South Dakota's Freedom Works Here recruitment campaign starts new phase amidst scrutiny

The Freedom Works Here campaign is set to roll into its second phase, according to a release Wednesday from Gov. Kristi Noem's office.

The next phase of the controversial workforce recruitment campaign is expected to cost $1.5 million, a fraction of the initial phase, which clocked in at $5 million. It's unclear when the next phase will start.

The workforce recruitment campaign, which has run since late-June, has come under intense scrutiny in the past few days as lawmakers asked the Governor's Office of Economic Development, which has administered the campaign, about the success of the campaign so far.

More: South Dakota lawmakers question effectiveness of Freedom Works Here ad campaign

Those details have been vague, with GOED Commissioner Chris Schilken explaining the campaign had had more than 800 million impressions, with more than 7,000 people having requested information about South Dakota and 1,900 people proceeding to the final stages of finding a career in the state.

But Schilken could not tell lawmakers Monday during a meeting of the Appropriations Committee how many people who had seen the workforce recruitment ads had actually moved to South Dakota.

On Tuesday, the legislative Executive Board voted to send a letter to GOED requesting more information about the marketing RFP for the campaign.

The letter would include "the RFP process that was administered, the companies that applied, the information requested, how submissions were compared, the criteria that was used to make a final determination, who determined that criteria, what was submitted and the individuals involved with the selection process," and must be returned by Dec. 18 to the E-Board.

More: SD lawmakers want more information about RFP process for the Freedom Works Here campaign

The Ohio-based Strategic Media Placement won the RFP in April. The group has political connections to Republican presidential nominee Vivek Ramaswamy.

Included in the announcement was a message from Sioux Falls Mayor Paul TenHaken, who said he had recently met with a "major" east coast investor visiting because he had seen the ads.

"He was intrigued enough by the ads that he and his team decided they needed to learn more about investment opportunities in our state," TenHaken said.

The investor was not named in the announcement.

Ads to target four more professions have been filmed, according to the announcement. It's unclear if Noem will star in those ads like she has in the past, which saw the second-term governor acting as a dentist, plumber and electrician.

The governor's press secretary did not immediately respond to emails asking about more information on the second phase of the Freedom Works Here campaign.

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: South Dakota's Freedom Works Here ad campaign starts second phase