The Scouting Report: A weekly digest (Sept. 16, 2022)

Gov. Kristi Noem is the latest politician to become partially incapacitated on the campaign trail. She announced Monday that she had spine surgery following an undisclosed injury sustained two months ago. The injury was treated by a neurosurgeon at the Mayo Clinic, and Noem said it was a “complete success.”

But . . . she continued, her ability to campaign would be limited. Noem, a Republican, is seeking a second term against Democratic state Rep. Jamie Smith in the November election.

“I’m going to be very limited in what I’ll be able to do for the next several months,” she said in a statement released on Twitter. “I won’t be able to stand for more than 10 or 15 minutes at a time.”

Noem, whose signature campaign ad to this point has been a scene of her galloping on a horse, has agreed to do just one debate with Smith, on Sept. 30. It’s unclear if she will be able to stand.

She joins a growing list of politicians who are limiting their campaign appearances because of physical and mental frailties. In 2020, Republicans criticized Joe Biden for hiding in his basement because he was afraid of COVID-19. In this cycle, Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, a Democrat running for a U.S. Senate seat, has limited his appearances because of a stroke.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis published a recent article that examines multifamily housing construction in its 9th District, which includes South Dakota.