South Dakota Republican Gov. Kristi Noem will be the nation’s next secretary of the Department of Homeland Security after the U.S. Senate confirmed her nomination Saturday.

The 53-year-old Noem, a former congresswoman, will lead one of the federal government’s largest departments, with 260,000 employees and a budget in excess of $100 billion. Its responsibilities include border protection, disaster response, cyber and airline security, and protecting dignitaries.

The bipartisan vote to confirm Noem was 59-34, with her fellow South Dakota Republicans, Majority Leader John Thune and Sen. Mike Rounds, casting two of the votes in favor.

Speaking against Noem’s confirmation on the Senate floor, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, warned that the mass deportation of undocumented immigrants Noem could carry out on behalf of President Donald Trump will harm the nation’s economy. Among the industries most affected, Durbin said, could be one of vital importance to Noem’s home state: agriculture.

“In many instances, they will be removing the very workers that pick the crop,” Durbin said.

Speaking in favor of Noem, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said the United States is a nation of immigrants, but “we’re also a nation based on the rule of law, and we have not seen that immigration law enforced over the last four years.”

“So I’m going to be voting for Governor Noem, because she’s committed to enforcing our immigration laws,” Grassley said.

SD’s lieutenant governor elevated

Noem ascends to the Homeland Security post after serving as South Dakota’s first female governor. She was serving her second four-year term after being reelected in 2022.

Noem resigned from that job Saturday and was succeeded by her lieutenant governor, Republican Larry Rhoden, who became the state’s 34th chief executive and will fill the remainder of Noem’s term through 2026. Rhoden will choose a new lieutenant governor, subject to confirmation by the South Dakota Legislature, which is in the midst of its annual lawmaking session. Rhoden’s office released a statement Saturday saying details on a ceremonial swearing-in will be announced soon.

Noem’s Saturday confirmation vote capped a rise into national prominence that began during the COVID-19 pandemic. Her decision as governor to avoid ordering widespread shutdowns in South Dakota caught Trump’s attention during his first term, and he accepted Noem’s invitation to a Fourth of July weekend fireworks display at Mount Rushmore in 2020. That helped cement a relationship Noem had begun with Trump while she served as a four-term member of the U.S. House from 2011 to 2019.

Noem was widely thought to be in consideration for Trump’s running mate last year, until her April book release abruptly ended that speculation.

The Guardian obtained an advance copy of the book, “No Going Back,” and revealed passages Noem wrote about fatally shooting a misbehaving hunting dog and an unruly goat. The Dakota Scout, a South Dakota media outlet, challenged Noem’s claim in the book that she had met North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, and she retracted it.

Noem faced withering scrutiny during a national book tour and became the butt of jokes on late-night television. Yet, less than three months later, she had a prime speaking slot during the Republican National Convention. Shortly after Trump’s election win in November, he announced Noem as his pick to lead Homeland Security.

Noem’s role in border issues

While serving as governor, Noem sent National Guard troops multiple times to assist Texas in securing its border with Mexico, and called a joint session of the Legislature to deliver a speech about the border. In her new role as Homeland Security secretary, Noem will be pivotal in carrying out Trump’s immigration crackdown.

Noem appeared before the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs last week for her confirmation hearing. She said “border security must remain a top priority.”

“As a nation, we have the right and the responsibility to secure our borders against those who would do us harm, and we must create a fair and a lawful immigration system that is efficient and is effective and that reflects our values,” Noem said.

Trump kick-started his immigration plan shortly after he took office Monday.

In part of a barrage of executive orders this week, Trump moved to end birthright citizenship in the United States. But on Thursday, a federal judge temporarily blocked the plan, which was met with a flurry of legal challenges.

Trump also declared a national emergency at the U.S.-Mexico border, and earlier this week, the Pentagon said it would immediately send 1,500 active duty troops to secure the area.

Noem is the fourth of Trump’s Cabinet nominees to earn Senate confirmation, after Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

States Newsroom’s D.C. Bureau contributed to this report.

This story was originally published by South Dakota Searchlight, which like the New Hampshire Bulletin is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity.

MANCHESTER, NH – Two New Hampshire repeat nominees and one new addition are among the James Beard Foundation Restaurant and Chef Award semifinalists announced this week.

The James Beard Foundation Restaurant and Chef Awards, presented since 1991, celebrate excellence across all types of dining experiences, from fine dining to casual establishments. The New Hampshire establishments recognized this week are among 38 semifinalists across New England named in 25 categories.

Super Secret Ice Cream, of Bethlehem, and chef Lee Frank, who owns Otis in Exeter, were both semifinalists, though each with a twist, last year. Nicole Nocella, owner and chef at Stalk, in Dover, is a newcomer to the Best Chef Northeast Region category.

Super Secret Ice Cream is one of 20 semifinalists in the Outstanding Bakery category, which recognizes “bakers of bread, pastries, or desserts that demonstrate consistent excellence in food, atmosphere, hospitality, and operations.”  

