This week. We appreciate them sending as a shipment we will be able to utilize. I wanted to touch base on smithfield. That is good for those who want to get back to work and for our producers and our state. I was able to talk with member this week. We appreciate them sending as a shipment we will be able to utilize. I wanted to touch base on smithfield. That is good for those who want to get back to work and for our producers and our state. I was able to talk with members of the workforce on two different occasions last week. It was a very good, thoughtful discussion. I appreciated them taking the time to be on the call. I want to thank the team at Lutheran Social Services and the services they provided. They were so professional and wonderful. We just want to thank them for being available to facilitate the conversation. I look forward to more in the future. I do want to give a final update on the testing numbers of what we conducted down in the sioux falls area last week. We had 3628 people that were tested. It was all voluntary. We had already tested 1000 people previously. Preliminary results are that about 24 of the people were positive. It was all voluntary. We had already tested 1000 people previously. Preliminary results are that approximately 870 people. On may 6, before the testing numbers started to come in, we had 773 cases and 72 hospitalizations. Today, we have 1393 cases and 78 in the hospital. We had more active cases. That is because we tested a hotspot. It reminds us what we need to focus on is hospitalizations. Focus on is hospitalizations. That is what our projections have been based around. That is what our planning has been for. It is good to see that number is staying fairly significant even though we do have more active covid19 cases in the state. I want to thank the department of health, National Guard and the cdc for helping to make that a successful four day event. My request is for those in south dakota and that area to continue to be smart. To practice social distancing. To wash her hands. Stay home when you are sick and to remember that we are going to be doing this for many more weeks. This is a marathon. It is not a sprint. I wanted to take the opportunity today to have the secretary of health visit a little bit about the work they are doing in aberdeen. I think it has been a helpful, cooperative effort. It would be good for her to share a few details about what is going on in that area. Thank you, governor. From time to time, we have updated folks on the number of cases we have associated with employees of the beef plant in aberdeen. That stands at 76 cases that we have over the past three and a half weeks. When we first saw cases with this employer, we reached out. The management has been excellent to work with. We were able to get a team to aberdeen on a friday night and walk through the facility. Talk through some of the plans management had to keep people safe. For us to get a better sense of their practices and be able to provide some Technical Assistance to help them navigate through the scenario. We have done a couple site visits since then and have worked with the management. They have done great things. They are doing symptom checks twice a day with their workforce. They have installed physical barriers between workstations to protect folks. We have been able to provide some ppe. They now have masks and face shields for their employees who need them. There is Testing Available for any potential employees or their family members in the community. Stepped up and made Testing Available. The daily contacts we have been able to have with the facility are a great example of the partnership strive to have within the state of south dakota both within our department and other agencies and employers across the state. My pitch to everybody listening is, if you have questions if you are an employer, please reach out to us. We are available to walk through what your scenario is and give you advice. Help point you to things that will keep you and your workers safe. I hope we will see less cases in the future. A real shout out to devon cota beef and the city of aberdeen. Them just wanting to do the right thing. Those are good examples of how we can Work Together to manage the response. Gov. Noem thank you. I appreciate that. I want to give you a quick update on a couple of executive orders. Executive orders involving vulnerable individuals in minnehaha is going to relapse today. In sioux falls and we all feel that it is appropriate at this time to let it lapse. If we need to revisit again in the coming days, we will. I want to remind those folks that if they can stay home, they sure would be advised to do that. Just because the executive order is lifted does not mean the risk is gone. Continue to be smart and practice social distancing. I have signed also an executive order today to give some more flexibility to businesses as it relates to licenses and financial statements. Details of that can be found on covid. Sd. Gov. With that, i will open it up to any questions you might have. This is arielle with the journal. Can you hear me . Gov. Noem yes. Go ahead. Happy mothers day. What i wanted to ask is with the checkpoint issues the state is saying the tribes are not following federal laws since they have not consulted and come to an agreement with the state. The state also says it needs unobstructed access to state and u. S. Highways for through traffic. Checkpoints by their nature require people to stop. Asking for unobstructed access seems like you cannot have checkpoints. Which is it . Is the state saying tribes are not willing to negotiate or is the state saying we do not want any checkpoints on u. S. And state highways . Gov. Noem what we really need to see happen is people who are just driving through the area to be able to do so. We need to be able to get the Property Owners to their property. Ranchers to their cattle. We need to let essential services through the area. Allow road crews to come in where available. Emergency services to come through. All