Severe weather brought a deluge to southeast South Dakota recently and exposed Gov. Kristi Noem’s faults.
While the rain fell, she abandoned the state for a political conference and television interview.
When catastrophic floodwaters surged toward McCook Lake, her cursory appearance there — along with her lackluster crisis communications and departure for an out-of-state political fundraiser — left people without adequate warning about the danger they faced.
And after declining to use the National Guard for the flood preparations or response, Noem said activating the Guard would be “extremely expensive” and asserted troops should only be used in a “very crisis situation.” This from a governor who has ordered troops to the Texas-Mexico border three times, and paid for it with money from the state’s Emergency and Disaster Fund.
According to Noem, none of that was a mistake, and she led a solid flood mitigation and response effort informed by her experience.
“We learn with every flood that happens,” she said during a Tuesday press conference.