Early item content:
Nov 27, 2023
66-year-old guy touted in September press release from SD governor’s office might not be best Freedom Works Here recruitment example
Bluestem last left off coverage of Freedom Works, the high-profile South Dakota worker recruitment pr campaign, with Work, We're On It: Freedom Works Here ads scrutinized, Ohio vendor swiped local idea.
Sioux Falls Live was first with that scoop.
Monday morning, South Dakota News Watch is out with more. That extended lede below inspired Bluestem's headline. More Governor Noem positive pants on fire?
'Freedom' not enough to fill South Dakota jobs: Local business leaders say there are hurdles with campaign
By Stu WhitneySIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Bob Douglas, touted as a success story of Gov. Kristi Noem’s "Freedom Works Here” workforce recruitment campaign in South Dakota, confirmed a few things during a recent interview with News Watch.
The 66-year-old recreational vehicle salesman does enjoy freedom, it turns out. And he loves South Dakota. He plans to move to the Sioux Falls area once he sells his house in southern California, maybe as early as next spring. Douglas was referenced in a Sept. 21 press release from the governor’s office as having “recently moved to South Dakota.”
As for being heralded by the governor’s staff as an example of Noem’s $6.5 million ad campaign drawing new residents to the Mount Rushmore State, well, that’s not exactly true either.
“I wasn’t really aware of the campaign,” said Douglas, whose experience in the RV industry led to him being hired by Parkston-based Trailmanor as a West Coast representative in 2022. He was then named the company’s national sales and marketing director in April 2023, several months before the Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) launched the Freedom Works Here effort.
Douglas told News Watch that politics played a role in his decision to take the Trailmanor job. He called Noem a “rock star” and added that his community of Tehachapi, about 100 miles from Los Angeles, holds rallies supporting former President Donald Trump that he and his wife, Jennifer, attend.
“Once you get out into the valley and mountains and away from the big cities, you’ll find a whole lot of people that think the way that my wife and I think,” said Douglas.
"Feel" might be a better word for the man than "think."
Yes, some might say there's a bit of grifter in all of us, but some have more, and Gov. Kristi Noem has enough to spare, or to gain Trump attention, even if a hair short of fully Trumpian grift levels herself.
She tries.
Two searches about South Dakota set a theme.
search = money laundering South Dakota
search = south dakota registered agent services anonymity
And, this images return page adds flavor:
Yes, you might say South Dakota is a permissive State, one with a high threshold level of inattention, and insufficient public concern, over potential scam business practices which might add to State revenue or attract money into play.
Last representative search = bluestemprairie +gov-Noem lying grandstanding culture-war
The return list shows Sorensen has posted, others have posted, and Noem is a kindred con to Boss Trump.
What a State. What a Gov. What VP potential.
___________UPDATE____________
Overlooked, the need to emphasize that Sorensen's cited and quoted item included THIS LINK.
So linked, an item complete with a link to Guardian speculation of Noem as a Trump second spot consideration, with Trump insider Corey Lewandowski prominently mentioned as a Noem fellow traveler. Remember, if Noem makes the ticket as VP, you may have read about it first at Crabgrass, but Sorensen had posted of the possibility much earlier. July, 2022. Hat tip accordingly.