Kristina Zontini, of Super Secret, was named a semifinalist for outstanding pastry chef or baker last  year.

The shop, at 2213 Main St. in Bethlehem, makes its own ice cream base with local milk and cream from neighboring farm Hatchland Dairy. “We don’t use flavored syrups or artificial anything,” Super Secret says on its website. “Everything that goes into our ice cream is made in our kitchen or sourced through partnerships with local farms.”

Super Secret Ice Cream, which began as a food cart, opened its bricks and mortar location in 2022 with a takeout window, and then as a full ice cream shop in early 2023. It operates year-round.

After Kontini was nominated last year, she told New Hampshire Magazine, “We feel really lucky, and I hope it sheds light on ice cream as a craft. Also, our area is really cool, and I don’t think New Hampshire is represented enough — and there’s some really cool female-owned businesses in our town, and surrounding towns.”

Lee Frank, owner of Otis Restaurant in Exeter is a semifinalist for Best Chef Northeast Region, but as owner and chef of Lee Frank’s in South Berwick and Wells, Maine. 

Last year, Frank was named a semifinalist in the same category, but in his role at Otis.

Lee Frank’s opened in South Berwick in 2021, and Frank plans to open a third Lee Frank’s location in Exeter soon, according to the restaurant website. The hot dog and burger restaurant harkens back to the chef’s early culinary days in California, he said.

“I am incredibly humbled and honored to be named a James Beard Semifinalist for Best Chef Northeast, let alone for a second time,” Frank posted on his Facebook page. “The talent throughout New England is amazing and being mentioned next to any of these names is truly an honor. Congratulations to all those nominated and all those that work so hard and are so talented!”

Nocella, chef and owner of Stalk, at 286 Central Ave., in Dover, is also one of 20 Best Chef semifinalists in the Northeast Region, which includes the six New England states. Stalk is celebrating its fifth anniversary this month.

The category recognizes chefs who “set high standards in their culinary skills and leadership abilities and who are making efforts to help create a sustainable work culture in their respective regions, while contributing positively to their broader community.”

“I am absolutely floored & over humbled by receiving the news of being nominated for a Semi Finalist James Beard Award!,” Nocella said in a post on Stalk’s Facebook page. “Thank you  for the amazing support & love shown for my cooking over the years! Can’t Wait to Cheers you all!”

The James Beard Foundation accepts nominees for its awards during an online open call in October and November. Candidates for restaurant awards must be establishments (restaurants, pop-ups, or food trucks) that serve food and are open to the public. They must be reasonably accessible to the public and be open for business (or accept and fill orders) a minimum of twice a month. Nominated individuals must be actively making food or beverages that are available  to the public. A subcommittee of judges reviews nominees, including a tasting period, and votes on semifinalists, as well as finalists.

Finalists for the James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards are announced April 2, and the winners are announced June 16, at an awards ceremony that will be held at Lyric Opera, in Chicago.

This year, in honor of the 35th anniversary of the awards as well as “in recognition of the ever-evolving independent restaurant landscape,” there were three new categories as part of an expanded focus on beverages: Best New Bar, Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service, and Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service. The James Beard Foundation lists all the semifinalists on its website.

CONCORD, N.H. — An Ashland couple reached a plea deal with prosecutors and have pleaded guilty in Merrimack (N.H.) Superior Court to illegally voting in elections in New Hampshire while they were living in Massachusetts.

Joshua Urovitch, 56, and Lisa Urovitch, 54, each pleaded guilty to one count of wrongful voting.

Both were originally charged with three counts of wrongful voting. But as part of the plea agreement, the two of the charges were not prosecuted.

They were each sentenced to 12 months in the Merrimack County of House of Corrections, but the sentence was suspended for two years on condition of good behavior. They were also each fined $2,000, issued a $480 penalty and assessed an additional civil penalty of $1,240 apiece.

Earlier: Authorities say this couple voted in New Hampshire while living in Ashland, Mass.

The couple also lost their right to ever vote in New Hampshire.

Authorities charge Concord address is actually a rental property

The New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office said the Urovitches, while living in Ashland, voted in the Nov. 3, 2020, general election, the Nov. 8, 2022, general election and the Nov. 8, 2022, Concord School District Election while using the address of a Concord home they owned as their home address.

Authorities charged the couple actually lived in Ashland and used the Concord home as a rental property. Its renters told investigators the Urovitches did not live at that address and only visited in their capacity as landlords.

The Ashland Town Clerk’s Office said neither Jacob nor Lisa Urovitch was registered to vote in town until 2023.

Norman Miller can be reached at 508-626-3823 or nmiller@wickedlocal.com. For up-to-date public safety news, follow him on X @Norman_MillerMW or on Facebook at facebook.com/NormanMillerCrime.