Elected Officials

County Commission

The five County Commissioners are:

Mike Bartley (Term: 2021-2024)
Shawn Hostler (Term: 2023-2026)
Larry Jensen (Term: 2023-2026)  2023 Vice Chairperson
Ryan Krogman (Term: 2021-2024) 2023 Chairperson
Kelly VanderWal (Term: 2023-2026)

The Commissioners typically meet twice a month. They are elected for a four-year term on a staggered basis. The Commission sets and administers the budget for all County departments. They hire and set policy for County employees and appointed department heads. The Commission has the responsibility of building and caring for County buildings and for overseeing departments to ensure procedures are followed according to state law.

Finance Officer (Term: 2021-2024)

The County Auditor and County Treasurers offices were combined in 2008 to form the County Finance Office. Lori Schultz was appointed by the County Commission on November 17th, 2020, as Interim Finance Officer after the retirement of former Finance Officer, Vicki Buseth. Schultz was then sworn in on January 5th, 2021 as Finance Officer. This office sells licenses for all motor vehicles and collects taxes. The Finance office collects all monies due to the County. This office oversees the budgeting process, determines the tax levy, and pays the bills for all County offices. This office is also in charge of elections held in Brookings County. The Finance Office acts as the clerk for the Board of County Commissioners.

Register of Deeds (Term: 2023-2026)

Beverly Chapman was first elected as Register of Deeds in 2006. This office keeps all the legal records concerning property in the County. They also preserve registration of marriage licenses, birth records, death records, burial records, and military records for Brookings County.

Sheriff (Term: 2023-2026)

Marty Stanwick was first sworn in as sheriff in 1999. The Sheriff is the law enforcement officer for the County and also an officer for the court. The Sheriff arrests and detains offenders and serves legal papers for the court, has charge of the deputies and contracts with small area communities for law enforcement. This department also maintains and operates the Brookings County Detention Center, located east of the Courthouse.

States Attorney (Term: 2021-2024)

Dan Nelson was elected States Attorney in 2018 to fill the remaining two years of an unexpired term and sworn into office in 2019. Nelson then ran unopposed for the 2021-2024 term. The States Attorney is the prosecutor for the State in criminal and civil cases and also the legal adviser for the County. The States Attorney is assisted by Deputy States Attorneys Benjamin Kleinjan and Austin Oxner. 

Appointed Officials

Commission Department

Stacy Steffensen was appointed as the Department Director in 2014. This department assists the Commission with various administrative duties and is responsible for the administration of the human resource program, IT, GIS, and buildings and grounds.

County Development

• Planning & Zoning

 In 2013 this department was joined with Emergency Management to create the County Development Department with Robert Hill appointed as Director. As the Zoning Officer, the department head takes applications for building permits and administers the County zoning ordinances.

• Emergency Management

 This office develops and maintains the County plan for reacting to emergencies. This office works with other governmental agencies to develop this plan and assists in training others to respond to emergencies. During an actual emergency, the director coordinates the plan of action.

Director of Equalization

Jacob Brehmer was appointed as Director of Equalization in 2019. This office has records of the values of all real estate property in Brookings County. It is their duty to determine the value of this property so that the taxable value can be set — the taxes are then determined by the Finance Office.

Highway

Brian Gustad was appointed as Highway Superintendent in 2018. This office supervises the maintenance and construction of all County roads and bridges. The superintendent is also responsible for purchasing and maintaining all equipment for this purpose. Brookings County maintains 220 bridges and 394 miles of County roads: 133 miles of gravel roads and 261 miles of hard-surfaced roads. The County Highway office is located on Western Avenue.

Veterans Services

Courtney Steffen was appointed in 2021 to serve as the Veterans' Service Officer. As Veterans’ Service Officer, Courtney acts as an advocate for veterans and their families when applying for benefits. 

Weed & Pest

Misty Moser was appointed in 2015 to serve as this department head. The Weed Officer administers the spraying of noxious weeds by the County crew workers. This office is located in the Brookings City & County Government Center.

Brookings County Outdoor Adventure Center

Dustin Huber was appointed director in 2020. Brookings County assumed ownership of the Outdoor Adventure Center facility on September 15, 2017. The Brookings County Outdoor Adventure Center is a 29,530 square foot regional facility located on 3.8 acres of land in Dakota Nature Park in Brookings, SD. Including precision sports ranges, classrooms, conference space, meeting rooms and offices, we provide youth, adults, active seniors and sportsmen of all ages with education, skills and real world experience.

Affiliates

Community Health / WIC

Brookings County provides secretarial staff for these State offices of Community Health and Women, Infants, and Children. These departments are located in the State Office Building, 1310 Main Avenue South.

Brookings County 4-H

Brookings County provides buildings, supplies, maintenance, and secretarial support staff for the state employed 4-H Youth Program Adviser. The Brookings County 4-H office is located in the Brookings County Outdoor Adventure Center at 2810 22nd Avenue S, Brookings.

Courts

Brookings County Court System

Under supervision of the Chief Justice, who is the administrative head of the Unified Judicial System, the State Court Administrator is the non-judicial officer who implements the rules and policies of the Supreme Court as they apply to the operations and administration of the courts and is the liaison between the judicial branch and the other branches of state and local government. To ensure efficient and responsive operation, the State Court Administrator’s Office provides centralized administrative assistance and support services to the entire Unified Judicial System, which is composed of 7 Judicial Circuits.

Brookings County is part of the 3rd Judicial Circuit which is made up of fourteen counties. Those other counties are: Beadle, Clark, Codington, Deuel, Grant, Hamlin, Hand, Jerauld, Kingsbury, Lake, Miner, Moody, and Sanborn. The 3rd Circuit Courts are general trial courts with 6 Circuit Court Judges and 2 Magistrate Judges. Administrative direction for the Circuit is provided by a Presiding Judge and Circuit Court Administrator, whom both office out of Brookings. All the court staff including Magistrate Judges, Court Reporters, Clerks of Court, and Court Services Officers are employees of the State of South Dakota.

For more information visit Third Circuit Home website