of that, those deliveries of gas, medical supplies and food are incredibly important. Are you sure these are not happening on either of the reservations because they both say they are allowing through throughtraffic, a central services. Essential services. Ranching is considered any an essential service. Are you hearing that this is not happening . Gov. Noem im getting reports from ranchers in the area. Those within the dot and other state agencies that these checkpoints have been an issue in allowing those types of services to get through. Thank you. Governor noem, how are you . Gov. Noem good. I have another question regarding the test points. What communication has the state had with the tribes . The tribes are saying they have had communication with the state and they have been clear about what they are are going to be doing with these checkpoints. What discussions have they had and what do you consider the tribes fulfilling the consultation that is needed to a approve these plans . Gov. Noem we have had conversations with the tribes. It has been ongoing for approximately a month. Friday was not the start. It had been going on with several different conversations. I am hopeful we are going to be able to come to a point where we can allow these types of services and get some decisions made as to how to go forward. We need to continue to see those services move through the checkpoints. We need to get ranchers to their cattle, people to their property and make sure we are allowing people who want to travel through the area to continue to do so and not be turned around. Based on the meetings that were held, do you believe that is not being done on their side . Did they ever express that is not going to be the case . Did they give you a criteria of who would and would not be allowed past the checkpoints . Gov. Noem there have been conversations as to what the checkpoints would be doing. I have personally communicated with chairman frazier. He has shared with me that checklists that he would give those who would be managing the checkpoints. The stories and what is happening on the ground appears to be different. That is what we are hoping to rectify. Thank you. This is alex from the black Hills Pioneer. Gov. Noem we will go to the black Hills Pioneer on the phone and then we have a question in the room. The Cheyenne River sioux tribe started putting up their checkpoint on april 3. The memorandum put out by the doi was not put out until april 8. Does that timeline affect the legality of the situation . If these checkpoints are illegal, why has it taken a month for any legal action could be taken . Gov. Noem we have had ongoing conversations with the tribes hoping to see some kind of resolution. That is still what i would hope to see. Does the timeline of the memorandum have any bearing on the legality of the situation . Gov. Noem i believe that for u. S. Highways and state highways, there is federal jurisdiction. That is what the state is hoping to clarify. That we are allowing essential services to happen on these roads. I have communicated with chairman frazier and also other members of the State Government have communicated with other tribal government and entities and individuals that what they would do on dia roads might have different jurisdictional issues and preferences for them then u. S. And state highways. That is what we are hoping to come to a resolution on. Thank you. A quick point of clarification on the roads. Are you taking legal action against this now or are you still negotiating . Gov. Noem we are taking action. Conversations would like to be ongoing. We will be taking actions so we can get some clarity on how to move forward. On a separate matter, i am not sure if you have heard about this. Some democrats in congress are promoting this plan to give individuals almost 2000 a month through the covid pandemic. Im going to assume you do not think that is a good idea. What do you think your state or federal government should or can do to help individuals . Gov. Noem what i have been asking for out of the federal government is flexibility in how we use the dollars they have already sent us. That would allow us because the State Government is on the front lines of response to the virus and the spread across our state, that would allow us to put money into response to caring for individuals, to making sure families can get through these difficult times and still make sure we are able to find important agencies that are taking care of individuals and families such as the department of social services, such as the department of Human Services and health. There are so many of these areas that that state budget is looking impacted why the economic downturn. We are going to still be required to deliver services to people in the state of south dakota when they face challenging times and giving us the ability to utilize some of the federal money to respond to those folks that might be in crisis would be helpful. I know they have done a lot already on unemployment and on stimulus dollars that would go to individuals in the state. We continue to see increases in requests for help. We have done that through Small Business loans, workforce training. Those are all areas i would love to respond to peoples needs, but i do not have the dollars to do it today. Another question in the room or on the phone . Mike tanner from kwa2 watertown. A question for kim, if i could please. The governor cited the mass testing numbers at smithfield with the 24 positive out of over 3600 people tested. How would you characterize those numbers in terms of if they are high or low or maybe about what you expected going into the mass testing. Secondly, the governor has mentioned that because of the mass testing, there would be an initial spike in numbers state wide. Now that that testing has been done and these people who have ties to the hotspot have been identified, what is the longterm game we are going to see from this testing and how soon could we see it . Thank you for those questions. The longterm gain