South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (photo, left) used the state airplane to fly to out-of-state political gatherings and a family wedding. That’s against state law. But the state ethics board decided behind closed doors, which is a violation of the state open meetings law, that she didn’t commit an ethics violation. Read story here.
Watchdogs had better luck with Ohio county auditor Roger Reynolds (photo, right), who tried to use school taxes to improve a private golf course in his gated community. The local GOP organization endorsed him and voters re-elected him anyway. But a jury convicted him of felony corruption, and he’ll now be expelled from office and may get jail time. Read story here.