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Noem Refuses to Talk to KELO-TV About Pandemic Response, Brands Kennecke Totally Unfair

Governor Kristi Noem doesn’t know what to do about Jason Ravsnborg’s maslaughter case, but she’s certainly ready to condemn and shun South Dakota journalists.

KELO-TV got off topic at Noem’s presser yesterday and asked our Governor why she’s traveling around the country campaigning in the midst of a surging pandemic here at home. She replied, “If we do not focus on the election as well and President Trump is not in office, there are consequences of that to our state of South Dakota.”

KELO’s Angela Kennecke follows that up with a note that Noem is not living up to her promise of transparency and availability to the South Dakota press:

The governor’s tax-payer funded TV studio in the capitol building is supposed to give the media more access to her, but so far it appears that the studio is mostly being used for appearances by the governor on national Fox News programs.

This week KELOLAND’s Angela Kennecke asked Governor Noem’s office for a one-on-one interview to address questions about rising COVID-19 cases in the state, her campaign trips for Trump and the economy. Angela received the following response from the governor’s office:

“Were there even the slightest attempt on your part to be fair in your reporting, I’d be happy to move this through the process. Since that hasn’t happened in my entire time with Governor Noem (and I’m told long before…), the answer is no.” —Maggie Seidel, Senior Advisor and Policy Director [Angela Kennecke, “Covid-19: Beyond the Numbers—Gov. Noem Says Reporting Not Fair,” KELO-TV, 2020.10.13].

Ah, the brittleness.

Clearly Noem recruited her spokesteam from out of state so she can be surrounded by blockers who feel no compunction about pooping on Kennecke and our other local journalists. Evidently if an interview goes beyond softball questions that make Noem look good to her national Fox New base, if an interview dares to address real, practical issues facing South Dakotans, the interviewer is being “unfair.”

I would challenge Seidel and Noem to provide any examples of the local media, especially Sanford/corporate-beholden KELO-TV, being “unfair” to Noem and her one-party regime. If anything, our local press is tremblingly gun-shy about hammering the Governor for her absenteeism and mismanagement. But to claim that Angela Kennecke has never written a fair news report this year or at any time before Maggie Seidel arrived is utterly absurd.

The press asks Noem for more facts on the state’s response to the pandemic, and the Governor cries Unfair! and refuses to speak to the press. You tell me: who’s the snowflake?

44 Comments

  1. mike from iowa 2020-10-14 08:05

    Noem stuck both cloven hooves in her pie hole with this doozy….

    She replied, “If we do not focus on the election as well and President Trump is not in office, there are consequences of that to our state of South Dakota.”

    Yeah, Toots. Less dead people because of incompetence. Oh the horrors!

  2. Jenny 2020-10-14 08:13

    During a public health emergency, the public has a right to hear from their voter elected officials. Noem is a coward just like her Dad, Donnie.

  3. james 2020-10-14 08:46

    Fox News will not make her answer for these out of control Covid numbers. And Donald Trump has proven that you can run for President without answering to the media. Republican voters have now become immune to normal media inspection. It’s clear that she doesn’t care about South Dakota news organizations because she is running for something bigger.

    In South Dakota, this week’s active Covid cases will likely climb to eight times the figures of early summer. Positive testing percentages are the highest in the nation. But Kristi Noem will not answer for it. She will ignore and/or lie to the local media, and laugh as she walks away. Because she can.

    When she does speak about it, she will blame our modest increase in testing for all of it. And she will try to suggest that remaining hospital capacity is evidence of success.

    It’s all an outrageous con.

  4. o 2020-10-14 08:58

    Perhaps Kennecke just needs to get tickets to the MarLargo campaign event. I’m sure the Governor will be talking in great length there about her leadership success with the Corona virus.

  5. ds 2020-10-14 09:05

    Yea now she has adopted the ‘corrupt fake news media’ banner from her perverted uncle donald. Her wagon is hitched to him and she is angry because she sees her future going down the tubes with this looser.

