Posts Tagged ‘South Dakota’

Chamberlain Sun’s figured out Facebook

February 27th, 2010

On Monday, Lindsey, Becki, and I are meeting with Miner County residents to talk about Facebook Pages for businesses.  Actually, we hope to do more than just talk.  We’re going to help business owners set up their own pages and talk about the strategies they might employ on Facebook.  It’s this last part about strategies that excites me.

Today, however, I noticed some web traffic to Reimagine Rural from the Chamberlain Sun Facebook page.  When I traced the links back, I discovered the page was set up by the Chamberlain Sun newspaper to spotlight the Chamberlain/Oacoma, SD community.  It’s the first example I’ve witnessed of a small town South Dakota newspaper using Facebook!   

Way to go Chamberlain Sun!

I’d like to highlight what I see the newspaper doing (in other words, their strategy) with their Facebook Page because I think they’ve got some good stuff happening.  Here’s a bit of it:

Very impressive.  I could keep going, but readers should be able to learn from and hopefully be inspired by the newspaper’s use of Facebook. 

I’m going to add the Chamberlain Sun’s use of Facebook to the list of examples we use on Monday night in our Facebook class.  If you know of any other great examples of businesses in small, rural communities who do a great job of using Faceboook, we’d love to be able to share them as well.

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Buy Fresh, Buy Local South Dakota goes online

January 25th, 2010

The Buy Fresh, Buy Local South Dakota initiative has taken another step.  They’ve launched a new website, and stand ready to help South Dakota’s producers and consumers build a more robust local foods economy.

As I wrote in a post a couple weeks ago, schools in our rural communities can play an important role in the growing local foods movement.  Not only can schools help teach children healthy eating habits, but they can stimulate economic development at the local community level.  And as Business Week recently reported, local foods initiatives play a more significant role in economic development than most people realize.   

The Buy Fresh, Buy Local South Dakota website is another educational tool for helping people learn more about foods grown in the region.  It includes a calendar of upcoming events and a  forum for asking questions.  I intend to keep it on my radar, and will turn to it with my questions. 

Currently, there’s only one question in the forum.  In a nutshell it acknowledges the difficulty of buying locally grown foods during our winter months, and essentially asks, “How can we get more?” 

I’m anxious to learn what ideas others will add to the conversation.  My response might be, let’s be more aggressive in our support of local foods this spring, summer, and fall, so that more of our producers feel comfortable making the financial investments required to turn their operation into a year-round production.  That would be something to look forward to!

 

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Wind Energy Jobs outgrow Coal Jobs

December 1st, 2009

Thanks to a post on The Rural Blog, I stumbled across this old article from the Fortune Magazine blog touting an American Wind Energy study that claims more people are employed in wind energy than in coal mining.  My first reaction was “can this be true?”

With two wind energy companies located in tiny Howard, SD (pop. 1080), I recognize the importance of green job development to the future of Midwestern rural communities.  But I had no idea the wind industry now employs 85,000 workers compared to approximately 81,000 workers in the coal mining industry.

With that in mind, however, I’d like to caution people not to jump to the conclusion that there are more jobs in the wind energy industry than the coal industry.  The statistics speak only to coal mining.  Just as mechanization has led to the transfer of jobs from farming to the agro-industrial sector, the coal industry has also seen the movement of jobs from coal mining to industry related activities like the manufacturing of coal mining equipment.

What I like about the wind energy industry is that it makes business sense to locate the new jobs they create in rural communities close to wind resources.  Howard is a perfect example.

If you are interested in joining the conversation about job creation in wind energy, I’d encourage you to get to know the South Dakota Wind Energy Association.  Today, they are hosting their Annual Meeting in Pierre, SD. 

You can also become an “Advocate Member” of the association by visiting their website.  It’s easy and free. The wind energy industry is not going to save every rural community, but it can create a positive effect on many.

Photo Credit: Green for All - Flickr

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Why is it so tough to recycle in rural communities?

November 25th, 2009

Congratulations Salem!  You are one of the newest communities in South Dakota to participate in and benefit from the RecycleBank recycling program. 

