South Dakota within sight to 'get job done' on connecting state to broadband As many as 135,000 South Dakotans lack adequate broadband connections, say state officials. Gov. Kristi Noem signed a $100 million in grants to expand broadband to gaps, and the feds will bring in as much as $1 billion to the state over next decade. Written By: Christopher Vondracek | × Gov. Kristi Noem (seated) listens to Federal Communications Commission Commissioner Brendan Carr speak on Tuesday, May 4 in Rowena, South Dakota about new federal and state dollars to turn up broadband sites across South Dakota. (screenshot) PIERRE, S.D. — This January, when Jim Edman, representing South Dakota's Bureau of Information and Technology,