Board: SD Gov. Kristi Noem may have ‘engaged in misconduct’

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) – A South Dakota ethics board has found enough information that Gov. Kristi Noem may have “engaged in misconduct” when she intervened in her daughter’s application for a real estate appraiser license to potentially take action against the Republican governor.

The Government Accountability Board determined that “appropriate action” could be taken against Noem, though it didn’t specify the action. The board’s procedures call for a contested case hearing that would give Noem a chance to publicly defend herself against the allegations.

The board also referred a complaint that Noem flew on state-owned airplanes to political events to the state attorney general’s office for further investigation.

Noem’s spokesman Ian Fury maintains the Governor did nothing wrong and the complaints are nothing more than a political attack.

August 23, 2022