Gov. Kristi Noem silent on possible appeal to ethics board

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) - South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem is showing no sign of fighting an action taken against her by a state ethics board over her actions surrounding her daughter’s application for a real estate appraiser’s license.

Friday was the deadline for Noem to say whether she would defend herself against evidence that she engaged in misconduct by taking a hands-on role in a state agency just after it had moved to deny her daughter the license.

Three retired judges on the state’s Government Accountability Board voted unanimously last month that there was enough evidence for them to believe the Republican governor had committed malfeasance and engaged in a conflict of interest.

The board took unspecified “action” against the governor.