Paul Joseph TenHaken (born November 13, 1977) is an American businessman and website developer who has served as the mayor of

Sioux Falls, South Dakota Sioux Falls ( ) is the List of cities in South Dakota, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Dakota and the List of United States cities by population, 117th-most populous city in the United States. It is the county seat of Minnehaha Coun ...

since May 15, 2018.

Early life and education

TenHaken was born in

Sioux Center, Iowa Sioux Center is a city in Sioux County, Iowa. The population was 8,229 at the time of the 2020 census. Sioux Center is notable for its Dutch heritage, agribusiness, and as the location of Dordt University. Geography Sioux Center is located at ...

, to parents Lyle and Beth TenHaken. He was raised in

Worthington, Minnesota Worthington is a city in and the county seat of Nobles County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 13,947 at the time of the 2020 census. History The city's site was first settled in the 1870s as Okabena Station on a line of the Ch ...

. TenHaken attended

Dordt College Dordt University is a private evangelical Christian university in Sioux Center, Iowa. It was founded in 1955 and is affiliated with the Christian Reformed Church in North America. The university name is a reference to the Synod of Dordt (Dord ...

and received his degree in graphic design in 2000. Upon graduation, TenHaken moved to

, and worked as the mascot of the

Sioux Falls Skyforce The Sioux Falls Skyforce are an American professional basketball team of the NBA G League based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and are affiliated with the Miami Heat. The team has played its home games in the Sanford Pentagon since the 2013–14 ...

. He attended the

University of Sioux Falls The University of Sioux Falls (USF) is a private university in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA. In fall 2014, the university enrolled a total of 1,142 undergraduate students and 311 graduate students. ...

and received an MBA in 2004.

Business career

TenHaken founded Click Rain, a marketing technology agency in Sioux Falls, in 2008. TenHaken was named one of

Entrepreneur magazine ''Entrepreneur'' is an American magazine and website that carries news stories about entrepreneurship, small business management, and business. First published in 1977. it is published by ''Entrepreneur Media Inc''., headquartered in Irvine, Cal ...

's Top 10 Emerging Entrepreneurs as well as

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state, state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Dakota people, Dakota Sioux ...

Young Entrepreneur of the Year. TenHaken is also the co-founder of the Dispatch Project, a non-profit that organizes overseas mission opportunities for business leaders. His efforts have received accolades from Entrepreneur Magazine, When Work Works,

Inc. Magazine ''Inc.'' is an American business media company founded in 1979 and based in New York City. ''Inc.'' publishes several print magazine issues per year, and is anchored by journalistic content online and on social media, focused on entrepreneurship a ...

, and Sioux Falls Business Journal.

Mayor of Sioux Falls

TenHaken placed first in the April 10, 2018 election, and won the May 1 run-off election with 62.7% of the vote. Ten Haken pushed to get a new

city flag The list of city flags lists the flags of cities. Most of the city flags are based on the coat of arms or emblems of its city itself, and city flags can be also used by the coat of arms and emblems on its flag. Most of the city flags are flown out ...

approved in 2018 after the election. The city officially adopted the flag on July 10, 2018, and by November 2018, the flag was being flown in front of city buildings and inside the mayor's office. On April 9, 2020, over 80 employees at a

Smithfield Foods Smithfield Foods, Inc., is an American pork producer and food-processing company based in Smithfield, Virginia. Founded in 1936 as the Smithfield Packing Company by Joseph W. Luter and his son, the company is the largest pig and pork producer in ...

pork processing plant in

Sioux Falls Sioux Falls ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of South Dakota and the 117th-most populous city in the United States. It is the county seat of Minnehaha County and also extends into northern Lincoln County. The population was 192 ...

were confirmed to have tested positive for COVID-19. The plant announced it would suspend operations beginning April 11. On April 14, 2020, TenHaken stated he would be proposing a stay at home order to the city council. After three days and tremendous backlash, he decided not to pursue the stay at home order. Mayor TenHaken is credited as saying it is difficult to lead locally in a non-partisan way. He has also said a mask mandate could 'destroy a city' due to how politicized the issue had become. In April 2022, Mayor TenHaken was re-elected to serve a second term as mayor by securing 73% of the vote, a record for any mayoral race in the City of Sioux Falls since transitioning to its current form of government. One of Mayor TenHaken's goals in office was to make Sioux Falls the fittest city in the country. He has implemented several programs to improve the city's health including a citywide running program, outdoor fitness courts and soccer pitches.

Electoral history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:TenHaken, Paul 1977 births 21st-century mayors of places in South Dakota American marketing businesspeople Dordt University alumni Living people Mayors of Sioux Falls, South Dakota South Dakota Republicans University of Sioux Falls alumni 21st-century American businesspeople American company founders People from Sioux Center, Iowa People from Worthington, Minnesota Businesspeople from South Dakota

Early life and education

Business career

Mayor of Sioux Falls

Electoral history

See also

References