PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) — While she was governor of South Dakota, Kristi Noem appears to have used a federal political action committee called American Resolve to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars from a small group of wealthy donors who supported then-former U.S. President Donald Trump, and she in turn redirected a small fraction of the money — roughly one sixth of it — to help Trump win a second term in the White House.
Along the way, some of the spending from American Resolve PAC instead went to her husband’s insurance business and to one of her governor’s staff members for event work, and to a handful of other South Dakotans, mostly from the Watertown area, in exchange for services and goods.
Noem while governor also took a trip to Canada last fall to hunt and kill a moose. Federal records show that American Resolve PAC paid thousands of dollars for special equipment for the hunt, as well as for her air fare and lodging.
Noem Insurance Agency, owned by her husband, Bryon Noem, received a payment of $5,000 from the PAC on October 26, 2022. Another recipient was the Noem administration’s director of constituent services, Leslie Hicks, who was paid $10,400 from the PAC on December 23, 2024, for event consulting while Noem was still governor.
Noem resigned as governor in January to accept an appointment to be the federal government’s homeland security secretary in Trump’s second administration. The former governor’s name doesn’t appear on any of the required financial reports that American Resolve Inc. PAC filed with the Federal Election Commission.
However, those reports show many South Dakota connections in addition to her husband and former staff member, and they also contain the names of Kevin Broghamer and Staci Goede, who have been involved in other Noem fundraising activities, as the treasurers and custodians of records for the two versions of American Resolve PAC.
Why is American Resolve PAC in the news?
The U.S. government requires financial disclosures from nominees for federal offices. Noem submitted a report showing her and her husband’s sources of income, investments and debts. One of those sources of income was a business called Ashwood Strategies. Noem, who listed herself as member-manager of Ashwood Strategies, wrote on the disclosure form, “Income reported for Ashwood Strategies, LLC was solely received by the LLC; I did not receive any personal income or other distributions from the LLC.”
ProPublica, a news organization, discovered that Ashwood Strategies received $80,000 from American Resolve Policy Fund — which is technically separate from American Resolve Inc. PAC –and reported on the finding last week. The $80,000 was a 10% percent split of the fundraising that Ashwood Strategies did for American Resolve Policy Fund, according to ProPublica. American Resolve Policy Fund’s federal tax information is public record and for 2023 listed two businesses as its fundraising organizations: Ashwood Strategies, with an expense of $80,000, and JBest Company, with an expense of $21,000.
According to ProPublica, American Resolve Policy Fund — through Staci Goede — reported to the IRS that $1.1 million was raised — $800,000 through Ashwood Strategies and $300,000 through JBest — and that American Resolve Policy Fund netted $999,000 after the commissions were paid.
On January 12, 2025, Noem notified the ethics officer for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security of her plan going forward regarding Ashwood Strategies.
“Upon confirmation, I will resign from my position as Managing Member of Ashwood
Strategies, LLC. I will continue to have a financial interest in this entity, but I will not provide
services material to the production of income,” she stated in the letter.
“Instead,” her letter continued, “if I receive any income from Ashwood Strategies, LLC in the future, I will receive only passive investment income from it. I will not participate personally and substantially in any particular matter that to my knowledge has a direct and predictable effect on the financial interests of Ashwood Strategies, LLC, unless I first obtain a written waiver.”
How American Resolve Inc. PAC functioned
The first version of American Resolve Inc. PAC began three years ago. Kevin Broghamer was listed as treasurer on the statement of organization that was filed with the FEC on October 15, 2022. He is a campaign-finance consultant from Kentucky.
It happens that Broghamer also was listed as treasurer on the statement of organization for Noem’s state campaign-finance committee that was filed on May 18, 2021.
That first version of American Resolve brought in $519,000 from nine contributors. Most of it came from three people during one week:
$150,000 on August 19, 2022, from Diane Hendricks, CEO and chair of the board for ABC Supply Co., based in Beloit, Wisconsin.
$150,000 on August 22, 2022, from Joel Broussard of Lafayette, Louisiana, who helped assemble Gulf Offshore Logistics.
