South Dakota’s capital city will soon be home to a life-size bronze statue of former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
Noem’s statue will join the Trail of Governors, an art installation in downtown Pierre featuring statues of more than 30 former state leaders. Noem served as South Dakota’s first female governor from 2019 until 2025, when President Donald Trump tapped her to lead the Department of Homeland Security. She was then fired from the president’s cabinet last month.
The statue, created by local sculptor John Lopez, will be unveiled at the State Capitol grounds on June 12, the Trail of Governors Foundation announced on March 9. This comes after the foundation revealed in August 2025 that it was accepting donations to fund her statue.
“Noem’s statue will join 31 governors’ statues on the trail that winds its way throughout the capital city’s downtown to and through the state capital grounds. Each statue tells the story of that governor during their lifetime or service to the state,” the foundation said.
All statues along the Trail of Governors are funded entirely by donations, according to the foundation. Each statue features a bronze plaque acknowledging the major donors, along with a QR code that leads to the governor’s biography.
The foundation’s announcement came just days after Trump fired Noem from his cabinet. The president said Noem had “served us well,” and announced she’d be taking on a new role as the “Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas.” She was then replaced by Markwayne Mullin.
Noem was fired after a series of tense congressional hearings, during which lawmakers grilled her on a number of issues, including the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis and a multimillion-dollar advertising campaign that featured her on horseback.
Noem was also pressed about an alleged affair with her top adviser, Corey Lewandowski, who reportedly left DHS with her last month. Both Noem and Lewandowski have repeatedly denied engaging in an affair.
Meanwhile, the former DHS secretary appears to be keeping a low profile after The Daily Mail reported her husband, Bryon Noem, engaged in a “bimbofication” fetish and sent tens of thousands of dollars to women online. At the time, it was said Noem was “blindsided” by the report.
The Mail also reported Bryon Noem insulted his wife in phone calls and online messages with a dominatrix and expressed a desire to become a woman. He previously told The Independent the report’s claims are “not all true.”
The couple has been married for more than 30 years and shares three children together.
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