by Christopher Vondracek from https://www.dglobe.com Noem rode both a horse and a motorcycle at the Rally on Monday, helping sell an oil painting of her for $55,000 in a charity auction. Staff says this was Noem’s first time at the massive western South Dakota biker bash. STURGIS, S.D. — Call it South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem’s victory lap. On Monday, Aug. 9, the conservative firebrand auctioned off “True Grit,” an oil painting showing the governor on a horse during Custer State Park’s annual Buffalo Roundup. The charity auction in Deadwood, South Dakota, was in the heart of roaring Harley-Davidsons and the 81st Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. Next, Noem rode 50 miles on a denim blue Indian motorcycle into Vanocker Canyon and eventually out onto the plains of the Buffalo Chip campground. “South Dakota is getting recognition that it’s never got before,” said Rod Woodruff, owner of the Chip, seated in a tent next to Noem in her signature baseball cap Monday. “And it’s a direct result of the respect this governor has for the freedom and liberties of the citizens.” The governor followed up on her nostalgic vision of Sturgis. “They can come here and remember what America feels like,” Noem said. Had there been a crowd, they would’ve revved their hogs. The Black Hills, the most conservative corner of this red state, wasn’t always unabashed Noem’s country. In the 2018 primary, Noem blew past then-Attorney General Marty Jackley with a statewide 14 points victory, but Jackley, a Sturgis native, bested Noem in his home, Meade County. Five months later, in the general election, Noem — who grew up on a crop-and-cattle farm in the far northeast corner of South Dakota, more Minnesota than Custer — squeaked by another West River politician, this one the former rodeo champion, Billie Sutton, a
