Who needs a $1,400 stimulus check when you can just move to South Dakota? South Dakota Republican Gov. Kristi Noem just touted her state’s incredibly low unemployment rate in a recent tweet, writing that their unemployment rate dropped to 3.0% in December, which was lower than it was before the pandemic. South Dakota has the third-best unemployment rate in the country, right behind Nebraska and Vermont.
Gov. Noem has been an avid supporter of former President Trump and his approach to the pandemic, particularly with trusting elected officials to make their own state regulations. She has refused to enforce stay-at-home orders and said she trusts the American people to make the right decision for themselves.
Gov. Noem’s decision to allow her state to live in freedom and exercise common sense has fueled a media frenzy. Left-leaning platforms attacked her by claiming that South Dakota currently has one of the largest outbreaks of work-place transmitted coronavirus cases. They called out an incident last year where nearly 1,3000 employees had tested positive for COVID-19 at the Smithfield meatpacking facility in Sioux Falls.
“Many in the media criticized this approach, labeling me ill-informed, a ‘denier’, and reckless. Some have even asserted that South Dakota is ‘as bad as it gets anywhere in the world’ when it comes to COVID-19, a demonstrably false statement,” Gov. Noem said.
Gov. Noem also expressed disappointment in President Biden’s action to remove the presidential permit on the Keystone XL pipeline. Her communications director Ian Fury noted it was unfortunate that President Biden decided not to stand for American jobs and energy independence. The project was to not only create jobs but help secure an affordable energy supply that is safer for the environment and the American people.
Gov. Noem also introduced a bill that would ease the permitting process for homeowners and home builders in South Dakota. This would keep costs down in order to build sustainable communities and take better care of the state. She also introduced a few other pieces of legislature, including the ability for people to access Telehealth and a bill that would protect the privacy right of donors who donate to charitable organizations.
In accessing Telehealth and allowing better health care systems, Gov. Noem also passed a bill that would recognize out of state licenses for healthcare providers so that they can deliver immediate health care needs.
South Dakota hasn’t enforced stay-at-home orders or mask mandates and seems to be doing just fine on their own. It’s time for Dem-run states to take notes.
