PIERRE,S.D. (KELO) — The Legislature’s Executive Board decided Monday that Kelly Meiners should be the next member of the South Dakota Investment Council.
Meiners is manager of the First Fidelity Bank location in Winner. He will succeed the current chair, Paul Bisson of Sturgis, on July 1. Greg Kulesa of Watertown will move up to chair.
The Executive Board appoints five members. The three other members are state treasurer, state lands commissioner and South Dakota Retirement System executive director.
The council hires the state investment officer who is responsible for investment decisions.
Representative Hugh Bartels, R-Watertown, said three people applied. Bartels, a retired community banker, described Meiners as “a guy who knows how to make a decision, seems like a good fit.”
Bisson, who retired from Wells Fargo in 2015, told the legislative panel he was impressed by how well the state investment office runs.
“I wanted to be sure there were good checks and balances,” Bisson said.