In the midst of a lot of disheartening news with rampaging mobs destroying displays of America's heritage, a point of light is standing out: South Dakota's governor, Kristi Noem.

Writer Ben Shapiro brought up that with Washington, Jefferson and other statues being toppled, maybe Mount Rushmore would be targeted next.

Not on my watch. https://t.co/U6gGap5Ib6

— Governor Kristi Noem (@govkristinoem) June 23, 2020

Which was like balm on a bleeding wound, given that these "trained Marxists" as they call themselves, have targeted Lincoln, Cervantes, the World War II monument, U.S. Grant, St. Junipero Serra, Mattis Baldwin, Andrew Jackson, Theodore Roosevelt and other truly beloved and admirable figures in America's heritage, not because they have any serious reason, but because their aim is to humiliate America. That's why they don't target the Lenin statue in Seattle, to take but one example. They also know that with blue-city and blue-state officials at the helm, they will not only let them attack America's beloved symbols, they will take a knee to them for doing it. It's as vile a racket as any on earth.

Which explains why South Dakota's governor's response was so important. Build something in South Dakota for posterity, expect that posterity will actually be able to view it. Some things are stable. Some institutions are strong. Some ladies aren't for turning.

Noem stands as a rock in a sea of human jellyfish.

And it's not the first time we've heard from her. Wasn't she the governor who refused to shut down her state's economy during the coronavirus pandemic, kept the businesses open, protected the vulnerable in nursing homes, and in the end suffered little damage? She was.

John Hinderaker at Power Line writes:

Early in the COVID epidemic, Governor Noem gave a press conference in which she said that South Dakotans are free Americans, not subject to arbitrary orders from politicians. They are also smart: South Dakotans can look after their own health better than any government can. So her administration has put out a steady stream of data and advice, but she has refused to order anyone to do anything. And guess what: South Dakota has a very low level of COVID fatality and, last time I checked, the lowest unemployment rate in the country.

And isn't she the governor whose state ranks number two in the nation for business competitiveness? I wrote about that here.

The fine economy that she defended from harm remains a fine economy and apparently a magnet for businesses fleeing from blue cities and states. I know I threw the idea out for the Minneapolis business owner whose factory was burned to the ground by mobs as city officials stood around and did nothing. South Dakota is just a couple hundred miles away from Minneapolis, and like that city has a huge literate and numerate population. It's currently home to many credit card companies, for one, and other good opportunities. It's actually been happening for awhile in fact. Here's an embittered leftist columnist's column from the MinnPost from 2010, titled: "South Dakota Dreaming: Using Greed for Motivation":

 I heard an advertisement geared toward business owners, CEOs and corporate board members to abandon the business hellscape that is Minnesota and run for the great business culture and high quality of life that is Sioux Falls, S.D.

The basic sell of the ad was since we get taxed so much in Minnesota, most companies, and their upper management, could save tons of money in the no state corporate- or personal-income-tax haven that is Sioux Falls. This wasn’t some feel-good, generic promotion of a community’s business outlook (Duluth, looking towards the future!), nor was it a plea for companies looking to expand to consider a specific community for future growth.

This was a “your business is being killed by merely being in Minnesota” scare job, and the only hope of salvation is to relocate to southeastern South Dakota. 

Which would be laughable if it weren't perfectly true.

Good economy, good COVID response, good willingness to uphold America's heritage and institutions. That's three for three, a star is rising.

Image credit: Twitter screen shot