PIERRE, (KCCR) — In 2022, the Trail of Governors in Pierre was successfully brought current by the recreation of former state governors at various places across the Capital City. Dedication ceremonies had taken place yearly at the State Capitol until all 31 Governors had been cast in bronze. In a post on the Trail of Governors Facebook page, donations are now being sought for the next stature, that of former Governor and currently Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem. Statues along the Trail are privately funded and are donated to the City of Pierre for future maintenance and upkeep. Sculptor John Lopez of Lemmon is already crafting the Noem statue although no indication has been given as to how Noem will be immortalized. Lopez is currently working on a bison stature to be placed on Fort Pierre’s bridge plaza near the John Waldron memorial bridge. Noem’s statute is tentatively scheduled to be unveiled in June of next year. So far, over two-point-four million dollars has been donated to recreate South Dakota’s governors on the Trail of Governors. Over 133-thousand dollars remains in an associated endowment fund for the Trail.
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