is whenever we can test people and help folks who are positive isolate and stay away from other people, we help slow down the spread of the disease. That is why we do these kind of events. We are doing a targeted approach so that we are making smart use of our resources. We will continue to see mass testing event where it is necessary. That is always the goal, to help identify those people who may be positive who do not show any symptoms or otherwise do not come in for testing. The 24 Positivity Rate is preliminary. We have seen other situations involving others similar types of folks who Work Together closely. We have seen much higher testing and positive rates. I was pleased it was not higher than 24 . But i am still glad we are able to identify these people, help them stay at home and get better. Our cases are going down. Even from our mass testing hi down to 84 today. I think that is a good sign as well that we got in. We got those tests done. We are going to start to normalize as we move forward. Thank you. I was just wondering if you could talk a little bit about why the backandforth between the state and the tribes is playing out in public right now. And what might the timeline for if and when the state brings a lawsuit against the tribes might be. It does not sound like they will take those down anytime soon. Gov. Noem we have been having conversations for over a month. Month, seeking resolutions. Obviously it gets a little bit tricky with jurisdictional issues you deal with the State Government, federal government and tribal government as well. Making sure we have essential services flown through these areas that people can travel through. That we are able to bring in guest supplies, groceries. Those kinds of things are important. That type of clarity will be important to make sure the appropriate action is being taken. Another question. I have spoken with a lot of folks from both pine ridge and Cheyenne River. I think a lot of the concern for why these checkpoints are put up is because their elderly and their cultural bearers are a vulnerable population. How would you want elders and culture bearers to think about the state trying to move into or requesting access to tribal lands while the disease hangs in the balance . Gov. Noem i have had conversations with them. I am concerned about those who would be in the vulnerable population as well. We have helped them prepare. We have helped facilities get supplies and testing equipment that would be necessary. Make sure they have adequate personnel in order to respond. We also have worked and trained our National Guard to be ready to respond should that me necessary and communicated with all of them and held weekly tribal phone calls with them making sure we heard what their needs were and responded in getting them ppe and getting other resources they might need to prepare their communities. It is a big concern for me as well and always has been. The checkpoints, i understand the spirit behind them. If they wanted to do that type of activity on bia roads, it would be less of a jurisdictional issue. On u. S. And state highways, it is different. We need to have clarity on that situation. For me, it is a priority we make sure that if somebody needs an ambulance on a reservation, one can get to them. I am not sure of that today with these checkpoints operating the way they are. I want to make sure i can get groceries to families and communities on reservations. Im not sure that can happen today on some of these checkpoints. Making sure that those essential services can go through and those individuals who have property or cattle or live in tribal lands can get home and get to their belongings is important. And that we continue to make sure that is facilitated. That is why you have seen the conversations and the letters in the hope we can have a resolution soon. Im sorry. Go ahead, claudia. Obviously, there has been this divide between tribe and state. How do you think this can hurt the state and possibly hurt the future of south dakota . Gov. Noem i do not feel there has been a divide. For me, i have worked very well with our tribes and i know some there have been stories focused on that have been negative. But yet we have worked very well very well on addressing meth on all of their tribal areas. Weve had volunteers and veterans organizations to help protect their communities from drugs and the trafficking of drugs through their areas. We have worked well on the missing, murdered and Indigenous Women issue. We have passed more laws to give more data and transparency to go after those issues. We have worked on an Education Bill this year that i thought was a big deal for kids who do not have access to more opportunities for education and to learn their culture in our tribal areas. That was one of the main priorities coming for our tribes that me and my office helped facilitate get through the process and signed into law. I have worked hard on foster care and social Service Training that so many of our families in these areas would like to have help on. I have championed eating them healthcare reforms championed getting them healthcare reforms and making sure they are adequately taking care of people they are responsible for and getting reforms in place and getting Emergency Rooms and facilities back online. I have gone to bat over and over again to get them more road funding and get them more infrastructure funding because they get cheated in the federal formula. For years, i have worked with tribes to meet their needs do what we can to make sure we are good partners. These checkpoints are something we are going to have to come to a resolution on. There are different actions happening on the ground. We need some clarity. That is what we are working on. It is unfortunate there are rumors and conversations, but that is why i am here in front of you answering questions to let you know what my heart is and what i want to see happen. That is to see the state unify and protect as many people as we can. Governor noem . I have one more