Key official to testify in Noem-daughter licensing inquiry

By STEPHEN GROVES
Associated Press

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — Lawmakers in South Dakota will hear from a former state employee at the center of questions over whether Gov. Kristi Noem used her influence to aid her daughter’s application for a real estate appraiser license. Tuesday’s hearing would be the first time that Sherry Bren, who headed the state’s Appraiser Certification Program, has spoken publicly in depth about a meeting in the governor’s mansion last year since The Associated Press reported on it in September. The Republican governor held the meeting just days after Bren’s agency moved to deny Noem’s daughter an upgrade to her appraiser license. The legislative committee’s inquiry has stretched nearly two months.