  6. Owen 2020-10-14 09:24

    Maybe Kennecke could talk to Billie Sutton to see what he’d do. That would tork off Noem.

  7. grudznick 2020-10-14 09:27

    This is hilarious. Young Ms. Kennecke is less of a “reporter” than is grudznick, and is nowhere near the level of Ms. Pettey on the KEVN teevee news.

  8. Jenny 2020-10-14 09:51

    The Prairie Witch is beginning to care less and less about South Dakotans.

  9. Jenny 2020-10-14 09:52

    Grudz how was your counseling visit?

  10. kj trailer trash 2020-10-14 11:03

    That’s what’s maddening about these morons; they believe their own crap so completely that nothing else could be true and “how dare anyone say otherwise.” If Noem turned vampire and lived a thousand years and got a brain transplant so that she had at least a handful of brain cells to rub together, she still would never believe that the claim that her family was going to go broke because of the death tax has always been a sham, that her hero Donny is a talentless corrupt crook, that she has failed us on Covid in Trumpian fashion, that her original nuclear family should’ve actually gotten by on farming and not on $385K/year gov’t aid for about 10 years. The stupid and the self-righteous are too firmly planted in her. She’s always been a thin-skinned failure and always will be.
    A huge “what you said” to all of Jenny’s comments and Owen’s and mike, james and ds as well.

  11. Observer 2020-10-14 11:17

    Kristi Noem – YOU are the fake news.

  12. sx123 2020-10-14 11:21

    Reporter asks questions. Noem answers them (or not). Reporter publishes questions and answers. In what universe would this be unfair? Seems pretty standard to me. Or they’re just scared of the questions they might have to answer.

  13. chris 2020-10-14 11:51

    this is just like when Thune’s shop brought in those hacks to try and BBQ David Kranz. That was like some op Paul erickson ran, if I remember.

  14. Mike Livingston 2020-10-14 12:12

    Maggie Seidel has apparently been coached by Kayleigh McEnany in the art of deception, distortion and fake indignation. I am sure we would like to hear her break down what sort of terrible consequences South Dakota would suffer if the dishonorable Donald J Trump were to be reelected.

  15. mike from iowa 2020-10-14 12:20

    If she was a Vamp, she couldn’t admire her looks in any mirror.

  16. Cory Allen Heidelberger Post author | 2020-10-14 12:22

    Mike, Noem and her team are being coached by Trump’s man, Corey Lewandowski, to seek and provoke more conflict. Attacking Angela Kennecke and the press is part of the larger battle to delegitimize any independent voices who might present evidence that undermines the regime’s preferred narrative.

  17. grudznick 2020-10-14 12:24

    Reporter asks for interview. Reporter is denied due to history of biased and inaccurate reporting. Reporter publishes story about herself being denied. Reporter then “investigates” things like pumpkin patch doll collections and other fluff pieces for a few weeks. Ratings keep skidding down the swirly hole. Reporter decides she needs to write another piece about herself, so asks for another interview knowing she’ll be denied.

    In the meantime, I bet you Governor Noem is going out of her way to give interviews to real reporters all over the place. It is indeed amusing.

  18. james 2020-10-14 13:12

    Maybe Governor Noem gets a heads-up on covid numbers. Did she know today’s cases would be this bad? Soon, it won’t be just the press that’s pressuring Noem. The hospitals have got to be very concerned about this trend. K-12 schools, universities and businesses too.

  19. scott 2020-10-14 13:13

    Perhaps gruz can list some examples of Kelo’s so called bias. They seem to kiss Thune and Rounds ass.

  20. mike from iowa 2020-10-14 13:16

    Wingnut M. O.- Feign victimhood. Accuse the press of being dishonest and paid for by Soros and HRC. Lie through their teeth and then immediately run to Fake Noise to get their hurt feelers assuaged.

    As for apologist Grudzilla’s feelers, no one cares.

  21. Mike Livingston 2020-10-14 13:35

    Trolling is alive and well and crudnix is the poster boy.

