A now-fired broadcast reporter has pled guilty to a misdemeanor charge for making a prank phone call using South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem’s personal cell phone number.
Reporter Austin Goss, who was fired as the Capitol bureau reporter for Dakota News Now after it learned of the matter, won’t have a conviction on his record because the judge granted a suspended imposition of sentence.
His attorney, Jason Glodt, characterizes the prerecorded prank call as a “practical joke” with a friend and says Goss appreciates the willingness of the prosecutor to reduce the charge.
The call was made Jan. 22 to a former chair of the South Dakota Republican Party using a website called PrankDial, which made it appear that it was coming from Noem’s cell phone.
A spokesperson for Noem said the governor wouldn’t have a comment about the matter while Goss declined to comment about the call or his plea.