petereit graduated high school and was a vacuum cleaner salesman along the I-29 corridor from Omaha to Sioux Falls.
At age 22, Frank went to college and medical school with the help of his wife, Iley.
"He pulled himself up by the bootstraps, thanks to my mom. He gritted through life, he did well, had a successful career. So that was, you know, very motivating for me," Petereit said.
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Petereit's parents eventually relocated near Sioux Falls. Petereit spent much of his time fishing between Fort Thompson and Chamberlain.
"My first contact with the Native Americans was fishing below the dam at Fort Thompson, when I was a little kid, like, 'Hm, never really met any Native kids before. I wonder what that's all about.' So seeing a lot of that culture, fishing up there, getting to know some of those kids kind of sparked this interest," Petereit said.
Moved back to South Dakota
After graduating from Augustana University and the USD Sanford School of Medicine, Petereit trained and worked in Wisconsin for 10 years until he moved back to South Dakota in 1999. Petereit spent a lot of time in the Black Hills growing up. There, he started his radiation oncology clinic in Rapid City.
“Wisconsin was fine. I had a great position as a professor in radiation oncology, but I wanted to come back to the community,” he said.
"My dad and I fished on the Chamberlain Bridge area when I-90 was being built. So now, to return to that same site 50 years later, you know, is kind of crazy."
-- Dr. Daniel Petereit, 2026 South Dakota Hall of Fame inductee
Petereit noticed early on that Native American patients were coming to him with higher rates of detectable cancers that were in late stages (3 and 4). Detectable cancers are breast, prostate, cervix, colorectal and lung cancers.
Northern Plains American Indians have very high death rates from these detectable cancers, especially lung and cervical cancer, Petereit said. To combat this, Petereit founded Walking Forward in 2002.
Walking Forward received National Cancer Institute funding to address cancer disparities among Native Americans. Northern Plains American Indians have the highest incidence and mortality rates in the U.S. for screen-detectable cancers. The program has enrolled over 5,500 Native Americans in clinical trials.
Much of the program's focus has been on community education, access to care, early screening and detection. One grant gave patients gas money to get to and from the hospital. Petereit's focus is on staying connected to the community Walking Forward serves.
“There’s this thing called helicopter research. People come in, they gather their data, and they leave. Well, we decided we weren't gonna do that. We're gonna be part of the community,” Petereit said.
Walking Forward has evolved since 20o2. In the past six years, doctors have started screening for lung cancer. Their next focus is cervical cancer screening, which Dr. Keely Ulmer will spearhead as she takes over for Petereit as principal investigator of Walking Forward next year. Petereit said he still plans to be involved as he goes part-time with the project.
Petereit will be recognized as a 2026 Hall of Fame inductee at the honors ceremony held in Oacoma and Chamberlain next weekend.
"The thing that's ironic is, for me, it all kind of started in Chamberlain in that stretch of the river," Petereit said. "My dad and I fished on the Chamberlain Bridge area when I-90 was being built. So now, to return to that same site 50 years later, you know, is kind of crazy."
Fundraising efforts to expand programming, facility updates
Petereit's story illustrates what Laurie Becvar, CEO of the Hall of Fame, stresses in her promotion of the institution: the importance of teaching children about excellence in their home state.
One of the most crucial goals of its current fundraising campaign, which aims to raise $4.5 million, is expanding the Hall's Legends and Learning program. The program provides lesson plans for teachers and after-school programs that fulfill curriculum requirements. It uses stories of real South Dakotans to do so.
The Hall has partnered with after-school programs in Mitchell, Rapid City and Sioux Falls, Becvar said. The plans are geared toward fourth, fifth and sixth graders, but can be adjusted for any age level.
“The South Dakota Hall of Fame seeks to not only honor and recognize, but distribute the stories of everyday people that strive to build a culture of excellence in South Dakota,” the Hall's website reads. “We are committed to telling their stories, showcasing that even in the humblest of places, greatness can thrive.”
As of August 2025, about half of the $4.5 million was raised. Since then, over $1 million more has been raised.
“We’re inching closer and closer,” Becvar said.
Some of the money went into phase 1 fixes for the Hall building, which is located in Chamberlain. The money raised finished a carpeting project, fixed the roof of the building, put in a new air conditioning unit and updated the furnace.
Phase 2 projects include fixing the building’s foundation, which will happen in the next year and beyond, Becvar said.
Induction ceremony program
The 2026 honors ceremony is Sept. 11 and 12 in Chamberlain and Oacoma, South Dakota.
The weekend begins with an opening ceremony at the South Dakota Hall of Fame Visitor & Education Center in Chamberlain on Friday, which is free.
Saturday, Sept. 12 will start with brunch and an inductee panel at the Cedar Shore Resort in Oacoma.
“That's always riveting – people wanting to hear for the first time, what the actual inductees have to say about their success and their lives and how they feel about being inducted,” Becvar said of the inductee panel.
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Billy Mills, a 1964 Olympic gold medalist and 1980 inductee of the South Dakota Hall of Fame, is the keynote speaker at the inductee reunion event from 1:30-3 p.m. Saturday. Mills will hold a book signing for his book “Wings of an Eagle” Saturday afternoon.
“We use 'Wings of an Eagle' in our legends and learning program, but it's also a great book for anyone to have,” Becvar said.
The honors banquet and inductee speeches will start at 5:15 p.m. in Oacoma.
Tickets for the weekend events can be purchased by calling (605) 234–4216, emailing info@sdhalloffame.org or by visiting the Hall of Fame website. An online charity auction is open now and closes Sept. 12 at 8:30 p.m.
When asked what it means to be included in this year’s South Dakota Hall of Fame inductee class, Petereit said, "My father would have been very happy about that."
South Dakota News Watch is an independent nonprofit. Read, subscribe for free and donate at sdnewswatch.org. Contact reporter Emily DeCock: emily.decock@sdnewswatch.org.