question. With these checkpoints, are you saying there are essential services being turned around or are they being inconvenienced at the checkpoint . Are they being turned around and not allowed to receive . Gov. Noem im not going to give specific stories, but we do have situations where people have tried to travel through and have been turned around. We do have people that have been going to these areas that have been involved in essential services that have not been allowed to go forward. We have people who live in tribal areas and also have properties such as cattle or ranches and they are not allowed to go there and check on their property and do normal daytoday business. We have to continue to facilitate a situation where essential services can get through. We cannot have situations where in the future, we have an ambulance or a doctor, someone who needs to get through a checkpoint to help someone and is not able to be facilitated through a checkpoint. There has been situations and we need clarity and that is one of the reasons you are seeing the actions being taken that are. If you are confident that essential services will be allowed through, will you allowed the checkpoints on state and federal highways . Gov. Noem i do not think checkpoints are a good idea on state and federal highways. I have indicated to the tribes that it would be important for them to know there is a difference between those highways and bia roads. We need to continue to work to find a resolution that make sure our laws are upheld and we are allowing essential services to go through. This is alex with the pioneer again. Gov. Noem go ahead, alex. A letter was sent to your office from legislators in the state and they expressed concern about not being involved in the decisionmaking. Some of them have tribal lands in their district. Can you address that issue . Gov. Noem we have been holding calls with legislators regularly and have been updating them on situations we are dealing with across the state of south dakota and answering all of their questions and staying in communication with them. My office staff have been communicating with legislators as well. I appreciate their letter and their concerns. We will continue to work with them to find a resolution. This is stephen. The letter you referenced basically offered some criticism of giving a 48 hour ultimatum and said they [indiscernible] im wondering if you could tell us why did you decide to issue the ultimatum and threaten the legal action . Gov. Noem where did the criticism come from . From the letter that was just referenced from the lawmakers. Gov. Noem i see. We have been having conversations for over a month with our tribes. The checkpoints continue to be an issue with folks on the ground. We are hoping for some resolution soon. This is alex with the pioneer again real quick. You keep saying you have had conversations for a month with the tribe. What have those conversations consisted of . What are some of the other options discussed and what brought us to this point where you have to give an ultimatum and threaten legal action . Gov. Noem i believe i covered that. I personally have had conversations with chairman fraser over texting and phone calls. My team has visited with other tribal chairman. Our secretary of Tribal Affairs has had conversations with them as well. The department of transportation has. The department of Public Safety has. My office staff and general counsel have had conversation as well. We have been working towards a resolution and have not found one. The memorandum out of dia gave a for states to come to resolution with the tribes. That was not able to be facilitated either. We know there are problems on the ground with allowing people through these checkpoints. We are seeking clarity and to make sure there is resolution and especially before the situation gets to the point where we are concerned about essential services or supplies getting to people who need them. [indiscernible] gov. Noem you want specific details and that would be very difficult for me to give you right now today. We will continue to have those conversations if you would like them. Ok. Thank you. Gov. Noem any further questions . [indiscernible] gov. Noem there are some tribes that we have memorandums of understanding with that we do low enforcement partnerships together. Not necessarily with all tribes, we do have those in place and they work very well. Bobs question was regarding highway enforcement on tribal lands. Only if we have an agreement to Work Together. We have those on Drug Enforcement activities or other extradition activities or ways where that partnership worked very well. [inaudbile] gov. Noem i do not believe we have existing agreements in place with those two tribes. [inaudible] gov. Noem i think that would be a great question for my general counsel to answer for you. Just so i do not misspeak. Ok. Thank you, everybody. Have a great day. Live tuesday on the cspan networks. At 10 00 a. M. On cspan, the first of two Supreme Court cases on president trumps finances. Irst the oral argument regarding congressional subpoenas regarding the president s financial records and president ial immunity and subpoenas for the president s tax returns. At noon eastern, a panel to review the days oral arguments and at 2 30, the Senate Judiciary committee holds a hearing on liability on the covid19 pandemic. The Senate Returns to work including the nomination of Brian Montgomery to be to be deputy housing and urban Development Secretary with a confirmation vote at noon and the nomination of troy edgar to be chief Financial Officer for the Homeland Security department. The Senate HealthCommittee Meets to consider measures to safely return americans to work and school. Dr. Anthony fauci and dr. Robert redfield are expected to testify. Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards announced starting may 125rks state will begin phase one of the opening plan. They discussed which businesses will be allowed to open and the safety guidelines they will be asked