  22. David Newquist 2020-10-14 15:04

    KELO will never be forgiven for it’d aggressive reporting on the Gear Up scandal. And Bob Mercer is a danger because he tried to get the investigative report on the Benda death.

  23. Moses6 2020-10-14 16:52

    she sounds like trump. heaven help us.

  24. Scott 2020-10-14 18:11

    The media is so underfunded in this state that there is very very little investigative reporting. Most of the so called reporting is relaying of press releases. As I watch the tv news, the next story is about pheasant hunting which I’m sure they will talk to somebody from the chamber or promotional group who will say everything will be good. That is what most news and print stories are these days.

  25. Scott 2020-10-14 18:19

    Yep, got that story right.

    Actually not that hard to predict. Its the same news story basically every year. Low paid reporters is all we have in this state.

    Real experienced higher paid reporters would have been talking to medical providers to discuss how the influx of hunters could impact residents health and covid 19 spread in the state.

  26. grudznick 2020-10-14 19:03

    Mr. Scott, the media is “underfunded” the same way a bad breakfast joint is…produce a crappy product and people won’t buy it. They are failing businesses run by bad business men in a dying industry filled with biased alt-left libbies hawking their opinion as news. They are not “underfunded.”

  27. CJ 2020-10-14 19:30

    So…Grudz…I should be aware that Noem is giving astoundingly intelligent and informative interviews to real reporters somewhere in the universe? We are just not seeing her competent leadership and munificent persona because of crappy SD news people? It might take my brain a while to cough up that big furball of information.

  28. Mike Livingston 2020-10-14 19:53

    Yo crud why is it you tighty, whitey, righty’s troll in in the playground of the lefty peacenik lover’s anywho, are you lookin to get laid or what? That is alright we understand, everyone on your side of the isle is so anal that the only fun they have is taking cheap-shots at people that care about mundane notions like democracy and liberty.

  29. jerry 2020-10-14 20:13

    Air ambulance charge of $52,112.00 for a 20 mile ride. So how many air ambulance rides are we talking about here in South Dakota?

    “An intubated coronavirus patient was declining rapidly when doctors decided to airlift her to a hospital with better critical care resources.

    “It’s life or death,” the family of the 60-year-old woman recalled being told when it happened in April. “We have to transfer her now.”

    The patient was flown by helicopter from one Philadelphia hospital to another 20 miles away. She spent six weeks at the new hospital and survived. When she came home, a letter arrived: The air ambulance company said she owed $52,112 for the trip.” New York Times 10.14.2020

    The heart attack from the bill will probably kill you if the covid did not. Family members could well be responsible for the bill too, lovely.

  30. Scott 2020-10-14 20:22

    ND Gov holds 74th press briefing of the covid crisis.

    SD Gov held her last covid press conference on? Somebody hopefully know the answer. It probably has been more than 74 day since she talked to us SD citizens or the media.

    SDDOH is now down to doing 1 press briefing a week.

    What is Noem scared of or hiding? We are not dumb and we know when you stop talking you are trying to hide something.

    https://bismarcktribune.com/news/local/health/burgum-bumps-16-counties-to-high-risk-local-public-schools-delay-changes/article_f4460b4c-01e7-5b26-95f0-cf96ded44fb1.html#tracking-source=home-top-story

  31. Debbo 2020-10-14 21:10

    Many, if not most governors and/or health departments are keeping their states updated routinely. That’s what their job is. It appears Kruel Kristi is all in on emulating her hero Dumb Donny, all the way down to his most repulsive behaviors.

  32. jerry 2020-10-15 00:24

    trump virus numbers off by 75,000. We are now at 300,000 dead Americans from the trump virus “About 75,000 more Americans died from COVID-19 pandemic than reported in spring and summer, study finds”https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2020/10/12/us-covid-deaths-75-k-more-americans-died-than-previously-recorded-excess-deaths/5935813002/

    Who really is surprised by these new revelations?

