Commissioner
Jarrod Johnson
My name is Renee Knapp and I am the Investment Officer for School and Public Lands. My responsibilities include the daily recording of land and mineral payments to schools and endowed institutions. I also administer loan and contract payments, as well as drafting new patents for paid contracts.
My name is Tailynn and I am the Administrative Assistant of School and Public Lands. My responsibilities include answering all incoming phone calls; greeting visitors to our main office; handling all incoming and outgoing mail and maintaining our staff calendar and schedules. Additional duties include the maintenance of the clearing account and checks received
My name is Treyton Kost-Hillmer. I am the GIS specialist and the Oil, Gas, & Minerals Agent. My primary responsibilities include management of mineral holdings, conducting oil & gas and mineral lease auctions, and recording lease & royalty payments. I also works with the Surface Agent on damage and reclamation issues.
My name is Mike Cornelison and I am the Surface Agent for School and Public Lands. My primary role is the management of all surface holdings, which includes weed and pest control. I am responsible for conducting surface lease auctions, as well as overseeing dam inspections and right-of-ways, on school and public land. Additional duties include working with our Minerals Agent, on damage and reclamation issues. I am the contact person for hunting and recreation inquiries, regarding land managed by our office.
Jarrod Johnson previously served as South Dakota’s Commissioner of School and Public Lands from 2007-2013. While in office he served on the South Dakota Investment Council, was President of the Western States Land Commissioner’s Association, and was a South Dakota representative on the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission. In addition, Jarrod also was appointed by the Secretary of the Interior to the Bureau of Land Management Resource Advisory Committee of Montana and Dakotas.
Jarrod has served South Dakota Agriculture in several leadership capacities, including as past President of the Sioux Basin Cattlemen’s Association, the board of directors of South Dakota Agriculture and Rural Leadership, a board member of the Western South Dakota Buckaroos, the property rights chairman of the South Dakota Cattlemen’s Association, and appointed member representative of Agriculture United for South Dakota. Jarrod is also a current member of the South Dakota Stock Growers Association and the General Beadle Club. Jarrod and his wife Nancy ranch in Minnehaha and Meade counties.
Justin has served the State of South Dakota since 2010, most recently as the Deputy Director of Finance and Internal Controls for the Department of Revenue in Pierre until the spring of 2022. Justin has an Accounting Degree from the University of Colorado in Boulder and has spent his entire career in the Finance arena. He is a current member of the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) as well as the Association of Government Accountants (AGA). Justin has a daughter, Rebecca, who is a currently a student at the University of Colorado in Boulder. Justin’s favorite time of year is hunting season, when he loves to run his five Labrador Retrievers through the prairies of South Dakota in search of Ring-neck Pheasants and Prairie Grouse. Justin also enjoys fishing and reading.