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Democrat Michael Saba, a native of Bismarck, was certified as a state representative to the South Dakota State Legislature for District 9 following a recount conducted on Monday.

Republican Rep. Michael Clark, of Hartford, had requested the recount after his third-place finish against Saba and Republican Deb Peters. Saba, who initially was ahead by 68 votes, dropped only one vote as a result of the recount.

"I have had ... discussions with former North Dakota Governor and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer regarding opening an international trade office in South Dakota modeled on the North Dakota International trade office based in Fargo," said Saba, who lives in Hartford, S.D., and represents the western portion of Sioux Falls and the Minnehaha County towns of Hartford, Humboldt and Crooks as well as the Wall Lake Township area.

"We have also discussed joint international trade delegations composed of both North and South Dakotans. This has been successfully done in the past and could be revitalized in the future for the benefit of both states. I hope to take the lead in those efforts," said Saba, who was a Peace Corps volunteer in Malaysia, taught in Thailand in the 1960s and was a training coordinator for Peace Corps programs in Africa in the early 1970s.