Last updated on 2020-04-16
Nobody’s having really good days in the midst of coronavirus, but Governor Kristi Noem is having a particularly bad start to her week. The national media is pointing out that she’s choosing Trump-science over tougher and immediate practical action to tackle the pandemic:
Increasingly exasperated local leaders, public health experts and front-line medical workers begged Noem to intervene Monday with a more aggressive state response.
“A shelter-in-place order is needed now. It is needed today,” said Sioux Falls Mayor Paul TenHaken, whose city is at the center of South Dakota’s outbreak and who has had to improvise with voluntary recommendations in the absence of statewide action.
But the governor continued to resist. Instead, she used a media briefing Monday to announce trials of a drug that President Trump has repeatedly touted as a potential breakthrough in the fight against the coronavirus, despite a lack of scientific evidence.
“It’s an exciting day,” she boasted, repeatedly citing her conversations with presidential son-in-law Jared Kushner [Griff Witte, “South Dakota’s Governor Resisted Ordering People to Stay Home. Now It Has One of the Nation’s Largest Coronavirus Hotspots,” Washington Post via MSN, 2020.04.13].
Witte’s report also calls Smithfield Sioux Falls “one of the country’s largest clusters,” a phrase Mayor TenHaken might add to the c-bombs he’s dropping on Noem in the national press:
TenHaken said if the current rate of infections continue, the city’s healthcare system could be crippled. The only way to get a stay-at-home order immediately is to have the governor issue one, he said. Otherwise, it would take seven days to pass an order through the city council.
“Quite honestly, it’s crap that we have to wait that long to act,” he said [Stephen Groves, “Noem: No Stay-at-Home Order, State to Test Anti-Malaria Drug,” AP via U.S. News and World Report, 2020.04.13].
Also reporting clusterfication in Pierre is Tom Lawrence, who hears from “a political insider in Pierre… who has been at the highest level of Republican politics” that TenHaken could be positioning himself to run for Governor in 2022… and that Noem is opening that door by angling for a job in the Trump Administration than in running South Dakota effectively:
Gov. Kristi Noem is a stubborn boss who continually makes poor decisions, won’t listen to counsel from her staff and aspires to a cabinet post in the Trump administration.
That’s the inside word from a political insider from Pierre who called me Sunday and Monday.
The source — who has been at the highest level of Republican politics — said Noem is making such a mess of things that she if she doesn’t land a job with Trump, she may face a strong primary challenge in 2022.
Among those who might take her on? Sioux Falls Mayor Paul TenHaken, who is frustrated with Noem’s failure to lead during the COVID-19 crisis, when he has asked her to declare a statewide shelter-in-place order.
The other two names mentioned were, frankly, astounding. Former staffers of Sen. Mike Rounds and former Gov. Dennis Daugaard want one of them to return to the Capitol to clean up the mess Noem is making, the source told me. A lot of their people really hope that happens, although who knows if either is interested. They will surely be asked about their interest [Tom Lawrence, “Kristi Noem Is Alienating Former Staffers. They’re Hoping for a 2022 Challenger in the Republican Primary,” South Dakota Standard, 2020.04.13].
Hey, Republican insiders: if Noem isn’t doing the job right, a public health crisis is no time to namby-pam around dropping anonymous hints. If South Dakota is being run wrong, if the Governor is more interested in barking up the Trump tree than in saving our lives, you need to come out and say it publicly. If Mayor TenHaken can stick his neck on the line publicly calling the Governor’s approach crap, so can the rest of you.
Right now I don’t care who’s in the chute to run in 2022; we don’t know what our economy and culture will look like by this year’s primary. But Noem is off to a rough week in terms of boosting her own political brand.
We desperately need a shelter in place order here in Sioux Falls. Our COVID-19 cases in the metro area have gone up around 100 per day for the last 4 days. What part of community spread spreading like a wildfire does Kristi Noem not understand? Apparently, all of it.
Very bad leadership in South Dakota right now. Extremely bad. People’s lives are being sacrificed because they discounted science and sound medical advise. Noem is hopeless, a complete dolt. TenHanken, after a lot of dithering finally got it. Too late, though. He complains about 7 days. He had a full month. Both of them should resign.
It would be like Trump to give a failure like Noem a prominent Cabinet position. Maybe she could be in charge of capital punishment, since she’s so good at killing people.
Short list of reasonable replacement govs include: Allender (mayor Rapid City), Schoenbeck, Duhamel, . . . certainly others exist.
Careful here though for there are many nuts in the Noem end of the pool.
