Governor Noem made headlines (and took a lot of flak) because she refused to issue the kind of draconian shutdown orders for South Dakota that stifled the U.S. economy and made us a nation of anxious shut-ins for several months.
“My approach to this virus was to provide South Dakotans with all the information that I could, and then trust them to exercise their freedom to make the best decision for themselves and for their families,” Noem told reporters. It seems to have worked. South Dakota had 74 COVID-19 deaths statewide.
Noem worries that some governors exceeded their rightful authority in their shutdown mandates. “If we allow governors, leaders, mayors to make decisions that they don't have the authority to make and do a taking of someone's business, infringe on people's constitutional rights, that's wrong and we need to stop and make sure that we don't allow that to continue because it really would take away what has made America the best country in the world,” she argues.
Noem dropped out of college when she was 22 and pregnant with her first child to pitch in and help save the family ranch when her father was killed in a freak accident. Not only did she save the ranch, but she got her degree, and went on to serve four terms in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Though Noem exemplifies South Dakota values, she is a maverick in the eyes of the national media.
We know you will enjoy meeting this talented and gutsy woman—and you won’t want to miss what happened—or didn’t happen—in South Dakota as riots broke out in many states.
