Gov. Noem, AG Jackley Respond to State Senator’s Use of COVID Funds
PIERRE, S.D. – Today, Governor Kristi Noem and Attorney General Marty Jackley released two letters referencing the inappropriate use of COVID relief dollars by state Senator Jessica Castleberry of Rapid City.
Governor Noem sent a letter to Attorney General Jackley on Tuesday, July 25, asking that his office investigate possible Constitutional and statutory violations committed by Senator Castleberry when she and her business had accepted more than $603,000 in COVID relief dollars while she served in the Legislature. The State Supreme Court ruled in 2020 that such payments to elected officials were illegal. You can find Governor Noem’s letter to Attorney General Jackley here.
Attorney General Jackley sent a letter on Wednesday, July 26, to Gov. Noem responding to her request. You can find Attorney General Jackley’s letter to Governor Noem here. Also on July 26, Attorney General Jackley sent a letter to Senator Castleberry requesting she repay the full amount.
Attorney General Jackley stated in his letter that the state will pursue court action if the full amount is not repaid. Senator Castleberry has 10 days to respond. You can find Attorney General Jackley’s letter to Senator Castleberry here.
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It’s worth mentioning that Kristi appointed Jessica Castleberry, Castleberry has been a very reliable vote and ally for Kristi, and as recently as this session Castleberry carried one of Kristi’s priority bills, the paid family leave bill.
This isn’t Kristi going after a political opponent.
Agreed. This is a pretty public approach to the issue. Given her past support of the governor, It would not be a stretch to think that there was some earlier/quieter attempts to settle the matter that did not work.
My questions are: Why were the funds disbursed to Senator Castleberry in the first place??? Wasn’t there any “due diligence” performed to determine Senator Castleberry’s Day Care’s eligibility for funding prior to disbursal?
The entire day care grant idea was a bad idea from the start. Temporary money doesn’t fix permanent problems so they couldn’t permanently raise wages if the money was going to be gone soon.. Many day care providers just saw this cash flow to the bottom line as profit.