The Transformation Project
Transgender advocacy group sues state over contract cancellation
On the same day South Dakota lawmakers sent a bill to bar certain kinds of health care for transgender youth to Gov. Kristi Noem’s desk, a transgender advocacy organization filed suit against the state over her abrupt cancellation of a Department of Health contract late last year. The Transformation Project’s lawsuit, filed in the U.S. […]
Gender Identity Summit closed to media, public
The third annual Gender Identity Summit in Sioux Falls will be closed to the media and the public, organizers said Wednesday. The summit is set to begin Friday morning. The agenda includes sessions on understanding gender identity, implicit bias, gender affirming care and creating a gender inclusive practice. Paul Heinert of Sanford Health said Wednesday […]
Transgender employee at center of contract controversy pledges to fight on
Jack Fonder trusted his doctor. He’d spent years under her care, and she understood his medical history. But that changed when he transitioned. “It was one of the worst experiences I’ve ever had,” he recalled. Fonder is a transgender man – a person whose gender identity is as a man, but was assigned female sex […]
Noem appoints new secretary of health
Three days after the previous secretary of the state Department of Health retired, Gov. Kristi Noem has appointed Melissa Magstadt to lead the department, according to a Thursday news release from the governor’s office. Magstadt’s appointment will be effective on the next state work day, which is Tuesday. “Melissa has proven her ability to provide […]
Transgender advocacy group plans to sue state over contract cancellation
A transgender advocacy organization plans to sue the state of South Dakota for civil rights violations over Gov. Kristi Noem’s abrupt cancellation of a health care facilitation contract with the group. Brendan Johnson, a former U.S. district attorney who works for the law firm Robins Kaplan, told South Dakota Searchlight that his firm will represent […]
Transformation Project calls termination of state contract ‘unwarranted’
A nonprofit advocacy organization for transgender South Dakotans says it has fulfilled its contractual obligations with the state and is calling the state’s termination of the contract “unwarranted.” In a letter Friday, Gov. Kristi Noem’s administration terminated its contract with The Transformation Project, alleging numerous contract violations committed by the group. Meanwhile, the governor’s spokesman […]