South Dakota Forced to Apologize to Transgender Activists, Pay $300,000

South Dakota has apologized to a transgender advocacy group and agreed to pay $300,000 in a settlement over a terminated contract.

South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem speaks at the Calvin Coolidge Foundation conference at the Library of Congress in Washington, on Feb. 17, 2023. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

South Dakota has issued an apology to a transgender advocacy group and must pay $300,000 under an agreement that settles a lawsuit against Gov. Kristi Noem and the state health secretary over a terminated contract.

The Transformation Project, a nonprofit that provides suicide prevention and other services to transgender people in South Dakota, sued Ms. Noem and Secretary of Health Melissa Magstadt last year after the state canceled a contract to hire and train a community health worker to connect members of the LGBT community to health services.