Alas, we don’t get to watch Republicans beat up Republicans in court. Judge Carmen Means has put the kibosh on crony-capitalist A1 Development Solutions’ lawsuit against former employee and Kristi Noem’s son-in-law Kyle Peters:
A1 Development Solutions brought the case against Peters and others in Codington County court. Peters is married to former South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem’s daughter and also sits on the Watertown City Council. Bad River Development is also a defendant in the suit; court papers filed in February state Peters was Bad River’s only member.
Per the lawsuit, Peters once worked for A1 Development Solutions and later became an independent contractor. Court documents alleged, “Peters used his position to wrongfully divert business from A1 Development to his own personal benefit for at least 11 separate clients.”
In late August, Circuit Court Judge Carmen Means ordered the suit “dismissed upon its merits, with prejudice, and without costs to any party.”
Jason Sutton, lawyer for A1 Development Solutions, told [KELO-TV] News Wednesday the different parties in the case came together to resolve it [Dan Santella, “Lawsuit Dismissed Against Noem’s Son-in-Law,” KELO-TV, 2026.09.02].
That last line from the unsuccessful plaintiffs suggests that even if Judge Means had booted this suit, the Republicans involved didn’t want to press their crony laundry in public any further—better to protect their brand and keep their corruption behind closed doors.
The best move an American businessman or investor can make is run for office. Get that good inside track for business and investments.
The second best reason is to keep out of jail.
This is what Jefferson imagined for this great experiment.