South Dakota

Kristi Noem faces confirmation hearing for homeland security post: Live updates

Published

10 months ago

January 17, 2025

Kristi Noem faces confirmation hearing for homeland security post: Live updates

WASHINGTON − A Senate committee will hear today from Kristi Noem, President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to run the Department of Homeland Security, an agency that will be central to fulfilling his campaign promise to perform mass deportations of unauthorized immigrants.

Noem, the Republican governor of South Dakota, was on Trump’s vice-presidential shortlist before he named her to run the sprawling, $108 billion DHS. She was a member of Congress during Trump’s first administration and is an outspoken advocate for border security and tax cuts.

Trump is expected to formally nominate Noem shortly after taking office Jan. 20.

Noem is the only prospective Trump cabinet member with a hearing on Friday. Senate committees have so far heard from nine top appointments, including Pete Hegseth (Defense), Pam Bondi (Justice), Scott Bessent (Treasury), Marco Rubio (State), and John Ratcliffe (CIA). All appear headed for confirmation.

Kristi Noem defends killing dog for bad behavior in new memoir

Governor Kristi Noem, a Trump vice presidential candidate, landed in controversy for killing her former dog. Rivals seized the moment to share photos with their respective pets.

Sen. Peters asked Noem about countering militants who’ve been “radicalized here in the U.S. with the intent of terrorizing our communities.” She agreed that “homegrown terrorism is on the rise,” while cautioning that Americans’ civil liberties must be protected.

But Noem also shifted focus back to the southern border and said 382 “known terrorists” had been allowed to cross into the U.S. from Mexico. According to DHS, 382 people whose names appear on a terrorist watch list were arrested trying to cross the border between 2021 adn 2024, up from 11 between 2017 and 2020.

Noem cites familiarity with FEMA from SD disasters

In her opening statement, Noem said she worked with the Federal Emergency Management Agency on 12 natural disasters in her state so she would be familiar leading the Department of Homeland security responding to “floods, tornados, blizzards, wildfires, a derecho, and even a global pandemic.”

“As Secretary, I will enhance our emergency preparedness and strengthen FEMA’s capabilities,” Noem said. “We will ensure that no community is left behind and that life-saving services like electricity and water are quickly restored.”

−Bart Jansen

Noem calls border security ‘a top priority’

Noem said securing the country’s borders against illegal trafficking and immigration will be a top priority.

“Border security must remain a top priority,” Noem said. “As a nation, we have the right and responsibility to secure our borders against those who would do us harm.”

She said the country “must create a fair and lawful immigration system that is efficient and effective.”

−Bart Jansen

Thune praises Noem’s ‘absolute toughness’ to lead DHS

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., introduced Noem, his state’s governor, by saying her “absolute toughness” is required to lead the Department of Homeland Security and toughen security along the southern border.

Thune argued Noem’s “tremendous persistence and energy” would enable her to combat the “chaos on the southern border” and fight drug trafficking.

“I think she brings things to this job that are absolutely essential,” Thune said.

The Dakotas are well represented at the top of Washington this year. In addition to Thune’s leadership at the Senate and Noem’s expected confirmation at Homeland Security, President-elect Donald Trump has named former North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum to lead the Interior Department.

−Bart Jansen

Peters: DHS needs ‘strong, stable and principled leadership’

Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., the comittee’s top Democrat, said Noem would “need strong, stable and principled leadership” to oversee the sprawling Department of Homeland Security with 240,000 workers and an annual budget of more than $100 billion.

He urged her to focus on the northern border in addition to the southern border, while working to streamline the immigration system and asylum process.

Peters said she must also protect the country from attacks like ones recently in New Orleans and Las Vegas on New Year’s Day, and cyber attacks from China and other foreign adversaries.

−Bart Jansen

Committee Chairman Rand Paul, R-Ky., opens Kristi Noem’s hearing with a litany of complaints about the department she may soon command, saying DHS has been distracted from its core duties of protecting the U.S. by intruding on the constitutional rights of Americans and policing their speech.

House Republicans voted to impeach the outgoing Homemand Security secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas, last February but the Senate, then under Democratic control, killed both impeachment articles.

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem may not have to answer for her dead hunting dog Cricket at her confirmation hearing Wednesday. But President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to head the Department of Homeland Security will likely face tough questions about how she intends to run one of the nation’s largest and most sensitive federal agencies.

If confirmed by the Senate, Noem would be at the center of Trump’s effort to make good on campaign promises to shut down the border, prevent illegal immigrants from crossing from Mexico and Canada, and stop the flood of lethal fentanyl into the U.S.

As overseer of DHS’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, Noem would play a critical role in Trump’s much-touted plans to deport potentially tens of millions of people living without authorization in the U.S.

