Corn organizations address leadership change

South Dakota Corn has hired former state Senator and state Secretary of Agriculture Mike Jaspers as its interim Executive Director.

Jaspers assumed leadership last Thursday, following the resignation of Lisa Richardson, who has led the organization for nearly 25 years.

In addition to his role as Executive Director, Jaspers is the Business Development Director for East River Electric.

Chad Blindauer, Vice President of the South Dakota Corn Utilization Council, said their organization is moving forward with a heightened focus on accountability.  He said that they are examining the financial oversight of the organization, and, as a result, they are submitting a request for proposals to perform a financial audit.  Blindauer said they are also reviewing their internal processes to ensure transparency and accountability as they move forward. 

Blindauer said they would share more information once the review process is completed.