Kristi Lynn Noem (Arnold; born November 30, 1971 in Watertown, South Dakota) is an American politician who has served since 2019 as the 33rd governor of South Dakota. A member of the Republican Party, she was the U.S. representative for South Dakota's at-large congressional district from 2011 to 2019, and a member of the South Dakota House of Representatives for the 6th district from 2007 to 2011. First elected governor in 2018, Noem is South Dakota's first female governor. During the 2018 election, she was endorsed by President Donald Trump. As governor, Noem rose to national prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic over her refusal to issue a statewide mandate to wear face masks. In 2006, Noem won a seat as a Republican in the South Dakota House of Representatives, representing the 6th district (comprising parts of Beadle, Clark, Codington, Hamlin, and Kingsbury counties). In 2006, she won with 39% of the vote. In 2008, she was reelected with 41% of the vote.
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Gov. Kristi Noem budget includes $7M tax grab South Dakota retailers could take a financial hit as part of Gov. Kristi Noem’s plan to counter slumping tax revenues while standing up some new spending programs. While calling for more than $70 million in cuts to state spending during her annual budget address to lawmakers last month, the second-term Republican proposed doing away with a long-standing tax incentive program for retailers that remit sales tax to the state electronically. “This collections process is now normal business practice, and this incentive is no longer necessary,” Noem told the Legislature, saying the sales tax collection allowance was established in 2013 to motivate businesses to file their monthly sales tax bills using a then still-fledgling online remittance system. (The Dakota Scout 1/4/25) READMORE>>>>> How South Dakotans Really Feel About Kristi Noem Gov. Kristi Noem bet on herself and it paid off as she rose to the top of South Dakota politics. Noem’s confidence has been a hallmark of her career, as she won two terms in the state House of Representatives, four in the U.S. Congress and two as governor. She never walked away from a fight, and often rode toward them aboard her horse or motorcycle.And now that assured, combative nature has caused a possible career-ending blunder. Noem’s admission that she shot and killed a puppy and a goat—made in a soon-to-be released book—has made her the subject of derision and ridicule across the state, nation, and world. She has united Democrats and Republicans in rolling their eyes in amazement, and attacking her for her insensitivity and callous behavior. (Daily Beast 5/2/24) READ MORE>>>>> Kristi Noem Offers to Drive Greg Abbott More Razor Wire South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem offered to deliver razor wire via car to her Texas counterpart and fellow Republican, Greg Abbott, to use along the U.S. southern border amid Abbott's ongoing fight with the federal government on border control. Speaking with Fox News' Martha MacCallum on Thursday, Noem defended Abbott's use of razor wire and other barriers to fortify Texas' southern border along the Rio Grande. The Biden administration has argued that the barriers prevent federal Border Patrol agents from reaching migrants as they cross the river, and the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Monday that the federal government is allowed to remove the razor wire. (Kaitlyn Lewis/Newsweek 1/25/24) READ MORE>>>>>
Secrecy surrounds Noem’s budget recommendations PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) — A decades-old state law requires South Dakota’s governor “prepare and submit a budget report to the Legislature” no later than “the first Tuesday after the first Monday of December” and says she may do so in person. One thing that can be expected Tuesday is that Governor Noem will recommend how the last $105 million of federal COVID-19 relief should be spent. Her budget director, state Finance and Management Commissioner Jim Terwilliger, told the Appropriations Committee during a mid-November meeting that she would lay out the plan in her December 5 speech. He provided no details.(Bob Mercer/Kelo 12/3/23) READ MORE>>>>> Dec 16, 2022: Daily Signal: EXCLUSIVE: Kristi Noem’s Health Department Fires Transgender Group Ahead of ‘Gender Summit’
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, a Republican, directed her state Department of Health to terminate a contract with The Transformation Project, a transgender activist group that is hosting a “Gender Identity Summit” next month, after The Daily Signal drew the governor’s attention to the summit and the group. Dec 16, 2022: Dakota News Now: Kristi Noem orders Health Department to terminate Transgender group contract
South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem instructed the S.D. Department of Health to terminate their contract with The Transformation Project, which is a transgender activist group, according to The Daily Signal Dec 7, 2021; Watertown Public Opinion: South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem files appeal brief in Planned Parenthood v. Noem
Gov. Kristi Noem filed an appeal brief Friday in the Planned Parenthood v. Noem litigation to the U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals. Her filing follows last week’s opening arguments in the Dobbs V. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case, which concerns a Mississippi law that bans abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. The Associated Press reports Roe v. Wade may be in peril after those arguments. Sept 22, 2021: Crew: CREW sues for records pertaining to Kristi Noem’s border deployment of the South Dakota National Guard
Following South Dakota governor Kristi Noem’s decision to accept a “private donation” from billionaire GOP donor Willis Johnson, a Tennessee resident, to deploy up to 50 National Guard troops to the US-Mexico border, CREW requested all records relating to the deployment and donation. 
