South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem’s relatives received $600,000 in COVID-19 relief grants under a program she expanded, the Associated Press reports. The program initially capped grants at $100,000, but Noem’s administration raised that to $500,000—and a ranch owned by her family got the maximum. The AP reports that only 4 percent of applicants got that much money. Her brothers also got about $100,000 for a business they run. Noem does not have a financial interest in the ranch or the business, and the AP said there is no indication she was involved in how the small-business funds were allocated.
