South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem recently shared the valuable lessons she learned from her late father and reflected on the importance of faith in her life. According to CBN News, Noem is a cowgirl at heart having grown up on a ranch where she tended to cattle, farmed with her family, and attended church. In her first book, Not My First Rodeo: Lessons From the Heartland, Noem describes the life lessons she learned from growing up on a farm, the responsibilities it brings, and the leadership qualities she built through her experiences.
In her interview with CBN News, Noem shared much about her late father who made a strong impression on her leadership. One of the lessons she learned from her father that is still with her today is when he told her “Kristi, we don’t complain about things. We fix ’em.” These are the words Noem said that encouraged her to enter politics, particularly to try to “fix” what she experienced with the “death tax” upon her father’s passing that nearly sent her family’s farm into bankruptcy. With her success in the South Dakota State Legislature, Noem felt that God was pointing her towards Congress, and after her win, she set her mind to passing the Farm Bill.
Noem remains committed to ensuring America and South Dakota have strong leadership. One of Noem’s most important issues is for America to supply its own food, noting that “the country that feeds itself controls its own future. But if we start importing food from another country, then they control us and we are getting dangerously close to that. And we’re seeing supply chain issues.” As far as farming, Noem sees it as a way of life “God would want everybody to live,” adding that in Scripture “He is talking about sowing and reaping all the time and your barns are overflowing and cattle on a thousand hills.”
Noem shared that no matter where she goes, whether it be receptions in Washington, D.C. or a crowded House floor, she always feels like “that little farm girl” who will always love horses, chasing cows, and the ranch. Reflecting on how her father would feel today, Noem believes he would be proud, but added that she still has more work to do.