Associated press
STONE | Governor Kristi Noem on Friday unveiled a new design for a government services website, presenting it as a modernization of citizen services.
The website, which offers links to services ranging from state park permits to job postings and COVID-19 updates, also offers a chat feature with a pheasant named “Fez.”
“Don’t shoot me! I’m here to help,” Fez offers, connecting users to a live agent for 12 hours during workdays.
The Republican governor said the project has been running since May and includes a search function to find government services.
“This portal will allow people to create their own account, access all state agency services, and maintain records of services received,” Noem said in a statement.
The site offers links to applications for child care assistance, information about a broadband expansion program and services for victims of crime.
Its spokesman, Ian Fury, said the website portal cost $1.6 million to build and launch. He was paid out of $10 million the legislature had budgeted to upgrade the state’s information technology systems.
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