Like most Americans, I understand the importance of recycling, but I’ve not always been as consistent in my recycling efforts as I should be.  After all, it’s usually inconvenient and there’s very little reward for recycling (outside of it is the right thing to do). 

According to this article in the Mitchell Daily Republic, some of these reasons have disappeared in Salem and in fourteen other rural SD communities through the RecycleBank program being offered by Novak Sanitary Services. 

Through the RecycleBank program, residents are (1) able to receive coupons based on the volume of waste they recycle, and (2) don’t have to sort their recyclable material.

When I lived in South Carolina during the early 1990s, my wife and I were regular recyclers, but fell out of the practice after moving back to rural South Dakota.  The reasons for this backslide were simple: there was no organized recycling in the town where I lived; and no one else collected any waste other than aluminum cans.

The Daily Republic article has me thinking:  How many rural communities in South Dakota offer recycling?  The article identifies fourteen additional small towns using the RecycleBank program, but I wonder how many others are recycling through other programs? 

And if rural communities are not offering recycling services, why not?  Why is it so difficult to offer recycling in a small town? 

 

Photo credit:  sparkle lavalamp - Flickr

 

 

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Highlights from Hill City

October 7th, 2009

Last week I had the opportunity to spend four days with the folks in Hill City. SD during a design:SD charrette.  I say opportunity for several reasons: it is a special thing when a community invites a team in and believes they will produce something they need, and it is awesome when fifteen individually talented strangers at the start become friends lending their talents towards a common goal. 

The experience always leaves me with new impressions, ideas, and hopes.  Project Hill City was no different.  Below is an unedited, incomplete, and completely biased view of my impressions in Hill City.  I hope my mates will fill in where I’m off track. 

Preserve What’s Special

The folks in Hill City continually shared that preserving the “feel” of Hill City was top priority.   Naming what that feeling is was a bit more difficult; everything from unique character, charm, history, arts, natural beauty, and the list goes on. 

The point is, there was something special to capture about Hill City that is different than the next community, but that each community has (or should develop) that same sense.  Figuring out how to put words to it will help you make decisions regarding your community brand and design. 

Unintended Consequences

During our learning studio, we heard that some Hill City residents desired an events center: a place where people could be housed and entertained in one convenient location. 

What the design team realized is that Hill City is already an events center. Adding a separate events center  (likely to be located on the fringes of the community or out of the city limits altogether) may actually detract from the culture Hill City is trying to create.  Our recommendation is to use existing places and spaces to meet the needs of events that will be held in Hill City.

Tourists and Residents Have Different Needs

Who are you going to plan for? Understanding how residents and tourists use your community differently may help guide a comprehensive plan.  One example is of this is shared in the video below.

Matt’s point is this:  parking needs are different for residents than they are for tourists, so plan accordingly. 

Design Impacts Community

Hill City has been able to reinvent its downtown area due to the influence of the arts.  Several prominent artists house galleries in Hill City, and dozens more display their works in the galleries and shops along Main Street.  I think it is no coincidence that the community describes itself as able to work together well.  Downtown places, and the interaction that they encourage, help residents build social capital, contributing to a community’s ability to get along.  (sort of like the “third places” Mike keeps talking about)

 

 

 

These are just a few of the highlights I’ve come away from Hill City with.  All of the design:SD boards are available for viewing below.  I’d be interested in what you think!

DesignSD - Hill City Boards
View more documents from Rural Learning Center.

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Neal Wanless - He’s no Beverly Hillbilly

October 2nd, 2009

Why would Neal Wanless, the 23-year-old who won a $232.1 million Powerball prize last June, want to buy a ranch in western South Dakota rather than move to a mansion in Beverly Hills? (read more about Wanless here.)

While I don’t really know for sure, I suspect that we can find the answer to this question in videos like the ones I’ve embedded below.

Ellingson Angus Ranch - St. Anthony, ND

 

 

 

Will Feed, Inc. — Cozad, NE

 

I discovered the videos on a website called The Working Ranch Channel, thanks to a link at the bottom of this post by Caleb Schultz, which I talked about yesterday.

