Dan lives with his wife Gayla on the land where his grandfather, Henry Kertzman, had settled in the early 1900s.  They raised two daughters there.

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He graduated from South Dakota State University in 1976, followed by attending Superior Auctioneering school. 

With 40 years of auction experience, he has had the opportunity to sell some of the finest ranchland in South Dakota, conduct numerous farm estate & retirement auctions, as well as sell Purebred livestock in six states.

Piroutek was named the Black Hills Stock Show Agribusiness person of the year in 2012.