Born in Marion, Indiana, in 1953, Sid Shroyer grew up in rural Grant County and graduated from Indiana University Bloomington in 1975. Shroyer spent his career in radio, where he was a local on-air host of All Things Considered for the NPR affiliate WVPE in the South Bend, Indiana, media market. After taking a shot at living in Phoenix and then Chicago, Shroyer and his wife, Judy, settled in her hometown, South Bend, where they have lived since 1977.