SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — South Dakota taxpayers pay the bill when the governor uses a state credit card, and with former Gov. Kristi Noem, that included out-of-state travel and spending for a Midwestern governor with a national profile.

A public records request from KELOLAND News to the South Dakota state auditor’s office for charges made by Noem’s state credit card has yielded hundreds and hundreds of pages.

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Since KELOLAND News is just beginning to review the documents, this first report is limited in its scope, zeroing in only on lodging for one of Noem’s trips. Additional reporting will publish in the coming days.

Noem’s state credit card with First Premier Bank from late February 2024 to late March 2024 includes $29,774.08 in purchases and charges; $13,418.10 of that total were charged at the Westin DC Downtown in Washington. Noem was in the nation’s capital testifying before the House Committee on Agriculture on March 20 about the Farm Bill and national security.

Individual statements help paint a picture of that March trip’s cost for Noem and her team, which includes a security detail for the governor. Room charges for room number 412 on that trip at the Westin cost the state $1,049 on March 19, $869 the next night and finally $719 on March 21. Including extra fees and taxes, the total for that room is $3,249.68.

Other room charges at the Westin on that trip were not as expensive; for example, on an invoice for the governor’s security for room number 561, two of the three room charges are under $600 per night.

The documents also include an email from Noem’s director of scheduling who wrote that the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton “are the top two choices that the Governor normally stays at when traveling to DC.”