Why doesn’t Ten Taken just shut Sioux Falls down? The city charter gives him that power. I believe twice in the last twenty years, the Smithfield plant has accidentally allowed dangerous chemicals to be admitted into the air, which then caused an immediate shut down of parts of Sioux Falls based on the wind flow. When a crime or accident happens, which are emergency situations, does anyone question authorities closing off an area? How is this coronavirus any different?
I also find great irony, that a west river mayor, Allender (RC), is more willing to use government to be the answer, then his east river counterpart, TenHaken (SF).
https://www.southdacola.com/blog/2020/04/i-support-mayor-tenhakens-shelter-in-place-order/#comments
Kristi landing a job in the trump admin will be the icing on the cake of her career (also the smelly filling between two slices of moldy bread). Wonder if she can get her family hired as well?
“TenHaken wants Governor Noem to issue a three-week shelter-in-place. He says if the governor refuses, the city can’t issue one until April 21 due to South Dakota law.
“Quite honestly, it’s crap we have to wait that long. That’s what the legislature decided on veto day. That’s the law we have to live with it,” TenHaken said.”
Source: https://www.keloland.com/news/healthbeat/coronavirus/sioux-falls-mayor-says-time-for-covid-mitigation-is-dwindling-wants-shelter-in-place-order/
A mayor of Sioux Falls already has the power, governor or not. No need to wait, unless you are a Republican, who doesn’t want to look more pro-government, than an other Republican, who might be a future political opponent. #WWJD? (Jankow)
A Sioux Falls ordinance:
Ҥ 33.027 EMERGENCY ORDINANCES.
Notwithstanding the provisions of state law, upon the declaration of an emergency by the mayor, ordinances or resolutions may be adopted and become effective upon one reading and adoption. 1992 Code, § 2-82; Ord. 75-99, passed 7-6-1999 (2/3)”
If there is a state law preventing that sort of action, such as Tenhaken claims, would it not preempt local authority in this case? It has been almost a decade since law school, so I am not certain. Also, do we know what particular legislation Tenhaken is referring to?
There is only a state law that pre-empts this ordinance, if enforced. These are extraordinary times. In theory, a police rope line could be challenged, could it not? We need bold leadership. Let a lawsuit maintain our political civility, while political action gets the immediate job done.
This game between Norm and TenHaken is a game of seeing who can be more Republican, while still trying to look like a leader.
Let’s not forget, that one day before TenHaken began to take this virus serious, he was holding a FB press conference about Chic-Fil-A coming to Sioux Falls, while the national media was already warning us about the virus.
Noem’s Trumpian hunch must think that few will die in South Dakota because of this virus; and where she wants her hydroxychloroquine drug testing to be the golden ticket to a Trumpian chocolate factory reality and eventual acquisition.
One term kristi wants a trump cabinet job, so she is clearly gonna win this tiff with the mayor. The mayor just needs to man up and do his job, because she is clearly not up to the task https://www.npr.org/2020/04/14/834137887/despite-outbreak-south-dakota-governor-hesitant-to-issue-stay-at-home-order
What JKC said is exactly what is going on:
“This game between Norm and TenHaken is a game of seeing who can be more Republican, while still trying to look like a leader.”
This is the game they’re both playing with SD lives. How many have died so far while they’ve played? TenHaken could have shut the city down in March, even with his 7 day scenario, but he doesn’t want to.
How do you like your Rs now, South Dakotans? (I wish you’d feel as angry with them as I do.)
Leadership:
Minnesota is up to 1695 confirmed cases and 79 deaths. My county is up to 5 cases. So thankful for Gov. Walz. State GOP and some businesses really pressuring him, but he’s holding firm. People before profits.
Gov. Walz says the stay-at-home order will be lifted when our medical experts say so. It’s set to expire on 5/2. He’ll reexamine it before then.
It could wipe out a Baptist nursing home and she wouldn’t care. Kone’s Korner is her only line in the sand.
JKC got it. It is as conservative Republican game of chicken. TenHaken should have shut it down three or four weeks ago.
Rapid City Regional Airport cannot test for the virus. No plan GNOem, fits right into the rest of the no plan republicans. Lovely.
“Passengers flying in and out of Rapid City Regional Airport are not being screened for coronavirus symptoms because the state of South Dakota and the federal government have not authorized screening and airport officials do not have the authority to do it themselves.
During an Airport Board of Directors meeting Tuesday, Deputy Director Toni Broom said airport staff are not permitted to do the screenings.