  33. Mike Livingston 2020-10-15 00:42

    Be careful what you wish for Scott, sometime silence is golden and I distinctly remember feeling relieved when lil queenie stopped interrupting NPR’s Here and Now,to reassure the people that its all good. The only thing that gives me any hope whatsoever is that anybody can be elected to be Governor of SD and noem is proof of that.

  34. jerry 2020-10-15 08:16

    “As Virus Spread, Reports of Trump Administration’s Private Briefings Fueled Sell-Off
    A hedge fund consultant’s summary of private presentations by White House economic advisers fanned investor worries.” New York Times 10.15.2020

    The trump virus has always been about the benjamins it seems. As long as high end investors know the game, they can invest or short sell without a care in the world. Billions were made and still are with this trump virus…if you are the privileged and don’t get caught doing insider trading…oh, and literally wash your hands from the blood and wear your bandit mask.

  35. Loren 2020-10-15 11:49

    To quote our esteemed former Sec o’ State, Tex Tillerson, she seems to be some kind of “effing moron” to believe that testing causes illness. Straight out of the Trumpian play book. Sad thing is, S. Dakotans don’t see anything but that “R” by her name, so she must be right. !~@#%^&*

  36. Eve Fisher 2020-10-15 13:05

    Meanwhile, while Noem campaigns for Trump and denies that South Dakota has any problem with COVID-19 at all (Put on those positive pants!), a reminder of how much the virus has accelerated of late:

    82 days from 1 to 5,000 cases in SD (March 10-June 1)
    75 days from 5,000 to 10,000 cases in SD (June 1-August 14)
    24 days from 10,000 to 15,000 cases in SD (August 14-September 6)
    18 days from 15,000 to 20,000 cases in SD (September 6-September 24)
    14 days from 20,000 to 25,000 cases in SD (September 24-October 7)
    8 days from 25,000 to 30,000 cases in SD (October 7-October 15)

    95 days to go from 0-100 deaths in SD (April 3 to July 9)
    72 days to go from 100-200 deaths in SD (July 9-Sept. 18)
    27 days to go from 200-300 deaths in SD (Sept. 18-Oct. 15)

  37. mike from iowa 2020-10-15 14:29

    drumpf body count update and it don’t look good.

    United States
    Coronavirus Cases:
    8,197,170
    Deaths:
    222,455

  38. Debbo 2020-10-15 18:24

    Eve and Mike, thanks for the numbers.

    The acceleration in SD is frightening! This one especially caught me:

    “27 days to go from 200-300 deaths in SD (Sept. 18-Oct. 15)”

    I have many friends, family and loved ones in that beautiful state. C’mon folks. Protect one another, please!

  39. 96Tears 2020-10-15 19:23

    COVID Kristi’s “freedom-first” philosophy as her response to the killer COVID-19 pandemic is now catching up with her in the national press. It’s also ruining her chances of getting re-elected in backwater South Dakota. There is a long line of women Republican stars who out-class, out-work, out-produce and out-pace COVID Kristi. And when a half million Americans are dead, buried and mourned after an excruciating and lonely death from COVID-19, COVID Kristi will be synonymous with the Trump-fueled COVID cowardice and a wrecked national economy.

    Her image, which has been her crutch as she’s clawed her way into little ol’ South Dakota’s governor’s chair, will repel Republicans who won’t want to bet their political fortunes on a third generation Xerox copy of Donald Trump.

    Stay home, Noem. You ain’t going nowhere.

  40. D C 2020-10-16 20:21

    Well Gov talks to FOX news with the fancy studio, on a moment’s notice, or if Lee or Trump tell her to call FOX, wasn’t meant for local media! Seidel and Fury and Koch Brothers!

  41. leslie 2020-10-17 01:57

    Some here cling to the fantasy that SD GOP is the only legitimate voice, like grdz keeps shovelling, yet like other Republicans, like the NE Senator who today publically, FINALLY, criticized Trump. When their REPUBLICAN ship is sinking. I imagine some here too, like bcb are coming from such a place or would agree with this ATLANTIC article:

    “Plenty of lawmakers and others were quite content to exploit racism. They sought out the votes of segregationist former Southern Democrats, such as Strom Thurmond, to refill their party’s diminishing moderate ranks in the Northeast and the Midwest, and on the West Coast. Beginning with Barry Goldwater’s 1964 candidacy and Richard Nixon’s 1968 “law and order” campaign, some Republican politicians ran for office using rhetoric that, at best, cynically inflamed racial divisions.

