South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) told the audience at an annual conservative conference on Feb. 27 that lockdowns and other restrictions imposed by state and local governments were to blame for the economic crash in 2020, not the pandemic which they were intended to snuff out. Noem has become the target of establishment media and Democrat politicians for her approach to the pandemic. South Dakota was the only state which never ordered any businesses or churches to close, never imposed a lockdown or a mask mandate, and refrained from classifying businesses into essential and non-essential categories. https://www.theepochtimes.com/south-dakota-gov-noem-covid-didnt-crush-the-economy-government-did_3714028.html