He was born in upstate New York and grew up in Silicon Valley.
She’s originally from Wisconsin and graduated high school in the Twin Cities.
They met in North Dakota when their professional paths crossed.
But when it came time to make their life together official, Dayna and Will Cromarty chose their new home in Sioux Falls for the site of their 2024 wedding at Blue Haven Barn and Gardens.
“Instead of having our wedding in the Twin Cities or California where our families are, we chose Sioux Falls because we wanted everyone who hadn’t had a chance to visit to experience Sioux Falls and see why we love living here,” Dayna said.
Guests came from both coasts, surrounding states and as far away as Switzerland.
“Many of our guests were surprised at how much Sioux Falls had to offer and how beautiful it was,” she continued. “Some had an idea of what Sioux Falls is, but some came here thinking it’s a smaller town with not a lot to do. They loved Sioux Falls, and we had some people try nearly all our recommendations, from downtown boutiques to breweries.”
Since moving here — Danya in 2022 and Will in 2023 — the Cromartys have found their new home filled with reasons they’re glad they made the move.
It started when Dayna was offered a job at Paulsen, a marketing agency where she could put her background in communications, marketing and social media to work in an ag industry she had come to love.
“My parents are from farming backgrounds, so I’ve always been surrounded by ag and had a great appreciation for our farmers, and in Grand Forks I worked at a media and events company that focused on renewable fuels — ethanol, biodiesel and biomass, and drones, which is how Will and I met,” she said.
Will’s professional path took him from an undergraduate major in Middle Eastern and Islamic studies to a role with the CIA, where he specialized in undercover work related to Russian aerospace and satellite systems.
“I had always planned on getting into intelligence-related work,” he said. “I had a passion for it and saw it as a way to combine my skill set with a way to do good in the world and do something for the United States.”
Inspired to go into national security work after living through Sept. 11, 2001, as a native New Yorker, he supported the NYPD Manhattan North Homicide Squad, assisting with intelligence gathering while in college at New York University. He joined the CIA right before he turned 23 and served five years undercover before working in business development for aerospace and defense contractors.
That’s how he ended up in North Dakota, speaking at an event in the aerospace industry and meeting Dayna, a conference organizer.
“Then, I made the move full time for a great opportunity with an aerospace company, helping them expand in the Dakotas,” he said.
He founded his own business, Kirkwall, in late 2022 “because I used to spend a lot of time briefing bad news to policymakers about how Russia and China are catching up to us and posing threats,” he said. “I decided to pull together a team and quit saying someone should really fix this and instead start fixing it ourselves.”
He describes Kirkwall as “like the check engine light from your car, but for critical infrastructure,” he said. “Our No. 1 job is preventing downtime on really, really expensive machinery and critical infrastructure — we’re giving you advanced alerts that something hasn’t failed yet but will in the near future.”
Kirkwall’s six-person team sells to U.S. government agencies, ag tech and biotech industries. The company’s software defends industrial systems from critical failure. Its algorithm enables cyberattack detection, diagnostic monitoring and preventative maintenance for Internet of Things-enabled ag tech, robotics and industrial systems.
Dayna made the Sioux Falls move first after visiting with her family in 2022 and interviewing at Paulsen.
“I loved that it didn’t feel like a huge town, but it’s definitely bigger than Grand Forks,” she said.
“Having gone to school in Minneapolis and lived near Madison, Wisconsin, there were bits and pieces of those bigger cities I missed. Downtown Sioux Falls is beautiful — there are so many fun things we’ve gotten a chance to do.”
She loves live music and has discovered the free downtown concerts at Levitt at the Falls. She’s a regular at the weekly Falls Park Farmers Market, which combines her love of agriculture with supporting local.
“And being able to live in a town that doesn’t feel too big, yet where you occasionally bump into people you know, was definitely appealing to me,” she added.
When Dayna moved, Will began spending more time in Sioux Falls. He made the move himself in 2023 after he proposed.
“I discovered it was an amazing environment for business and startups,” he said. “I give a lot of credit to Startup Sioux Falls — Brienne Maner is amazing and a real advocate for small businesses — and a lot of the programs from the Governor’s Office of Economic Development were really attractive for the stage we’re in. Plus, it’s an excellent environment for angel investors and venture capital, and multiple universities here offer top-tier talent, so we were able to build out an internship program with lots of great candidates.”
Kirkwall’s team is split between Fargo and Sioux Falls, and “our intention is, once the DSU Applied Research building is ready in 2026, to be tenants there,” he said.
In 2024, his company even won the Governor’s Giant Vision Competition, taking home a $20,000 prize.
“The entrepreneurial ecosystem led me to making a lot of good, personal friends here even though I moved here knowing hardly anyone,” Will added.
Dayna also has found that her job connected her to a broader community.
“I only knew one person in Sioux Falls, but now I feel like moving here was probably one of the best decisions that I have made,” she said.
“I was able to start fresh and meet new people. I’m in a bowling league, which I never thought I would do, and I play kickball with a team that plays through Paulsen, so I’m really grateful for the community of friends I’ve built. And Paulsen has been a fantastic place to work. I absolutely love my co-workers, and it’s awesome to work with a team that’s so passionate about what they do.”
Will loves putting his skills to friendly competition in an area pinball league, and they both have made a powerful connection at Embrace Church.
“We love it,” Will said. “I’ve lived all over the U.S. and internationally, and we definitely made the decision Sioux Falls is where we want to settle down and raise a family.”
After renting a townhouse with their St. Bernard, Boris, while they learned more about the area, they’re now house hunters planning to further put down roots here.
“We’re absolutely thrilled Sioux Falls has been such a good fit, personally and professionally, for Dayna and Will,” said Denise Guzzetta, vice president of talent and workforce development for the Sioux Falls Development Foundation.
“We can’t wait to see how Will’s business thrives here, how Dayna continues to grow her career and how they both build their life together, becoming an even greater part of our community.”
Are you ready to put the Sioux Falls advantage to work for you? Email deniseg@siouxfalls.com to learn more about the opportunities that are waiting for you.