$200,000 on August 26, 2022, from Robert Bigelow of Las Vegas, Nevada, retired owner of Budget Suites of America.
In late December 2022, American Resolve PAC received an additional total of $19,000 from four other people, including $1,000 from LeeAnn Rieman of Rapid City, wife of the general manager and one of the long-time owners of Black Hills Harley Davidson.
How was the money spent?
American Resolve PAC spent $287,268.41 in 2022. before it was temporarily shelved for two years. None of that early spending was for Trump.
Instead, the largest amount of the PAC’s spending in 2022 — $80,750 — went to a political consulting organization in Brecksville, Ohio, called The Aventine Group. The Ohio secretary of state office shows that was a fictitious business name for The Matt Columbo Company. Columbo was content manager for The Dan Bongino Show, a pro-Trump podcast.
Noem appeared on the Bongino show after she used a line-item veto in 2021 to stop legislation that was intended to protect girls in K-12 sports. Noem then issued two executive orders and brought legislation to the 2022 session that passed and she signed into law.
Bongino recently was confirmed as deputy director for the FBI. He and Noem as homeland security secretary have been active in recent federal arrests of undocumented people living illegally in the United States. Bongino defended the removal of California U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla from a Noem news conference in June.
But quite a bit of the PAC’s spending in 2022 went to South Dakota businesses and people. Those included:
$5,355.63 to Upframe Creative in Brookings.
$1,500 to Joe Florez of Belle Fourche for musical entertainment.
$1,679.04 to Black Hills Aerial Adventures of Custer.
$21,801.31 to Dakota Giftware Supply of Watertown.
$18,200.00 to chef Kyle Lalim of Watertown.
$6,250.00 to Casey’s Corner Inc., a vehicle-rental business in Rapid City.
$4,242.00 to Dustin Sinner Fine Art of Watertown. Co-owner Missy Sinner worked three years in the Governor’s Office of Economic Development and most recently spent eight months as special projects director on Gov. Noem’s staff.
$500 to Powderhorn Ranch Regulators of Mitchell for facility rental.
Other businesses outside South Dakota also received payments from the PAC in 2022.
For example, Green Monster Consulting of Salem, New Hampshire, a business owned by political consultant and former Trump advisor Corey Lewandowski, was paid $3,188.30 for travel.
Another company, Ohio-based The Strategy Group for Media Inc., was paid $24,234.26 for production of advertising; the company did campaign work for both Trump and Noem — its logo features a silhouette of Noem on horseback.
What kind of PAC is American Resolve?
The Federal Elections Commission recognizes a half-dozen types of non-connected political action committees. American Resolve is what’s known as an independent expenditure or Super PAC.
Here’s how FEC describes a Super PAC: “A political committee that makes only independent expenditures that may solicit and accept unlimited contributions from individuals, corporations, labor organizations and other political committees. It may not accept contributions from foreign nationals, federal contractors, national banks or federally chartered corporations.”
In the case of American Resolve, its treasurer, Kevin Broghamer, formally terminated it on January 31, 2023. However, there remained $231,731.59 of cash on hand. American Resolve PAC Inc. transferred that remaining amount to a federal tax-exempt 527 organization called American Resolve Policy Fund, which in 2023 filed a 990 tax-exempt report with the IRS. The treasurer listed on the IRS report was Staci Goede.
Goede was also listed as treasurer on the statement of organization for the second version of American Resolve PAC that was filed with the FEC on August 29, 2024. She is a financial consultant from Virginia who was listed as treasurer on the most recent statement of organization for Noem’s state campaign-finance committee that was filed on July 24, 2023.
Broghamer and Goede also were listed as treasurers at different times for Noem’s state-level Strong Leadership for South Dakota PAC and at different times for Noem’s federal KRISTI PAC. Broghamer was listed as treasurer for Noem’s federal Noem Victory Fund PAC that was terminated in early 2023.
Goede also was listed as treasurer for Dakota Institute for Legislative Solutions, a mysterious PAC which paid for billboards across Sioux Falls several years ago attacking several South Dakota lawmakers during the Legislature’s impeachment investigation of South Dakota’s then-attorney general, Jason Ravnsborg.