Noem made headlines last year for writing in her 2024 autobiography “No Going Back” that she shot her 14-month-old wirehaired pointer because it was “untrainable,” attacked livestock and tried to bite her. The backlash may have cost her a shot at the vice-presidency.

−Josh Meyer

Who is Kristi Noem?

Prior to starting her government career, Noem worked on her family’s farm in rural South Dakota. She served in the state legislature for four years, and was elected to Congress in 2010, during the midterm election under then-President Barack Obama when the Tea Party movement swept the nation.

Noem won the governor’s race in 2018 on a small-government platform. She is an outspoken advocate of border security and has sent three different cohorts of the South Dakota National Guard to serve on the Texas-Mexico border for Operation Lone Star.

−Erin Mansfield

What is the Department of Homeland Security?

The Department of Homeland Security is the umbrella agency for 22 departments and about 260,000 employees. Its departments handle border security, immigration detention, citizenship processing, airport security, and natural disasters, among other things.

President Joe Biden’s current secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas, has been a frequent target of Republican criticism for the administration’s handling of unlawful crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border.

−Erin Mansfield

Will Kristi Noem be confirmed?

While some of Trump’s nominees have faced controversy or bowed out of the confirmation process, Noem has been well received.

Sen. Rand Paul, the Kentucky Republican who heads the committee that will hold her hearing, told a podcast in December, “My first order of business will be getting her confirmed, and I plan on trying to do that either the day of the inauguration, or that week.”

−Erin Mansfield

What time is Kristi Noem’s confirmation hearing?

The hearing with the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee starts at 9 a.m. It will be held in the Senate Dirksen Building, room SD-342, in Washington, D.C. USA TODAY will post a livestream link here when it becomes available.

−Erin Mansfield

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South Dakota

Best dive bar South Dakota? Here are 3 spots loved by locals that are worth the $2 beer

Published

5 hours ago

November 14, 2025

Press Room

Best dive bar South Dakota? Here are 3 spots loved by locals that are worth the beer

There’s a game of Shake-A-Day around here somewhere.

Dive bars in the Midwest are like coming home and bellying up to your regular spot or with your lucky pool cue. Your Jack and Coke is already poured, your buddy arrived at the time he always does and now the lore is flowing.

It’s going to be another great night.

This time of year especially harkens a bar regular – home for the holidays and wanting to unwind once again.

Whether you’re chasing nostalgia or just a cold one, these dives prove that the heart of the Midwest beats loudest in its bars.

Here’s a look at a few great dive bars in South Dakota.

The Ice House: Shattered glass and record-breaking can smashing

The Ice House Bar in Yankton, South Dakota, isn’t known for producing artificial ice. How boring. It’s known for its century-old tradition of smashing empty beer bottles against a brick wall.

The family-owned, Missouri River establishment began in 1928 as the Pure Ice Co. until it started selling beer after the prohibition in the 1930s. Since, folks come for the $2 beers, $10 buckets served curbside or to hang their legs off the dock to toss a bottle or two underneath their feet.

The tradition is famous. Broadcast journalist and South Dakota native Tom Brokaw frequented the bar for a Budweiser, and owner Jim Anderson was on “The Late Show with David Letterman” to show off his record-breaking can-smashing skills: He can crush 76 cans in 25 seconds with one foot!

Details: 101 Capital St., Yankton, S.D., 605-665-2631.

Top Hat: One of the oldest haunts in Sioux Falls

The Top Hat in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, is timeless. Your father probably sat underneath the same glow of the same PBR neon sign in the 1970s and grabbed a bag of Fritos from the same clip on the wall. (Hopefully the chips are newer.)

Owner Andy Lenz prefers to freeze this dive bar in time. Why change it? she says. There are no frills, no craft beers on tap and no menu. Hungry? She’ll toast a thin-crust Rosken’s Dakota Pizza if you want to pair it with your Grain Belt while playing a game of pool underneath dim lighting.

There’s also dart boards, video lottery, a juke box that’s always humming and the smell of old cigarettes and stale booze – which is to say, it feels familiar, safe and like home.

Details: 508 S. First Ave., Sioux Falls, SD, 605-332-8171.

Meridian Corner: Deep-fried chislic and broasted chicken

If you know South Dakota, you know chislic. If you know chislic, you know Meridian Corner. Located on the corner of highways 18 and 81 west of Freeman, this proudly proclaimed “hole-in-the-wall” is nationally known for its family recipe of deep-fried lamb or mutton: Lamb chislic is more tender, while mutton chislic is chewier but with more flavor. Each is humbly served in skewers of three, six, nine or 12, with a side of saltines and garlic salt.

