AP: “South Dakota’s attorney general said Tuesday he is reviewing concerns from state lawmakers over a meeting Gov. Kristi Noem held last year that included both her daughter and a state employee who was overseeing her daughter’s application to become a certified real estate appraiser. ‘I have been contacted by concerned citizens and legislators,’ Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg said in a statement. ‘I am actively reviewing their concerns and I will be following the steps prescribed in codified law in relation to those questions.’ Ravnsborg didn’t immediately respond to a question about what steps he might take. The attorney general is tasked under state law with issuing legal opinions to lawmakers.”

“The Associated Press reported Monday that Noem held the meeting shortly after the state agency had moved to deny her daughter the license last year. Noem’s daughter eventually received her license four months later. Afterward, the state employee who directed the agency was allegedly pressured to retire by Noem’s cabinet secretary. The state employee, Sherry Bren, eventually received a $200,000 payment from the state to withdraw the complaint and leave her job. Ethics experts said the episode raised concerns that the governor had abused the power of her office. The governor’s office declined to answer detailed questions from the AP, and Noem’s spokesman dismissed the AP’s report as a political attack on the governor.”