Ha ha, if you are sarcastic, but the man in the story lived his life in harsh climate N Dakota as a working man, now he can end is life in the place he knows as home, but with the benefit of no worry of money anymore.
It is his life, so he has to do what works best for him. As long as he is happy in N Dakota he is all set. The climate in S Dakota is as bad as that in N Dakota, but at least in S Dakota they have no state income tax.
If you dont have friends and family etc there, trust me, it's not worth moving to South Dakota just to save some taxes.
No plans to move to S Dakota, just curious about how the state works with no state tax. I assume it is made up for with higher property taxes.