August 24, 2021: Vanity Fair: South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem Joins Fellow Republicans in Quest to Kill Her Constituents
Noem’s comment was seemingly in reaction to the president’s comment on Monday, following the announcement by the FDA that Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine had gained full approval from the agency, that private businesses and local officials should start mandating inoculations. “If you’re a business leader, a nonprofit leader, a state or local leader who has been waiting for full FDA approval to require vaccinations, I call on you now to do it, require it. Do what I did last month, require your employees to get vaccinated or face strict requirements,” Biden said, referring to the decision last month to require federal employees to get vaccinated or undergo regular coronavirus testing. (On Monday, CVS Health and oil and gas giant Chevron said they would mandate vaccines for some employees, following in the footsteps of other large corporations like United Airlines.) |
November 12, 2024: Donald Trump after picking Noem for Homeland Security: “I have known Kristi for years, and have worked with her on a wide variety of projects. She will be a great part of our mission to Make America Safe Again.” January 26, 2023: Mitchell Republic reported: A cut to the state sales tax on food, the central promise of Gov. Kristi Noem’s campaign for a second term as South Dakota’s chief executive, has passed its first hurdle in the legislative process, emerging from the House Taxation committee by a 12-1 vote on Thursday, Jan. 26. January 21, 2022: Noem,s "prayer bill", HB 1015, was defeated in the House Education Committee by a vote of 9–6. An aide to Noem admitted to the committee that no schools were consulted about the proposal.
February 1, 2022: House Democratic Minority Leader Jamie Smith announced he was seeking the Democratic nomination for governor against Noem.
February 6, 2022: Daily Beast reported: Gov. Kristi Noem, who has been riding high in polls in her state, has never lost an election. She served four terms in Congress before being elected governor in 2018. The South Dakota legislature has supermajorities in both chambers, with Republicans holding 94 of 105 seats. No Democrat holds statewide office. But Noem has suddenly found plenty of opponents with whom to wage bitter political battles: fellow Republicans.
“She’s not very good at being governor.”
— South Dakota State Sen. Reynold Nesiba (Feb 6, 2022) February 24, 2022: Republican State Representative John Mills introduced House Resolution 7004, "Addressing the Governor's unacceptable actions in matters related to the appraiser certification program", against Noem.
March 14, 2022: the National Park Service denied Noem's application for a permit to have fireworks at Mt. Rushmore for the 4th of July, citing opposition from Native American groups and the possibility of wildfires.
June 28, 2022: Noem published her autobiography,
Not My First Rodeo: Lessons From the Heartland 
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January 6, 2021: Disrupting the counting of the electoral votes formalizing Biden's victory, Noem spoke out against the violence, saying, "We are all entitled to peacefully protest. Violence is not a part of that."
Jan 8, 2021: Noem called Georgia’s two incoming Democratic senators communists. Noem made her comments about incoming Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock in an op-ed published Friday by the conservative online magazine The Federalist.
Feb 8, 2021: Vox reported: South Dakota governor and rising conservative star Kristi Noem was a big hit at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Saturday, where she bragged about her state’s response to the coronavirus during a headlining speech. But an interview she did hours later with CBS highlighted how her attempt to turn reality on its head doesn’t survive scrutiny.
