Take on South Dakota Dead Red

CovidAcNow had to add a new shade of red to denote the level of outbreak across the Midwest. I've been following this website for months and hadn't seen them go past the red that NY and NJ are dyed.
Then I look over at little Rhode Island which has always been a bit of an anomaly around here. I think their cases were relatively mild in the first wave but now the state seems to be a bit of a predictor for the region. They were yellow when other New England states were green, they went red while we were yellow and now they are SouthDakota dead red.
Thank god you can drive through that state while holding your breath