“Airport staff cannot do that. The FAA would consider that revenue diversion,” Broom said. “That decision has to be made at the federal level or the state level, not the local level.”” Rapid City Journal 4.14.20
Rapid City was a leader and shut down things and there numbers are low at 9. ND also shut down things early and there number of cases increased by 10 today to 341.
Up until last week I think Noem was doing OK. She actually was ahead of the curve IMO when she started taking action in mid-March. But when the numbers started to go up at Smithfield, she needed to step up and shut down Smithfield. Now it is time to step up and issues shelter in place orders for SE SD.
Sioux Falls(SF) is such a hub for consumers, I’d guess 250,000 people totally rely on shopping in SF. If the Covid-19 cases keep going up, these consumers will go where they think it is safer to shop, thus overwhelming nearby communities like Brookings and Mitchell. This could even cause spread to these nearby communities.
SF is also a regional shipping hub. If Covid-19 gets out of control, this could have an impact in product delivery for most of eastern SD.
I am unsure why people need somebody to tell them to stay home over there in Sioux Falls, but I guess they do.
Stay home.
There, grudznick has ordered it. Defy me at your own risk.
PS: people will bring breakfast to you, do not sweat about it.
How could I have forgotten that Sioux Falls is a regional healthcare center. Traumas, heart care and Neonatal care all go to Sioux Falls. If Sioux Falls is overrun with Covid19 cases, what happens to all of us in the eastern 2/3rd’s of SD when we need care?
Very good point, Scott. Even up in Aberdeen, if we need serious care, we have to go down to SF. Coronavirus swamping hospitals there would harm everyone in East River and our friends in Pipestone, Worthington, Inwood….
Grudz, you are right. You and I don’t need an order from a dimwitted dolt like Noem to do the right thing. I keep saying that you need to ignore the politicians who are irresponsible. Don’t listen to them. You are your own President and Governor in this situation. When it comes to your and your loved ones’ health and life Noem doesn’t care and doesn’t have a clue what to do. But you do if you follow responsible health care advise from professionals, and ignore what Trump and Noem have to say.
I’m sure, however, that such an order would come with a way to enforce those orders on those people not as smart and responsible as you or I. They are likely as dimwitted and doltish as Noem and Trump. These folks probably don’t do the right thing in a lot of areas of their lives, unless they think there is a possibility of a jail cell or stiff fine waiting for them. So, there would be a means that we could rid our communities of the cases those doltish people would visit on the hospitals, infecting doctors and nurses, and you and me.
So, Noem is irresponsible and a lot of people are going to suffer and die needlessly because you elected a dolt as leader.
Dicta, I welcome the JKC approach to finding out which law is stopping TenHaken from taking firmer action: take the action and dare the state to stop you. What’s the Governor going to do: send troopers to tear down TenHaken’s barricades? Arrest him and reopen the bars? Has any local official in any state been punished by his/her governor for taking reasonable action to prevent the spread of coronavirus?
On the flip side, how many mayors are sitting around waiting for someone else to solve their problems and protect their people?
Cory’s correct, make the move mayor, show some juevos. Daily Kos has this up about South Dakota’s little stinker. https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2020/4/14/1937138/-Another-Republican-Governor-proves-herself-to-be-a-damn-fool
A damn fool! There ya go Sioux Falls mayor, make your move and no one will think poorly of doing the right thing over a “damn fool”.
GNOem=Sarah Palin. Now that is a perfect match. Caribou Barbie Palin and Prairie Dog Noem. It seems she wants a cabinet job, but where is the money in that? What is the grift in shafting the citizens of South Dakota, where is the profit?
Compare the actions of this governor and legislature to what Kruel Kristi and the SDGOP have not done.
is.gd/DSuYv4
CNN has an article describing how nations with women leaders are doing far better with this pandemic than male led countries. The article concludes by saying it’s clear that the world would be a better, safer place with greater female participation. 😁
is.gd/rghFmR
drumpf blamed the mayor of Nawlins and the guv of Looseranna for not shutting down Mardi Gras, while they both claimed vociferously they were looking for guidance from the kremlin annex, which they never got until the blame game started.
Kristi Noem is dumber than a box of rocks, she is a self-centered narcissist who only cares about Kristi, and she is a sociopath who has no conscience, this is why she and Trump get along so well. They’re two of a kind, Let’s impeach her immediately and hold a new election to elect a Democrat, such as Billy Sutton. Republicans are nothing but bad news. They are racist woman-haters who live in the past. South Dakota will never attract workers and businesses of high quality until it becomes much more open-minded and progressive and this can’t be done with Republicans.