Meet The Team

Jason Andera, On-Air Talent

Jason Andera has been a regional sports staple since 1997. Just two years into his broadcast career, he helped create the KSFY Pigskin Preview, which still provides the most anticipated and thorough look at the upcoming high school football season. He brought that forward-thinking mindset to Midco Sports when he joined the team in 2010. He started the extremely popular Varsity Sports Live show where he continues his 20+ year passion for South Dakota high school sports. Andera grew up in Sioux Falls, graduated from Lincoln High School and went on to receive his degree in mass communications at the University of South Dakota.

David Brown, On-Air Talent

David Brown has been in the media business for nearly 15 years, including the last nine at Midco Sports. Brown serves in multiple capacities behind the scenes and on air. He has served as a producer, play-by-play broadcaster, set  host, sideline reporter and feature. He’s received Upper Midwest Emmy, Eric Sevareid, and Regional Edward R. Murrow Awards for his work. He graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2008 with a double major in broadcast journalism and political science. After graduation, he worked for more than four years at KELO-TV in Sioux Falls as a sports reporter and weekend news anchor.

Taylor Budge, On-Air Talent

Taylor Budge joined Midco Sports in 2022 and serves as a reporter and producer based in Grand Forks. She also hosts the pregame and intermission reports for UND hockey. Before joining Midco Sports, Budge has slowly made her way further north. Since graduating from St. Cloud State in 2016, she has worked as a sports anchor/reporter in Rochester, MN, Sioux Falls, SD, and most recently at WDAY in Fargo, ND. She also has experience working with FOX Sports covering the Minnesota Vikings along with the Big Ten Network. 

Jay Elsen, On-Air Talent/Assignment Editor

Jay Elsen joined Midco Sports in 2010 and anchors our coverage of University of South Dakota athletics. In addition to his play-by-play duties for USD football, basketball and volleyball, Jay also covers regional racing for Midco Motorsports, contributes to Midco Sports Magazine and manages team reporting assignments as Assignment Editor. Prior to joining the Midco, Jay made stops at KEYC-TV in Mankato and KELO-TV in Sioux Falls. He graduated from the University of Northwestern-St. Paul in 2003 with a degree in broadcasting and electronic media.

Alex Heinert, On-Air Talent

Since his debut with Midco Sports in 2012, Alex Heinert has become one of the region’s premier play-by-play voices for college athletics. He has served as the network’s lead announcer and on-air personality for University of North Dakota Athletics for the past six seasons while also covering the NCHC, the Summit League, the Missouri Valley Football Conference, and NCAA DII and high school sports in the Dakotas. He’s written and co-produced multiple Emmy nominated stories for the award-winning original series Midco Sports Magazine, many of which have featured UND athletes and programs, and he has also co-hosted a bi-weekly UND Athletics podcast with UND Athletics Director, Bill Chaves, since 2018. In the fall of 2021, Heinert was tabbed to lead CBS Sports Network’s national NCHC Game of the Week package, with his first season in that role culminating with his selection as the league’s Media Excellence Award recipient. Heinert is a native of South Dakota and completed his undergraduate and master’s degree at the University of Sioux Falls.

Tom Nieman, On-Air Talent

Tom Nieman has been in TV/radio/media in the Sioux Falls market for 32 years. TV experience includes sports anchor duties at KELO-TV (newscast, play-by-play, remote reporting) and at Midco Sports (play-by-play, original programming, event host) plus national stint with NBA-TV covering CBA (now G-League) Showcase. His radio experience includes seven seasons as play-by-play voice for Sioux Falls Skyforce (NBA G-League affiliate of Miami Heat).

Jody Norstedt, On-Air Talent

Jody Norstedt joined Midco Sports in 2017. You’ll see him out covering high school sports in North Dakota throughout the school year. He also co-produces and hosts Varsity Sports Live in the fall, is the lead play-by-play voice for North Dakota high school athletics and contributes to the award-winning Midco Sports Magazine program. Prior to joining Midco Sports, Norstedt spent nine years covering sports in North Dakota and Minnesota as a weekend sports anchor for WDAY/WDAZ. He was also a play-by-play announcer for both college and high school sports, including the North Dakota high school state tournaments. Norstedt won the NDAPSSA and NSMA 2020 North Dakota Sports Broadcaster of the Year and was the president for the NDAPSSA through the 2020-21 school year.

Brian Shawn, Producer and On-Air Talent

With nearly 20 years of broadcasting experience, Brian Shawn has announced more than 300 collegiate games – all in North Dakota. Before starting at Midco Sports in 2016, Shawn honed his on-air skills with three years at KXMB-TV in Bismarck and six years at KVLY-TV in Fargo. Shawn has won several awards, including four Eric Sevareid Awards for Play-By-Play and the 2021 North Dakota Sportscaster of the Year. A native of Bloomington, MN, Brian is involved in the Fargo/Moorhead community through the Fargo-Moorhead-West Fargo Chamber of Commerce as Chair of the Military Affairs Committee and also serves on board of directors for the Fargo Lions Club. He holds a bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of North Dakota and lives in Fargo.