PIERRE, S.D. (KELO.com) — Gov. Kristi Noem has chosen Tony Venhuizen as her new chief of staff.
Venhuizen, who has been working with the governor’s office on an interim basis since January, served as Gov. Dennis Daugaard’s chief of staff for four years.
“There’s a lot of good work to be done in this state, and I’m excited to be a part of that,” Venhuizen said.
Venhuizen, who lives in Sioux Falls, was a senior adviser to Noem before leaving the post in June of last year. He said his selection didn’t come as a big surprise since he had been getting more involved with the governor’s affairs since re-joining the administration.
Still, Venhuizen said if he was told about his new job a few months ago, “I wouldn’t have seen that coming.”
Venhuizen said his appointment won’t change the agenda Noem has for 2020 and beyond.
“It’s the governor who sets the vision and makes decisions about where we’re going to go. It’s the job of the governor’s staff, including the Chief of Staff, to make that happen,” Venhuizen said.
(Mark Russo, KELO.com News and Patrick Callahan, South Dakota Broadcasters Association, contributed to this report.)
