Mayor calls on governors to help keep Tyson office in SD

Bob Scott, the mayor of Sioux City, Iowa, is calling on three area governors to communicate with Tyson Foods about its decision to close its office in nearby Dakota Dunes, South Dakota.

Roy Graber Headshot
(Andrea Gantz)
(Andrea Gantz)

Tyson Foods’ recent decision to move out of its corporate office in Dakota Dunes, South Dakota, is not sitting well with city officials in nearby Sioux City, Iowa.

Sioux City Mayor Bob Scott addressed the pending closure at a city council meeting on October 10, and said the governors of three states that would be negatively affected should get involved, referring to South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds and Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts.

“We had an announcement in our community that is going to have a terrible impact. To lose 580 really good employees in this area is just really tough to swallow,” Scott said. “I would like to think that we have three governors whose communities are going to be terribly adversely affected by this, that they would get together and go see the people at Tyson, write letters, do whatever, but take the lead on this because they’re not going to listen to local communities.”

“It’s terribly important that we don’t lose those jobs.”

Council member Julie Schoenherr added that the losses will be greater than many might think.

“It’s several thousand people that are attached to those … 580 jobs. With children, houses, you know, it could even reach out to a grandparent or someone who may be cohabitating,” Shoenherr said. “It’s very broad.”

Reynolds and Ricketts have not released statements concerning Tyson’s departure from the region, but Noem has. Her statement reads: “We were disappointed to learn about this news Wednesday, but we will continue to work with Tyson on the jobs that remain in South Dakota and on future opportunities. South Dakota is the best state in America to do business; we're working with companies every day to build and grow in South Dakota. We will continue working with companies like Tyson to ensure that our nation's food supply is stable and diversified."

Tyson’s decision to depart from Dakota Dunes was announced along with its decision to close corporate offices in Chicago and Downers Grove, Illinois, and consolidate operations from those three offices into its corporate headquarters in Springdale, Arkansas.

In announcing the decision, Tyson said the move will “foster closer collaboration, enhance team member agility and enable faster decision making, positioning Tyson to win with its team members, customers and consumers.”

Video from the Sioux City Council meeting can be seen on YouTube.

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