While almost every state issued some kind of stay at home order to deal with the Coronavirus pandemic, a handful did not, including South Dakota. Kristi Noem, the Republican governor of the western state, urged the people in her state to take precautions, but with a low infection rate, did not impose a stay at home restriction on her state.
“Without panicking, I encourage all South Dakotans to take this seriously,” Noem said during a March press conference. “The cases [in South Dakota] are travel-related,” Noem added.
Her decision was so popular with some of her constituents that they decided to throw her a parade.
According to Newsweek, John Morris of Morris Inc. Construction Company organized the event and hundreds of people showed up.
Noem tweeted that the parade made her day.
I am so blessed to serve the people of the great State of South Dakota. You folks made my day! pic.twitter.com/oy0e5KO9RZ
— Governor Kristi Noem (@govkristinoem) April 28, 2020
The state currently has 802 active cases, most from a pork plant where an outbreak occurred, causing it to shut down. The Smithville Foods plant re-opened on Monday.