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South Dakota Gov. Noem admits error of describing meeting North Korea’s Kim Jong Un in new book

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South Dakota Gov. Noem admits error of describing meeting North Korea’s Kim Jong Un in new book


WASHINGTON (AP) — South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem is releasing a new book called “No Going Back,” but on Friday her office said she would actually be going back to correct some errors — including a false claim that she once met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

The Republican governor’s new book was part of an overt effort to be selected as a running mate for Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, but it has already faced bipartisan backlash for a story of how she once shot her hunting dog. Then, after scrutiny of her descriptions of meetings with international leaders, her spokesperson Ian Fury said in a statement that it was an error to include Kim in a list of world leaders whom Noem has met — and the publisher would correct any future editions of the book.

Noem’s political prospects were already falling amid widespread disgust for how she recounted killing her 14-month-old wirehaired pointer named Cricket after it had shown aggressive behavior and killed her neighbor’s chickens.

In her soon-to-be-released book, “No Going Back: The Truth on What’s Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forward,” Noem also describes instances where she has stood up to international leaders — anecdotes that would have bolstered her foreign policy experience — but those were swiftly called into question. She writes about canceling a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron.

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After The Dakota Scout first reported Noem’s descriptions of the meetings, Fury said that the book “has two small errors. This has been communicated to the ghostwriter and editor.”

In addition to the meeting with Kim, Fury said Noem also mistook the dates in which she spoke with former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley.

“The book has not been released yet, and all future editions will be corrected,” Fury added.

In a section of the book about meeting with international leaders, Noem writes: “Through my tenure on the House Armed Services Committee, I had the chance to travel to many countries to meet with world leaders — some who wanted our help, and some who didn’t.

“I remember when I met with the North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un,” she writes. “I’m sure he underestimated me, having no clue about my experience staring down little tyrants (I’d been a children’s pastor after all).”

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The description of such a meeting was quickly challenged and described as implausible by experts on U.S.-North Korea relations. When Noem was a member of the House Armed Services Committee from 2013 to 2015, relations between the two countries were tense and a congressional delegation meeting with Kim would have generated considerable awareness, said Syd Seiler, a former U.S. intelligence officer who spent decades working on the relationship with North Korea.

“Nothing like this happened,” he said, adding that he was working at the White House and State Department during that time period and was not notified of a congressional meeting with Kim.

Noem did join an international congressional trip, known as a codel, to Japan, South Korea and China in 2014.

In the book, Noem also writes that she was “slated to meet with” Macron in November last year while she was in Paris for a conference of European conservative leaders, but canceled when he made comments that she considered “pro-Hamas.”

However, Macron’s office told The Associated Press that no “direct invitation” had been made for Noem to meet the French president, though it did not rule out that she may have been invited to a Paris event that he was also scheduled to attend.

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Fury said, “The governor was invited to sit in President Macron’s box for the Armistice Day Parade at Arc de Triomphe. Following his anti-Israel comments, she chose to cancel.”

Meanwhile, Noem is trying to fend off the backlash for writing about shooting her dog as well as a goat.

“Don’t believe the #fakenews media’s twisted spin,” she posted on the social platform X this week. “I had a choice between the safety of my children and an animal who had a history of attacking people & killing livestock.”

Her spokesperson, Fury, also cast scrutiny of the errors in Noem’s book as biased, saying, “The media will, of course, try and make these tiny issues huge.”

Still, members of Congress have poked fun at Noem, with Reps. Jared Moskowitz, a Democrat from Florida; Susan Wild, a Democrat from Pennsylvania; and Nancy Mace, a Republican from South Carolina; launching a Congressional Dog Lovers Caucus this week.

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Moskowitz said on X that one of the group’s rules was, “You cannot kill a puppy.”



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South Dakota

Republican businessman Toby Doeden advances to primary runoff in South Dakota governor’s race

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Republican businessman Toby Doeden advances to primary runoff in South Dakota governor’s race


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.

Syndication: Argus Leader
Candidate signs outside a polling location in Sioux Falls, S.D., on Tuesday.Samantha Laurey / Argus Leader

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.



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Agronomist: eastern South Dakota crops hit and miss – Brownfield Ag News

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Agronomist: eastern South Dakota crops hit and miss – Brownfield Ag News


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Agronomist: eastern South Dakota crops hit and miss

Photo taken by Carah Hart, Brownfield
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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.

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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.





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South Dakota Community Foundation encourages nonprofits to apply for funding

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South Dakota Community Foundation encourages nonprofits to apply for funding


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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