Troy Heinert (born July 29, 1972) is an American politician currently serving as the minority leader of the South Dakota Senate. Elected to the Senate in 2014, he was elected in 2015 as Senate assistant minority leader.Sarah Sunshine Manning, "Sanders Advocates for Tribes, Mother Earth"
''Indian Country Today'', 23 May 2016, accessed 23 May 2016 He was elected minority leader in 2018. He was first elected to the state house in 2012 and served for one term.

Early life and education

Heinert was born in

Spearfish Spearfish may refer to: Places *Spearfish, South Dakota, United States * North Spearfish, South Dakota, United States * Spearfish Formation, a geologic formation in the United States Biology * ''Tetrapturus'', a genus of marlin containing spe ...

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux Native American tribes, who comprise a large po ...

."Troy Heinert"
VoteSmart, 2016 He grew up on a ranch. His father died when he was 12, but he was taken under the wing of a close family friend. He attended local schools, where he graduated with a BS degree in education. He is a member of the

Rosebud Sioux Tribe The Rosebud Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation in South Dakota, United States. It is the home of the federally recognized Rosebud Sioux Tribe, who are Sicangu, a band of Lakota people. The Lakota name ''Sicangu Oyate'' translates as t ...

Career

Heinert started work as an elementary school teacher, working also as a wrestling coach.Brett Marshall, "Cowboy, educator, legislator"
''Garden City Telegram,'' 12 June 2015, accessed 23 May 2016 He first ran for electoral office on the Todd County High School Board, winning a seat and serving for 3 years. Heinert and his wife in 2007 became owners of Chute 2, a bar and restaurant attached to the Prairie View country club in

Mission Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

. Chute 2 was sold and he works as a rodeo clown with the Korkow Rodeo family from

Pierre, South Dakota Pierre ( ; lkt, Čhúŋkaške, lit=fort) is the capital city of South Dakota, United States, and the seat of Hughes County. The population was 14,091 at the 2020 census, making it the second-least populous US state capital after Montpelier, ...

, He became close to Jim Korkow, who was friends with his father, especially after his father's death. Korkow has acted as a father to him. In 2012, Heinert was elected as a Democrat to the South Dakota House of Representatives from District 26A, comprising Todd and Mellette counties. In 2014, Heinert was elected to the state senate. He was succeeded in the house from District 26A by Shawn Bordeaux also of Mission.

Personal life

He married Gena and they have two sons and a daughter. They lived in

Mission, South Dakota Mission is a city on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in northern Todd County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 1,156 at the 2020 census. Mission is home of the Sinte Gleska University. It is the largest incorporated community i ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Heinert, Troy 1972 births 21st-century American politicians Living people Democratic Party members of the South Dakota House of Representatives Native American state legislators in South Dakota People from Spearfish, South Dakota People from Mission, South Dakota Sioux people Democratic Party South Dakota state senators