Gov. Noem to be guest speaker at Colorado conservative conference on Saturday

Second-term South Dakota Republican Gov. Kristi Noem is continuing her summer travels this week from visiting the U.S.-Mexico border with the Texas governor to the heart of the Rocky Mountains where she'll be a keynote speaker at the annual Freedom Conference and Festival hosted by the Steamboat Institute on Saturday.

The conference, located in Beaver Creek, Colorado, is described as "an immersion in ideas to further the ideals of liberty and inspire Americans to greatness," according to the website.

Noem will be the only sitting governor speaking at the 2023 conference, according to the list of speakers. She'll join Riley Gaines, an NCAA All-American swimmer, who's spoken out against allowing transgender women to compete in athletics, as well as Kevin Roberts, the president of conservative thinktank the Heritage Foundation, and Dana Perino, a former White House Press Secretary.

During the two-day conference, Noem will be the closing keynote luncheon on Saturday. She'll be interviewed by Philip Wegmann, a reporter for Real Clear Politics, and will focus her remarks on how her policies focus on "less government, more freedom," and how that's impacted South Dakota.

Noem's visit to Beaver Creek comes after she announced Monday that she'll be sending South Dakota National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexico border on Sept. 1. She had previously announced in May that 50 troops would be deployed using state emergency and disaster funds, but a timeframe had not been established. Previously, Noem had sent National Guard troops to the border in 2021 using funds from a private donor, which landed her in hot water.

More: South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem to deploy National Guard troops to U.S.-Mexico border

Since then, Congress banned using private funds for interstate National Guard deployments, according to the Associated Press.

“America’s border has become a warzone, so we’re sending soldiers,” Noem said Monday during a press conference with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen and Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt. “The Biden Administration should be sending help to Texas, but Republican governors are stepping up instead. We will do everything in our power to keep South Dakotans safe.”

The Steamboat Institute's conference is in its 15th year and continues to make the ski area of Beaver Creek a conservative gathering point, which has included hosting the AEI World Forum from 1982 to 2007, according to local newspaper The Vail Daily.

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Gov. Kristi Noem to speak at Steamboat Institute in Colorado