As for the American Resolve PAC, in 2024 it made four payments of $1,000 each to SAGe Advisory Group, the McLean, Virginia, organization that employs Goede. She filed new organization paperwork for American Resolve PAC on February 22, 2025.
KELOLAND News has emailed questions to Broghamer and Goede about their roles in these matters. We will let you know when there is a response.
Who funded the second version of American Resolve PAC?
On August 29, 2024, the American Resolve Policy Fund account that received $231,731.59 when American Resolve PAC was terminated in early 2023 transferred $232,435.13 back to start the second version of American Resolve PAC.
David Frecka, who had merged an Ohio-based plastic-wrapper business with a similar business in 2019 and later retired, contributed $200,000 to the second version of American Resolve PAC on September 20, 2024. Six other people and one foundation later contributed a total of $27,000, and another $671.68 was received in unitemized contributions. Combined with other offsets and other receipts, the final amount received by the second version of American Resolve PAC totaled $455,994.75.
Of that nearly $456,000, American Resolve PAC spent $112,487.36 on digital ad production, placement and texting for candidate Donald Trump. Another $5,733.19 was spent for texting in support of Republican candidate Tim Sheehy, who went on defeat Jon Tester, the Democratic incumbent for a U.S. Senate seat in Montana.
So where did the rest of the money go?
The second version of American Resolve PAC spent $94,123 for other goods and services, including travel, in 2024.
For example, Leslie Hicks, a senior aide to Noem who now works for Noem’s successor as governor, Larry Rhoden, received $10,400 two days before Christmas last year from American Resolve PAC for event consulting.
Hicks hasn’t yet responded to KELOLAND News questions about what event or events those were and what she did as a consultant. Her current salary for state government is listed at $101,516.58.
American Resolve also paid $1,631.08 to Lewandowski Strategic Advisors for travel on October 30, 2024.
Dustin Sinner Fine Art of Watertown received $4,723.78 on October 3, 2024, for what are described as “Supporter Gifts” on the FEC filing.
There were three payments totaling $9,536.71 for credit card debt to Chain Bridge Bank in Virginia.
American Resolve also paid for other travel, including a total of $8.059.72 on November 18 to Stanton Aviation, a Louisiana-based company owned by a Trump supporter, Gregory Stanton Mosing, who provided a free trip to Hawaii to now-Gov. Jeff Landry. A Louisiana ethics board in 2023 charged that Landry failed to properly report the trip.
Noem was among the U.S. governors who declared support for the Governors’ Coalition for Energy Choice that Landry and New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu had announced on September 17.
And then there was the moose-hunting trip to Canada
American Resolve paid a total of $3,723.45 over the course of one week in September 2024 to six different companies for what are described on the FEC report as sporting equipment, outdoor equipment and clothing.
Those payments included $363.96 to JustBrand Limited, a seller of heated clothing; $885.36 to GoalZero, a seller of portable power units; $471.83 to Sea to Summit, a seller of tents; $377.45 to Scheels, a seller of outdoor equipment; $637.19 to Garmin, a seller of outdoor technology; and $987.56 to Simms Fishing Supplies, a seller of waders and outdoor clothing.
Those purchases were followed by payments on September 27 and September 29 totaling $1,503.70 to Air North for travel to and from the city of Whitehorse in the Canadian territory of Yukon.
American Resolve also made a $926.48 payment to Raven Inn, a lodging place in Whitehorse.
During the same period, American Resolve paid $1,875.00 to Raven Strategic Group, a Michigan-based provider of security services and consulting, and made payments of $1,149.78 on September 19 and $1,036.06 on September 29 to United Airlines.
While in Yukon Territory for the hunt, Noem narrated a video about her experience shooting the bull moose, who was traveling with a cow moose and her calf. The 13-minute video near the end shows the bull moose running through the brush after being shot and then collapsing.
Said Noem, “This was one of my dreams and it actually got to happen today.” She added, “That’s pretty special.”