Face the Nation host Margaret Brennan noted during the CBS interview, South Dakota’s mortality rate has been the highest in the country since last July. Noting that the governor is a staunch conservative, Brennan pressed Noem to explain how someone who claims to care about the sanctity of life can “justify making decisions that put the health of your constituents at risk.” Her response was nonsensical whataboutism. “Those are questions that you should be asking every other governor in this country as well,” she said, even though the whole point of the question is that South Dakota’s Covid-19 response has been a failure — and far more limited — when compared to the vast majority of other states. |
February 28, 2021
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August 21, 2021: Vanity Fair reported: South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem Joins Fellow Republicans in Quest to Kill Her Constituents: And in South Dakota, which has seen an astonishing surge in new cases over the past two weeks, Governor Kristi Noem is talking about how she’s going to go to war with Joe Biden over vaccine mandates he wouldn’t be personally enacting!
September 22, 2021: After Noem announced that she was sending members of the South Dakota National Guard to Texas's border with Mexico, the Center for Public Integrity sued the South Dakota National Guard and the U.S. Department of Defense in the federal district court in the District of Columbia to obtain documents about the deployment and the donation. The 2022 National Defense Authorization Act banned National Guard members from crossing state borders to perform duties paid for by private donors.
Sept 27, 2021: Ethics officials are questioning whether South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem had a conflict of interest by meeting with her daughter and top state officials last year in the governor's office while her daughter was pursuing a real estate certification.
November 12, 2021: Noem announced that she was running for reelection as governor
November 17, 2021: State Representative Steven Haugaard announced that he was running for governor against Noem
November 19, 2021: Noem named her fifth chief of staff, Mark Miller, to replace outgoing chief of staff Aaron Scheibe
March 13, 2020: Noem ordered K-12 schools to close due to Covid
April 6, 2020: Noem extended the school order for the remainder of the school year. Also on April 6, Noem ordered businesses and local governments to practice social distancing and other CDC guidelines. Noem also issued an executive order that said people "shall" follow guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; she also ordered everyone over age 65 in Minnehaha and Lincoln counties to stay home for three weeks
April 13, 2020: An outbreak where hundreds of workers had tested positive at a Smithfield pork plant, Noem told Fox News, "We believe that 99 percent of what's going on today wasn't happening inside the facility"
July 3, 2020: Noem did not mandate social distancing or the wearing of face masks at a July 3 event at Mount Rushmore with Trump present. Health experts warned that large gatherings without social distancing or mask-wearing posed a risk to public health
December 8, 2020: Noem tacitly acknowledged the outcome of the election when she referred to a "Biden administration" during her annual state budget address, but even after Biden was inaugurated in January, she still refused to accept that the election was "free and fair."
January 5, 2019: Noem is sworn in as 33rd Governor of the state of South Dakota
November 18, 2019: Noem released a meth awareness campaign named "Meth. We're on It". The campaign was widely mocked and Noem was criticized for spending $449,000 of public funds while hiring an out-of-state advertising agency from Minnesota to lead the project.
June 5, 2018: with the platform of protecting South Dakotans against tax increases, government growth, federal intrusion, and government secrecy, she was elected as South Dakota's first-ever female Governor. Noem defeated South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley in the June 5 Republican primary, 56 to 44 percent, and Democratic nominee Billie Sutton in the general election, 51.0 to 47.6 percent
November 14, 2016: Noem announced that she would run for governor of South Dakota in 2018 rather than seek reelection to Congress
Jan 3, 2011: Noem is sworn in as a member of U.S. House of Representatives from South Dakota's at-large district
March 8, 2011: Noem announced the formation of a leadership political action committee, KRISTI PAC. Former South Dakota Lieutenant Governor Steve Kirby is its treasurer. Noem was among the top freshman Republicans in PAC fundraising in the first quarter of 2011, raising $169,000 from PACs
Jan 9, 2007: Noem is sworn in as Member of the South Dakota House of Representatives from the 6th district
