Can South Dakota afford to keep Kristi Noem on its payroll?

Gov. Kristi Noem speaks during a bill-signing ceremony March 6, 2024, at the Capitol in Pierre. (David Bordewyk/South Dakota NewsMedia Association)

Whether it’s her hairstyle, dental work or feud with the state’s tribes, at this point it’s impossible to consider Gov. Kristi Noem’s actions without looking through the lens of her perpetual tryout to serve as vice president in the next Donald Trump administration.

Her problems with the tribes seem ready-made for the MAGA faithful. It allows her to rail against the federal government’s failure to properly fund law enforcement in Indian Country. It also allows her to talk some smack about the Biden administration’s policy at the southern border, all the while decrying the prevalence of drugs and crime on the reservations.

Her tough talk, not to mention her insinuation that tribal leaders are profiting from the drug trade, has resulted in her being banned from four of the state’s reservations.

More Noem news and commentary

• Gov. Kristi Noem banned from fourth South Dakota reservation

• Cost of workforce ads starring Noem rises to $9 million

• Noem doesn’t address exceptions but calls Trump’s abortion statement ‘exactly right’

• Full archive

One of her favorite talking points lately is calling for an audit of federal funding to tribes. Just as people who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones, politicians who call for audits should first make sure that their own books are in order. As it turns out, Noem’s tenure in Pierre has been an expensive one for South Dakota taxpayers.

An audit of the Department of Public Safety is probably what it would take to determine the cost of protecting South Dakota’s much-traveled governor who is usually accompanied by two Highway Patrol troopers. When legislators tried to get some answers about the cost, Highway Patrol officials were adamant that revealing any figures, even a lump sum, would endanger the governor. It seems that bad guys could somehow use that number to extrapolate the level of protection being afforded the governor whether she was going to Piedmont, Parker or Paris.

That cost remains a mystery while other costs do not.

As Noem’s fame grew in right-wing circles, it became apparent that what the Capitol was lacking was a TV studio. In theory that facility is available to any state department that needs to get its message on the airwaves, but the $130,000 studio sure makes it easier for Noem to be a frequent guest on Fox News.

In one of the ethical low points of her administration, Noem inserted herself into the discussion about whether or not her daughter would be licensed as a real estate appraiser. One of the outcomes there was an age discrimination complaint and a $200,000 payout.

Terminating a state contract with a transgender advocacy group resulted in an apology from the state and a $300,000 payment to settle a lawsuit.

So far, the state has spent $9 million on workforce development commercials starring Noem. State officials have been hard-pressed to quantify the results of the campaign in terms of people actually moving to South Dakota. One reliable fact is that the commercials have kept Noem in the national spotlight throughout this election cycle.

During her reelection campaign, Noem usurped a traditionally Democratic issue and called for cutting the state sales tax on groceries. She seemed to champion the issue in the next legislative session, but while she talked a good game in public, her actions behind the scenes were lacking. Without the backslapping, glad-handing and arm-twisting that goes with trying to pass major legislation, her bill to cut the tax failed. Consequently, the Legislature passed a cut taking the state sales tax from 4.5% to 4.2%, a savings to taxpayers of an estimated $104 million. Cutting the state sales tax on groceries would have saved an estimated $120 million for everyone who eats, a $16 million difference.

Casting herself as a wartime governor, Noem has been eager to characterize the nation’s southern border as a war zone and send in the state’s National Guard. During the last legislative session, Noem admitted that while Texas is requesting help from other states, it is not reimbursing the states that send troops. This leaves South Dakota taxpayers on the hook for about $1 million per deployment.

With the Republican Party’s national convention and the selection of a vice presidential candidate set for mid-July, it looked like perhaps there would be an end to Noem’s spendthrift ways. However, she has pledged to keep serving as South Dakota’s governor, even if she gets the nod from Trump, and will only resign if they win. Of course that’s her right, but at this rate there’s no telling if the state can afford to keep her on the payroll.

The post Can South Dakota afford to keep Kristi Noem on its payroll? appeared first on South Dakota Searchlight.