    But even as I opposed many of the initiatives and campaign tactics of that Republican Party, I appreciated its efforts to solve problems and work within the governing institutions. The party of Nixon, with all its pathologies, created the Environmental Protection Agency, proposed a health-care-reform plan as sweeping as the later Affordable Care Act, and considered offering Americans a guaranteed annual income on a par with Andrew Yang’s universal basic income. The party of Reagan, which tried to cut Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security, and which slashed taxes in 1981, precipitating ballooning deficits, also cut deals with Democratic Representative Henry Waxman to bolster Medicare and Medicaid; championed bipartisan Social Security reform in 1983; and supported tax increases in 1982, 1983, 1985, and 1986 to offset the earlier cuts and reduce the deficits. The party responsible for Iran-Contra is also the party that championed democracy and moved in concert with Democrats to create the National Endowment for Democracy, the United States Institute of Peace, the National Democratic Institute, and the International Republican Institute.

    In recent years, the GOP has thrown away its guiding values and embraced its darkest instincts. It has blown up long-standing norms in the Senate, creating divisions that outstrip anything I have seen before; done nothing about rank corruption in the White House and the Cabinet; accepted the politicization of the Justice Department and lies from the attorney general; avoided any meaningful oversight of misconduct; and failed to curb attacks on the independence of inspectors general.

    The GOP now distinguishes itself by inaction. It has stood and watched as this administration separated children from their parents at the border, mistreated asylum seekers, botched its response to a hurricane in Puerto Rico, attacked science, and opened new avenues for toxic materials in our air and water. It said and did nothing about Russian interference in the 2016 elections, and is actively blocking efforts to combat a recurrence in 2020. It has refused to pass a new Voting Rights Act after the Supreme Court decision in Shelby County v. Holder eviscerated the legislation, which, reflecting the GOP of the past, had passed the House unanimously. It has refused to deal in any fashion with urgent problems such as climate change, immigration, global competition, hunger, and poverty. It confirmed nominees who lied to the Senate, who inflated résumés, and who failed to meet minimum qualifications for the job. It confirmed judges who were unanimously rated unqualified by the American Bar Association.
    The party jammed through a tax cut at a time of low unemployment and low economic growth, making a mockery of modern economics and leaving little flexibility to deal with the economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic. It slashed the budget of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, delivering an 80 percent cut to global-health programs designed to fight pandemics, and leaving the agency without the resources necessary to battle COVID-19. It has said almost nothing about the pitiful and reckless responses of the president to the pandemic, which has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths that should never have occurred. And now it is silent as we learn that Russia offered bounties to the Taliban to kill American soldiers, while the president said and did nothing.***

    A reshaped GOP would be very conservative, but not radical. It would believe in limited government, but a government run by professionals, respecting data and science, and operating efficiently and fairly. It would believe in genuine fiscal discipline. It would try to apply free-market approaches to solving difficult problems, such as climate change. It would believe in the integrity of institutions and insist that those in office adhere to high ethical standards. It would respect the sanctity of alliances and the fundamental values of decency and equal treatment. It would work to broaden its base across racial and ethnic lines, not use division and voter suppression to cling to power.
    Sadly, even if Donald Trump is defeated in November, there is no sign that such a party will return anytime soon. But restoring the Republican Party to its traditional values is absolutely essential to preserve the core of our system of governance.”

    I think the Republican party us dead. There is no more repayment for the catastrophe they have created.

    https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/08/decline-gop/

  42. leslie 2020-10-17 04:23

    My, my grdz. Amusing? Are you sure it is not your well known misogyny here that is roiling to the surface in these last two comments. We know you object to her *arms* as you have clearly posted not long ago.

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