SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — A day before the South Dakota Legislative session starts, top-ranking state lawmakers will spend three hours taking a closer look at Republican Gov. Kristi Noem’s latest advertising campaign aimed at attracting more workers to South Dakota.
The Executive Board for the Legislative Research Council, made up of legislative leadership from both parties, is required to provide “legislative oversight and management analysis of the executive branch of government” by state law.
Speaker of the House Hugh Bartels and Senate President Pro Tempore Lee Schoenbeck announced the E-Board would review the administration of the “Freedom Works Here” campaign. A news release said the board plans to hear testimony on the subject as well as hold a closed-door executive session on the topic.
Noem’s “Freedom Works Here” nationwide campaign started in June with TV ads and social media commercials featuring Noem dressed up as a plumber and dental hygienist. The next month, Noem revealed a NASCAR sponsorship for the campaign. The latest ad debuted in early January and showcased Noem dressed as a nurse. It was partly sponsored by South Dakota’s three largest health care systems: Avera Health, Sanford Health and Monument Health.
The Governor’s Office of Economic Development has paid more than $6.5 million to two private businesses from Ohio, Tennessee and Sioux Falls to complete the work of the campaign.
GOED’s communications director Sarah Ebeling told KELOLAND News this summer the advertising campaign was awarded through the state’s register-for-proposal (RFP) process. That RFP process for professional service contracts is required to be public information “except for proprietary information” according to state law.
GOED’s marketing director Missy Sinner said GOED “always utilizes competitive bidding for our marketing contracts, and we did so for the Freedom Works Here campaign. We received several bids and selected Go West Media to take the lead on the campaign.”
The public contract for Go West Media, a business entity under Strategic Media Placement, says the contract runs April 11, 2023 and ends on June 30, 2024. You can view the 65-page contract attached below.
Republican Sen. Casey Crabtree, a member of the E-Board, told KELOLAND News he and other state lawmakers have some questions regarding the campaign.
“We’ll be happy to ask those questions and go through that process and make sure everything is very transparent,” Crabtree said. “I think at the end of the day, you’ll find out that there is no wrongdoing. We’re just going to make sure that’s all transparent.”
Democratic Rep. Oren Lesmeister, another member of the E-Board, told KELOLAND News he wants to listen to more testimony before questioning any wrongdoing by Noem.
“I’m going to gather all the information I can and if there’s some decisions to be made then we’ll make it at that time,” Lesmeister said. “We’re still gathering a lot of information on it. We’re doing a review.”
Crabtree said growing South Dakota’s workforce is a top challenge lawmakers are taking multiple approaches to try and improve. He said he’s glad the governor is focused on the issue as well.
Noem and GOED have praised the “Freedom Works Here” campaign as “the most successful workforce recruitment campaign in state history.” A news release from Noem says the campaign has recruited more “Freedom-loving Americans to the state” and more than 8,000 people have expressed interest in moving to South Dakota.
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January 07, 2024 at 09:00PM
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Lawmakers to examine Gov. Kristi Noem’s ‘Freedom Works Here’ campaign - KELOLAND.com
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