Gov. Kristi Noem touts South Dakota’s workforce recruitment effort

PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem touted her state’s economic success and employment opportunities Tuesday, highlighting her workforce recruitment campaign to lawmakers who are beginning their legislative session.

In her State of the State address, the second-term Republican governor urged the GOP-controlled Legislature to ban foreign adversaries from owning farm land, define antisemitism, boost teacher pay and offer “second chance” occupational licensing for people with criminal histories.

Noem lauded her Freedom Works Here advertising campaign to attract people to move to the state, which has 20,000 open jobs. She said the videos, which feature her as a plumber, welder and in other high-demand jobs, have already drawn thousands of new residents and hundreds of millions of views.

“I’m not going to slow down. We can’t afford it, not when people are flocking here by the thousands to be like us, not when we are the few beacons of hope left in this country,” she said.

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South Dakota, which has about 900,000 residents,