We know that nepotist Kristi Noem lies like a rug. But if you go to the Governor’s mansion, you may get to see Kristi lie on a $4,000 rug:
Of the 17 rugs noted in the receipts, at least three are of the Jaipur variety, hand-knotted rugs typically manufactured in India. And according to purchase records, the state bought two of them 8 by 10 feet in dimension at $4,000 apiece to be placed in the governor’s mansion. The third was also 8 by 10 feet and cost $999 [Joe Sneve, “Gov. Noem Spends More Than $68,000 in Taxpayer Money on Rugs, Sauna, Chandeliers for State Governor’s Mansion,” that Sioux Falls paper, 2021.11.29].
According to the documents obtained by watchdog group American Oversight, Noem ordered the $4,000 Indian rugs from Montgomery’s Furniture in Sioux Falls on December 17, 2018, for the private dining area.
American Oversight had to pay the state $480 just to get a partial response to its request for records for “renovations or redecorations” for the Governor’s office suites and residences since taking office in 2019, and they didn’t even get a full accounting fo the cost of building Kristi a sauna:
…the documents also show almost $60,500 has been spent redecorating Noem’s state-owned and state-funded Pierre residence, including more than $13,000 for luxury rugs and tens of thousands worth of furniture, lamps and chandeliers. The cost of installing a sauna, a small room used as a hot-air or steam bath, was not included in the expense documents released by Noem’s office.
“While urging South Dakota lawmakers to ‘remain disciplined and save for the future,’ Gov. Noem spent $60,000 taxpayer dollars redecorating the executive residence,” said Jack Patterson, a spokesman for the nonpartisan, nonprofit watchdog group, American Oversight, which uses public records requests and litigation to monitor government corruption. “These expenses and the open ethics probe into potential abuses of power raise serious questions about whether Noem has used her office to serve her personal interests.”
The sauna, installed during fiscal year 2020, came with a price tag of $8,174 [Sneve, 2021.11.29].
There is no political world in which a South Dakota Governor can make voters think buying fancy imported rugs and a sauna with taxpayer dollars is true fiscal conservatism. The campaign ads write themselves. Fire up, Team Haugaard—it’s time to make luxury-shopper Kristi sweat!
Original source can be found here.
