The new book authored by South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem continues to gain attention, with the latest being that the publisher will undertake some edits. One edit will change a passage where Noem wrote about meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
According to The Dakota Scout, Noem described meeting Kim Jong Un while she was in Congress, but that was erroneous. Noem on the Sunday “CBS This Morning” show said it will be fixed in all future editions.
‘No Going Back’ also includes a much discussed anecdote about Noem shooting and killing her dog after it failed on a pheasant hunt and attacked a neighbor’s chickens. She has received much criticism for that passage.
Noem was scheduled to speak at a fundraising event for the Jefferson County Republicans in Colorado on Saturday, but the event was canceled, due to numerous threats.
Noem describes the book, which comes out Tuesday and is subtitled “The Truth On What’s Wrong With Politics and How We Move America Forward,” as a blueprint for the American citizen.
A special event was held in Sioux City on Sunday to bring awareness to many Native Americans, particularly women, who have been murdered or are missing.
The downtown area was the site for the Missing And Murdered Indigenous Persons Awareness Day and dozens of people took part. Organizer Trisha Rivers said the turnout was strong, with several of the Native communities from the region participating.
Rivers said Native Americans make up approximately 2 percent of the population, but experience some of the highest rates of violence, poverty, and substance abuse.
“The day was filled with guest speakers who talked about how this crisis impacts their families and friends,” she said.
People walked a half-mile from the Sioux City Police Department building to the Ho-Chunk Centre, displaying signs and some pictures of Native people who are missing or were murdered.
Wayne State will honor a notable former president with the naming of the college’s new residence hall, which is projected to open to house students in January 2025.
Wayne State named the new residence hall in honor of President Sheila M. Stearns, for her distinguished leadership of the College from 1999 to 2003, a college release said.
That naming was approved by the Nebraska State College System Board of Trustees in April.
Stearns served as the tenth president of the College and was the first woman to lead the institution. She died on May 23, 2023.
Stearns Hall will be the first residence hall built since the construction of Bowen Hall in 1966. The four-story structure can hold up to 276 students.
Additionally, Wayne State College held the spring semester commencement on Saturday, when 424 undergraduates and 145 graduate students received their degrees.
In other news, the South Dakota Legislature is very strongly controlled by Republican Party leadership, and the state’s primary election that’s one month away will determine how hardline some legislators will be.
The primary will be on June 4. There will be Republican State Senate primaries in 18 districts, compared to 15 in 2022. There is just one primary on the Democratic side, allowing those candidates to focus on the Nov. 5 general election.
South Dakota News Watch has reported the state’s Republicans are dealing with an intraparty schism between establishment moderates with pro-business views and those in the far-right factions such as the Freedom Caucus, touting limited government.The outcome of those primaries will determine how conservative the South Dakota Senate may function in 2025 and 2026.
Senate President Pro Tempore Lee Schoenbeck is departing the Senate.
