3 – 4 PM Registration and Networking

4 PM Welcome

Reggie Kuipers, Program Chair, President, Bender Commercial Real Estate Services

Jodi Schwan, Founder, Align Content Studio, Moderator

The South Dakota Economy

Joe Santos, Ph.D., Director and Professor of Economics in the Ness School of Management and Economics at South Dakota State University, where he oversees the Dykhouse Program in Money, Banking, and Financial Regulation. Areas of Joe’s research include financial regulation and monetary policy. Joe is the voice of Monday Macro  (http://schooleddotblog.com), which airs on select Mondays on South Dakota Public Radio’s In the Moment with Lori Walsh. 

Dr. Santos earned his M.A. and Ph.D. in Economics from Rutgers University.

David L. Chicoine, Ph.D., retired from South Dakota State University in May 2017 after 9.5 years as the 19th president of South Dakota State University (SDSU). He was the third alumnus to serve as president, South Dakota’s Morrill Act land-grant university and SD’s largest comprehensive teaching and research university.  

He serves on the Board of Managers of South Dakota Innovation Partners, LLC. and on the Board of ENTERPRISE 605, INC which provides seed capital and business development services to launch research-derived new technology-based start-up projects and early-stage equity capital to growth-stage SD companies, respectively. He is a director and cofounder of the Dakota Institute for Business & Economic Analysis, the Dakota Bioproducts Institute, and the South Dakota Chamber of Commerce & Industry. He services as independent director emeritus of First Bank & Trust and is an advisor to an AgTech drone startup and an AgTech software startup both commercializing SDSU faculty innovations.

A native of Elk Point, SD, he graduated from South Dakota State, the University of Delaware, Western Illinois University and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with B.S., M.S., M.A. and PhD degrees, respectively.

Sioux Falls.Business Quarterly CEO Survey Results

Jodi Schwan is a veteran of Sioux Falls print and broadcast media and a frequently requested speaker and moderator at business and community events. Jodi combines unparalleled area business knowledge with a strategic ability to help businesses tell their stories through multimedia content. As the founder of Align Content Studio, Schwan developed SiouxFalls.Business in 2017 and Pigeon605.com, a locally owned digital news organization serving South Dakotans and their nearby neighbors, in 2021. Jodi is a native of Westlake, Ohio, and has a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University.

Why South Dakota – Moderated by Jodi Schwan

A discussion with representatives from companies that have recently moved to the state or made significant expansions to existing entities, along with the perspective of an investor. This moderated session will include an in-depth discussion about what led to decisions to invest, or reinvest, in South Dakota and capital opportunities that exist here.

Brian Sandvig, CFO, Valley Queen Cheese, $200+ million, multi-year expansion in Milbank

Scott Peterson, Chief Human Resource Officer, Schwan’s Company, expansion into Sioux Falls

Dave Lemstra, Owner, Dakota Line Dairy, relocation from California to Humboldt

Dan Brenden, Terex, Director of Engineering.

Blaine Crissman, Partner, South Dakota Equity Partners, Sioux Falls, providing his perspective on successfully investing growth equity in over ten companies in South Dakota.

6:00 PM          Adjourn