With the announcements this week of Agriculture Secretary and Secretary of Education -elSouth Dakota Governorect Kristi Noem has made her decision on staff hires.

Governor-elect Noem has chosen Tony Venhuizen to serve as her senior advisor. Venhuizen, an Armour native, currently serves as chief of staff to Governor Dennis Daugaard and has been the liaison between the Daugaard administration and Noem transition team. He will be staying with the Governor’s Office into the spring to ensure a seamless leadership transition.

Melissa Klemann will serve the Noem administration as policy advisor. Klemann is the deputy of director for the Department of Labor and Regulation’s Division of Insurance and was previously an analyst for Wells Fargo.

Jake Monssen will serve as constituent services director. Monssen, a Sioux Falls resident, currently serves as a constituent services representative for Noem’s congressional office where he specializes in Social Security and Medicare casework.

On Thursday Noem called on Dr. Ben Jones of Dakota State University to be her Secretary of Education and Kim Vanneman as Secretary of Agriculture.

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