Michael Grigsby confirmed as Mayor TenHaken’s new innovation chief

Michael Grigsby confirmed as Mayor TenHaken’s new innovation chief

Joe Sneve
Sioux Falls Argus Leader
Published 9:59 PM EDT Mar 17, 2020

The confirmation hearing for Mayor Paul TenHaken’s second-ever appointment to lead the newly-formed Innovation and Technology Department wasn’t nearly as acrimonious as the first time councilors considered a hire for the position.

With a unanimous vote of support, councilors Tuesday night confirmed the appointment of Michael Grigsby to lead the department, which oversees the divisions of Innovation, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Information Technology, and Communications and Marketing for the city.

“It was a slam dunk when Mike reached out with interest in the position,” TenHaken said. “There’s a lot of excitement in our city right now around the topics of innovation and data.”

More: TenHaken taps Kansas City tech guru to lead Sioux Falls’ journey toward ‘smart city’

Grigsby’s hiring fill a vacancy open since January after Jason Reisdorfer, resigned after less than two years following his confirmation, which generated controversy when Councilor Theresa Stehly publicly opposed the TenHaken hire.

Councilors confirmed the appointment of Grigsby without discussion. 

Grigsby most recently worked for the multinational technology conglomerate Cisco Systems Inc., where he served as an engagement leader in the company’s “Smart+Connected Communities” practice for North America.

Prior to his work with Cisco, he served the city of Kansas City, Missouri as commander of the Information Services Division for the Kansas City Police Department and as Chief Information Officer for the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority.

Established in late 2918, the Innovation and Technology Department’s most public efforts have come as a task force put together under Reisdorfer studied methods to boost bus ridership in Sioux Falls while making the public transit system less costly too run.

This summer, the task force will pilot an on-demand ride service on Saturdays. 

Kansas City tested a similar program during Grigsby’s time there, as well.

“The city is ripe and positioned well for a lot of growth and future development,” he said of Sioux Falls while phoning into Tuesday night’s confirmation hearing. “I’ve worked with cities across the world and very few times to I get to come across a city that is as well positioned as Sioux Falls.”

Grigsby’s wife Mara is a Sioux Falls native. They have three children and two grandchildren.