There’s savory broasted chicken and pork chops on the menu as well.

The family-owned tradition of Meridian Corner was hard to kick. It opened in the 1980s, closed shop for years then opened again in 2011, back by popular demand and with little change. It’s an old red farmhouse on the corner of nowhere, and there are usually tractors in the parking lot.

Details: 43915 U.S. Highway 18, Freeman, S.D., 605-387-5000.

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South Dakota

Obituary for Keith Edward Brink at Kirk Funeral Home & Cremation Services

Published

24 hours ago

November 13, 2025

Press Room

Obituary for Keith Edward Brink at Kirk Funeral Home & Cremation Services

Keith Brink, born April 24, 1956, in northwestern Pennsylvania, passed away November 8th surrounded by his loved ones. He grew up in Cambridge Springs, Pennsylvania, alongside his five siblings, and graduated from Cambridge Springs High School in 1974. In 1975, Keith followed his parents to Rapid City, South Dakota, where

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South Dakota

Gov. Larry Rhoden to launch 2026 South Dakota governor bid at Rapid City event

Published

2 days ago

November 12, 2025

Press Room

Gov. Larry Rhoden to launch 2026 South Dakota governor bid at Rapid City event

South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden wants to keep his job as the state’s executive leader for another four years.

Rhoden, the 34th governor of South Dakota, is slated to make a “special announcement” at the Hotel Alex Johnson in Rapid City on Nov. 18, according to a listing on Eventbrite.

State Sen. Arch Beal, a Sioux Falls Republican and co-chair of the Strong, Safe & Free PAC, a political action committee aligned with Rhoden, told the Argus Leader in a Nov. 18 phone call that Rhoden plans make his West River announcement in the City of Presidents.

“As far as I can say, he’s running,” Beal said.

Rhoden has been a long-rumored entrant to the state’s gubernatorial election in 2026. He will be the latest and likely last Republican to join next year’s GOP primary contest after Dusty Johnson, South Dakota’s lone representative in the U.S. House; Aberdeen businessman and conservative activist Toby Doeden; and State House Speaker Jon Hansen.

Chamberlain independent Terry Gleason and 20-year-old Democrat Robert Arnold, of Pierre, have also started campaigns for the governor’s seat.

Rhoden launched a campaign website through his formal gubernatorial committee in August, which allowed online visitors to make donations of $10, $25, $50, $100 or other amounts to his campaign.

The South Dakota governor has remained reticent in the past to show his hand in terms of his campaign efforts. Asked by the Argus Leader in August if the creation of his campaign website, which is paid for by his gubernatorial committee, indicated he would run to retain his executive office, he said the public is free to “interpret” the campaign page as they see fit.

Ian Fury, Rhoden’s campaign spokesperson, acknowledged the Tuesday event in a Nov. 12 phone call with the Argus Leader. He declined to confirm whether the governor would address his entrance to the governor race.

Mike Derby, a Republican state representative based in Black Hawk and chair of Rhoden’s supporter PAC, would not outright confirm Rhoden’s intent to announce his run for governor.

Asked if Rhoden planned to make public his gubernatorial ambitions at the Rapid City event, Derby said, “I think it would be worth your while [to go].”

Rhoden was previously critical of the idea of announcing a campaign bid in 2025. Also asked by the Argus Leader in August when he would make his announcement, Rhoden said he would not declare his candidacy until at least after the state’s special legislative session on Sept. 23, when the Legislature voted on legislation to construct a new men’s prison in Sioux Falls.

Rhoden previously served as the 39th lieutenant governor of South Dakota under former Gov. Kristi Noem from Jan. 5, 2019 to Jan. 2025.

Rhoden succeeded to his current post on Jan. 25 midway through Noem’s second term as governor after she resigned to join President Donald Trump’s Cabinet as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.

A lifelong South Dakotan, Rhoden currently lives in Union Center, a small rural community in Meade County, where he runs a ranching operation.

Prior to serving as Noem’s lieutenant governor, Rhoden served four terms as a state representative in the South Dakota legislature from 2001 to 2008.

Rhoden then switched chambers to the South Dakota Senate, in which he held a seat from 2009 to 2014.

His legislative winning streak was ended in 2014, however, after former two-term governor and now-U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds overcame Rhoden in that year’s Republican primary.

Rhoden returned to the South Dakota legislature in 2017, after winning his district’s seat in the state House, of which he was named Majority Whip. He planned to run again in 2018, but he withdrew from the race after being chosen as Noem’s running mate, according to previous Argus Leader reporting.

According to his biography page on the governor’s office website, Rhoden served six years in the South Dakota National Guard after graduating high school.

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