Nov. 14, 2023

This paid piece is sponsored by Sioux Metro Growth Alliance.

With a scissor snip at a ribbon-cutting, Tyler Tordsen’s career completed a full-circle moment days into his newest role.

As he helped mark an expansion at Marmen Energy in Brandon, the new president and CEO of Sioux Metro Growth Alliance thought back more than a decade prior, when he was an intern for former Gov. Dennis Daugaard.

“I was there when it was publicly announced that Marmen was expanding from Canada to South Dakota,” Tordsen said. “It was a huge win for the organization that became Sioux Metro Growth Alliance and for the community of Brandon, even though I didn’t fully understand the impact at the time.”

Later, serving in the office of U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds as his southeast regional director and state director of tribal affairs, Tordsen would be back to Marmen.

“We got to tour and see the process and watch the operation scale up,” he said. “So to be there now as the leader of Sioux Metro Growth Alliance for the ribbon-cutting for the next big expansion was just a really significant moment and gave me a lot of pride in the path.”

Tordsen has crisscrossed South Dakota multiple times through his life and career so far.

Born in Sioux Falls, he grew up in Rapid City. An enrolled member of the Sisseton-Wahpeton Sioux Tribe, he earned a bachelor’s degree in political science and economics from the University of South Dakota.

Tordsen joins SMGA after more than eight years in Rounds’ office.

We sat down with him to learn more about his vision for the new role ahead.

What attracted you to the opportunity to join Sioux Metro Growth Alliance?

Working for Sen. Rounds was a dream job I didn’t know existed. I love South Dakota. I love the region. I love helping people and being involved in policy and projects. When the job at Sioux Metro Growth Alliance opened up, I was already familiar with the organization, going back to when it was the Minnehaha County Economic Development Association and the Lincoln County Economic Development Association. I was there for the rebrand, I had been to their events, and when the job posting came out, a lot of people I respect in the community said I should take a look at it. I wasn’t actively looking for a job, and I was very happy in my prior role, but I took a serious look, and after getting to see the projects and the vision and the legacy of everything Sioux Metro Growth Alliance has done and will do, I was really excited. The stakeholders involved – the board, the membership advisory board, the communities and counties – and partners involved really made me say, “Wow.”

You’re now a few weeks into the job. How’s it going so far? What have you focused on?

It’s been a busy time trying to transition and onboard. I’ve had really good insight and communication from the leadership team that’s been handling interim operations. I’m meeting with several of my predecessors – Jesse Fonkert, Nick Fosheim, Jeff Eckhoff – and our current team members have been bringing me up to speed on processes and the basics of running the organization. We had a monthly mayors’ roundtable right out the gate, and those were really good conversations. There’s a lot of synergy around regionalization. There’s understandably a little competitiveness, but it’s all good-spirited. All the mayors I talked to view this as, “If you can land a win, that’s a win for all of us.” It makes me feel like there’s no better time for me to jump in. I’m a glass half-full, optimistic, problem-solving guy. So it was a really positive conversation that makes me feel good about the future.

Big picture, what are Sioux Metro Growth Alliance’s strengths, and what are you most excited about in evolving the organization?

Our strengths are our partnerships, our ability to be the ultimate resource partner, to work with everyone. The approach I take is that there’s no one we can’t work with. We’ve had conversations with our state partners, our federal partners, our local and county partners and the business community – everyone who cares about growth, from lenders to builders, utilities, you name it. I want to start off at SMGA getting back to basics, leaning on some of my strengths from my previous career relationships and outreach. I want to keep a pulse on our communities and visit regularly. There are four counties and 16 municipalities, and I’ll be getting to know all of them. I want to understand what’s going well and find those hidden gems that allow us to help be a storyteller. I want to ask our communities what quality-of-life dreams they’ve had to put on hold because of day-to-day business. Maybe it’s a bike path or housing development or industrial park. And then, how can we help be a bridge builder and connect them with resources to help make it happen. That’s a big aspect of what we can do.

 How would you describe the overall business conditions in the Sioux Falls metro area and the attitude going into next year?

We’re so fortunate to live in a state like South Dakota, and our region in particular has so much growth and energy. It does feel like it makes us somewhat recession-proof. We don’t have all our eggs in one basket. That’s true in Sioux Falls, but it’s true in the region too. People are intentional with their growth. I’m having a lot of conversations about managed growth and not growing for growth’s sake. We’re being strategic, and our communities are willing to work together. We can help. SMGA can be a facilitator. And that’s very exciting too.

You also serve in the South Dakota Legislature. How does that impact your new role at SMGA?

I’ve been very transparent about the obligations of that role with our board and communities, and everyone has been super supportive. They’re really encouraged by it and view it as a value-add I can bring to the organization with federal and state relationships, along with sharing our regional perspective in the state Legislature with state partners when the time is right. Because it is a citizen legislature, it’s generally a four-day workweek for nine weeks, so about two months. We’ve all learned more about virtual connectivity, so I’ll work a lot remotely, but it will go by quick, and we’ll keep getting the job done.

Is there anything else you’d like people to know about you?

I would debate this with anyone – our quality of life and the opportunities here in South Dakota and in this region to live and work and raise a family and love every minute of it are second to none. There’s so much opportunity in our region, and I’m really excited to be a part of that. I think this is a role anyone can do for a really long time because there’s going to be so much happening to help support. I love being able to tour businesses, big and small, because there are so many world-class businesses located here, and I’m excited to do what we can not only to support their needs but help tell their story.

If anyone would like to connect with you, how should they do that?

I’m all about communication and connectivity, and I want us to be accessible and finding ways to be helpful, being that ultimate resource partner. Visit siouxmetro.com or email me a [email protected]. Our social channels are also a great way to connect. We want to be seen. We want to be helpful.