Headline this morning:
As Kristi Noem touts South Dakota values across the US, out-of-staters run her political team
Noem’s spokesman, Ian Fury , arrived in Pierre in 2020 after working for Ohio congressman Jim Jordan in Washington, D.C. Communications director Jordan Overturf arrived from Texas in 2021. Campaign director Joe Desilets has run campaigns in Virginia. And Noem’s interim chief of staff, Mark Miller , is a New Jersey native who worked at a California libertarian think-tank before landing in the Rushmore State.
And..
“These people wanted to come here and be a part of South Dakota,” said Noem. “I’m thrilled. I have more people who work for me who grew up here. But I don’t think in South Dakota we’ve ever prioritized people over another based on where they were born.”
But also make sure you read the bio of the writer at the Capitol doing yet another hit piece on Governor Noem:
A native of Wells and Kiester, Minn., Vondracek went west for college in 2003, attending the University of South Dakota on a scholarship named for Al Neuharth, the founder of USA Today. After picking up a B.A. in Journalism in Vermillion and writing for the student newspaper, The Volante, Vondracek stayed for his M.A. in English literature. He taught college English in Rochester and Winona, Minn., between 2009 and 2015, and eventually received his MFA in Creative Nonfiction from Hamline University in St. Paul.
So.. it’s bad for Republicans from other states who want to come to South Dakota to live and work.. but ok for Reporters who write hit pieces?
And I say that being born in New Jersey and brought to SD as a 6 year old by my native New Yorker father and my Iowa mother.
I think Minnesotan Christopher Vondracek might want to quit pretending to be a South Dakota nativist, and recognize the state for being the Great American Melting pot that it is.
Otherwise, it’s not really South Dakota nice.
Well it’s true, isn’t it? Most of her staff is made up of people who have no connection whatsoever to South Dakota.
As written by some anonymous person in Virginia.
Must be a slow morning. This is weak.
The reporter is spot on.
Noem has little respect for South Dakotans input.
When the people express their will she overturns it.
Ian T Fury is one of the worst carpetbagger examples.
You are aware that Haugaard’s campaign manager is from Virginia as well?
I think there’s quite a few people wondering why she doesn’t have a top staff of South Dakotans. Her top people are all out-of-state. Every other Governor for the last 50 years that I can recall had a staff from South Dakota. We can certainly speculate about the reasons, but the facts are what they are.
When you say “Her top people are all out-of-state,” are you referring to the 3/4 of her office staff who are from SD, or the 9/10 of her cabinet who are from SD? That’s really a straw man argument.
But the facts are what they are.
This was a weird article. Note that he starts out with a story about a Noem staffer coming to the press room and striking up a conversation – clearly an attempt to reach out and build a working relationship.
And I had to laugh when he went to, of all people, muckraker Angela Kennecke for the historical perspective. Does anyone take her seriously?
I find it ironic that the SD Dem Socialists are so offended that Governor Noem has hired people from out of state that move here for the job. But on the other hand, have no problem with one individual who has a very, VERY UNHEALTHY obsession with Governor Noem who will criticize her for ANYTHING she does and has a following of out of staters who gladly jump on the bandwagon. They have no problem with the personal attacks this person makes against Noem and attacks on SD on a daily basis. And apparently want to ignore the fact that he moved to Lincoln, Nebraska, and runs his anti-SD blog from another state in an attempt to stir the SH##-pot.
And by the way, he has never posted on his own blog that he is now a Nebraska resident…..HMMMMM?
Speaking of unhealthy relationships…
Are you talking about the Toker now living in Lincoln Nebraska and his blog DaToker Press? 3/4 of those other Tokers who comment all the time don’t even live in South Dakota. Toxic personalities.
Raise your hand if you’re hoping to see Governor Noem face a sign/veto decision on Adult use of Cannabis .. I mean the dirty Mexican ditch weed called “Mary-whanna”.
*raises both hands*
“Just for the record .. we’re smoking out a weed bill.” — South Dakota House Speaker Spencer Gosch in response to a committee killing an adult use Marijuana bill approved in the Senate
Governor Noem and team. You have one last chance to earn my support by proving that you understand this issue, and that you are willing to defer to South Dakotan’s “personal responsibility”.
That is all.
We could always point out that she had to hire people from out of state, after everybody in SD died of Covid because of her.
Everybody died in 2020. And then 2021 came along and everybody died all over again.
There’s nobody left to hire here.
All CNN and MSNBC viewers know that.
This is what Christopher Vondracek does. Like many journalists, he spends much of his time dressing up attacks on the right as news reports. He’s basically a propagandist. The article is par for the course.
Well, considering “the right” runs this state, who else is there to write about. And why was it a “hit piece” if it was factually correct? Noem does hire an unusually high percentage of out-of-staters who, I’m guessing, never set foot on our soil until they had to come for the photo for their ID.
I have read a few of Vondracek’s supposed articles and he is really nothing other than a propagandist for the Democrat party. Even his “straight” news articles include always a dig at the Republicans. According to South Dakota Magazine, he is a poet writing verse about South Dakota. I guess he is a poet posing as a journalist and not very good at either.
Vondracek’s will probably want the taxpayers to pay off his student loans as well. What a pedigree of degrees with little to no commercial value – my opinion.