Jeff Erickson takes notes during a state Banking Commission meeting in Sioux Falls on Dec. 22, 2025. Erickson is the chairman of the state Board of Economic Development and also a member of the corporate board of CJ Schwan’s, which has benefited from state aid approvals totaling $69 million during the past four years. (Photo by Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight)
The chairman of a state economic development board not only sits on the corporate board for a company benefiting from millions in state aid but also has connections to the company’s landlord.
As reported Friday by South Dakota Searchlight, Jeff Erickson is the chairman of the South Dakota Board of Economic Development and a member of the CJ Schwan’s corporate board. While he’s held those positions, CJ Schwan’s has benefited from a total of $69 million in state grants, loans and tax rebates pledged or paid during the past four years. The money is helping CJ Schwan’s build a 650-employee, $550 million food production plant in northern Sioux Falls…