Kristi Noem is an American politician who is currently serving as the 33rd governor of South Dakota. The Republican Party member assumed office in 2019 and is the first female governor of South Dakota. Prior to this, she served as the U.S. Representative for South Dakota's at-large congressional district from 2011 to 2019. She was the fourth woman to represent South Dakota in Congress. Before that she represented the 6th District in the South Dakota House of Representatives from 2007 to 2011. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she adopted a hands-off approach and refused to issue state-wide mask mandates or stay-at-home orders citing a desire to respect residents' personal freedoms and responsibilities. She, however, left the communities the flexibility to do so. She also raised doubts about the effectiveness of masks in preventing the spread of the virus. The absence of state-wide action to contain the spread of COVID-19 invited criticism from residents, local officials as well as other city and county leaders.
