May 15 (UPI) — A seventh Native American tribe in South Dakota is banning Gov. Kristi Noem from its reservation for comments she made earlier this year alleging tribal leaders benefit from drug cartels.
The Crow Creek Sioux Tribe in central South Dakota confirmed it voted unanimously Tuesday to ban the Republican governor.
“We do not have cartels on the reservations,” Crow Creek Sioux Tribe chairman Peter Lengkeek said following Tuesday’s vote.
“We have cartel products, like guns and drugs. But they pass over state highways getting to the reservation,” Lengkeek said. “So, putting us all together like that and saying that all tribes are involved in this really shows … the ignorance of the governor’s office.”
The Crow Creek Sioux Tribe is the seventh out of nine tribes to ban the governor from their reservations, encompassing 20% of the land in South Dakota. The tribe joins Oglala Sioux Tribe, Rosebud Sioux Tribe, Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate Tribe and Yankton Sioux Tribe.
“When the state and tribe respect each other, both our flags can fly high. The tribes are not cartel havens and our people are not the gangs that threaten your communities,” said Yankton Sioux Tribe council member Ryan Cournoyer. “Our parents want a better future for their children. Our leaders seek economic growth and hope.”
Last month, the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe decided against banning Noem from their reservation but said Tuesday they are reconsidering.
“There’s a lot of unfortunate things that are said that are hurtful to our people — especially our children,” said Lower Brule Sioux Tribe chairman Clyde Estes.
The governor’s office has not commented on the latest tribe to ban Noem, who restated her claims and offered her assistance earlier this month.
“Tribal leaders should take action to ban the cartels from their lands and accept my offer to help them restore law and order to their communities while protecting their sovereignty,” Noem wrote in a post on X. “We can only do this through partnerships because the Biden administration is failing to do their job.”
Earlier this month, Republican Party officials in Colorado’s Jefferson County canceled a fundraiser for Noem — who has been floated as a possible running mate for former President Donald Trump — after they said they received death threats.
Noem, whose new book No Going Back: The Truth on What’s Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forward referenced shooting a young dog she claimed was dangerous, has faced fierce criticism from both Republicans and Democrats.
Republican businessman Toby Doeden has advanced to a runoff in South Dakota governor’s race, NBC News projects.
Gov. Larry Rhoden, who replaced Kristi Noem last year when President Donald Trump nominated her to lead the Department of Homeland Security, was battling with Rep. Dusty Johnson and former state House Speaker Jon Hansen for a second spot in the July 28 runoff. The primary will go to a runoff because no candidate eclipsed 35% of the vote.
Trump did not issue an endorsement in the race. Doeden branded himself on his campaign website as “a total political outsider who’s tired of the government’s failure to deliver on its promises” and one of Trump’s “fiercest supporters.”
Rhoden, a former lieutenant governor, agriculture secretary and lawmaker, campaigned on property tax cuts and lowering crime in his bid for a four-year term.
Johnson is the state’s lone representative in the House, where he previously was chair of the Republican Main Street Caucus. Hansen, who was elected to the South Dakota House in 2010, held several leadership positions before he became speaker.
The Republican nominee will be the favorite to win the general election in the solidly red state this fall. A Democrat has not served as governor in South Dakota since the 1970s, and Trump carried the state by 29 points in 2024.
News
Agronomist: eastern South Dakota crops hit and miss
An agronomist in eastern South Dakota says corn and soybeans are hit and miss as the growing season begins.
Steven Zemlicka with AgTegra Cooperative tells Brownfield, “We’ve got corn anywhere from V1 all the way up to V4. Biggest stuff’s maybe touching V5. Corn’s coming right along, looks pretty good. A little bit of hail here too, but I don’t think it’s going to be much of an issue. Stands for the most part are pretty good, pretty solid.”
Zemlicka says soybean emergence has been slow due to the wet, cool conditions, and there are a few fields that still need planted.
“People were still working on planting soybeans when we got the recent rain.”
He says recent rain totals ranged from a half inch to as much as four inches in the northeast part of South Dakota; the southern part of the state has been drier.
South Dakota’s corn is rated 61 percent good to excellent, with soybean conditions rated 57 percent good to excellent, according to USDA’s first condition ratings of the season.
RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) – The South Dakota Community Foundation is encouraging nonprofits to apply for funding this June.
Beth Massa and Ginger Niemann joined us live with what you need to know before applying.
Watch the full interview above.
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