PIERRE, S.D. –          
            Gov. Dennis Daugaard requests that all flags in the state be flown at half-staff on Saturday, May 19, 2012, from 8 a.m. until sunset in honor of former U.S. Sen. Jim Abdnor. 

             Abdnor, who died Wednesday, was 89.
             A World War II  veteran, Abdnor was a four-term congressman before serving one term in the U.S. Senate and later heading the U.S. Small Business Administration for two years. He had earlier served  six terms in the South Dakota Legislature and was Lieutenant  Governor from 1968-1971.

             A funeral  service for Abdnor will be held Saturday, May 19, at 11:30   a.m. CDT at Lutheran Memorial Church, 320 East Prospect Avenue, Pierre.