The videos on the site focus on cattle ranching, but cover a wide range of topics.  They are well worth watching.

 As I watched the two I’ve embedded above, however, I was struck by the passion and love each family has for their cattle operation.   I suspect if they won the lottery, they’d stay on the ranch, just like Wanless. 

I think the videos (as well as others on the site) also speak to the central question that Caleb Schutlz is wrestling with on his blog - how do we help urban America understand agriculture and rural life. 

Living in rural places and making one’s living off the land is an experience that most urban dwellers don’t get a chance to experience.  Videos like the above should definitely help urban dwellers understand why some of us prefer a ranch in western South Dakota to a mansion in Beverly Hills.

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So what’s going on in Iroquois?

September 16th, 2009

Yesterday at the Rural Housing Playbook regional conference, we heard about a remarkable story brewing in Iroquois, SD.  For the last 3-4 years, the community has focused on a housing strategy that local residents believe has helped bring in fourteen new students to their school.  That’s nothing to sneeze at in a community fighting to keep its school open. 

A big part of their housing strategy has been the development of Governor’s Houses by the Iroquois Housing group.  In the last 3 ½ years, six Governors houses have been constructed, and a seventh is on the way.  That’s remarkable for a community of 300 residents. 

But what didn’t get as much attention during the conference is how Iroquois has successfully developed these home.  I think that this part of the story is really remarkable because many other rural communities have been only moderately successful or not at all.  So what has Iroquois figured out? 

 

Four Tips for successfully developing Governors Houses

I’m sure there’s no easy answer to my above question.  But as I listened to their story, I heard the following 4 tips that I think have helped Iroquois be successful. 

1. Create a good hook: For Iroquois, the hook has been a $4000 gift to anyone who buys a Governors House. This means that a community has to have a pool of money it can use for this purpose and is willing to give that money away. But at the end of the day, offering an incentive like this is just good marketing.

2. Keep your development costs low: It probably goes without saying that keeping the development costs low will make selling a house more attractive, but there’s another reason this is important for Governors Houses. The income qualifications limit the number of individuals who can qualify. If the development costs are too high, the individuals who qualify can’t afford it - even though they qualify. In Iroquois, everyone - from the volunteers, to the contractor, and to the city - has made contributions to keep the costs low. That’s what it takes.

3. Community members need to be champions: If your community has a malcontent who meets potential homeowners, selling any houses in your community can be pretty tough. In Iroquois, the opposite appears to be true. There, we heard a story about a grocer who rolled out his best salesmanship skills to convince a couple, who had stopped in at his store, that Iroquois was right for them.

4. Make sure you have good financing options: Many individuals finance the purchase of Governors Houses with USDA 504 loans, USDA direct loans, and SDHDA First-time homebuyer programs. But Iroquois residents have additional financing options offered by NESDEC and BASEC. The added resources provided by organizations like these can be invaluable to closing the deal.

In sum, it really takes a team effort to make the project work.  And the team in Iroquois has been getting the job done. 

 

                  

Photo note:  The photos are of several new houses that have been built in Iroquis in the last three and one-half years.

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A Remarkable Event, for Rural Places Everywhere

August 28th, 2009

The Rural Learning Center is celebrating the beginning of a new phase in their history next week.  On Wednesday, September 2nd the Rural Learning Center will break ground on the Maroney Rural Learning Center.  The center will house renewable energy and rural community training space, a restaurant, kitchen and hotel in a certified LEED Platinum building, all on Howard’s Main Street. 

The Maroney Rural Learning Center is part of the ongoing, strategic work of the Rural Learning Center, which has been working in Howard and surrounding Miner County for the past 15 years on economic development, housing development, and growing capacity of local leaders and organizations.  The expanded facility will allow the Rural Learning Center to host community based groups who come to learn about community development and an innovative renewable energy job training program, specifically.  Additional uses for the facility include space for local gatherings and rural conferences/ trainings.

The groundbreaking program will feature partners of the Rural Learning Center, including Pam Flaherty, President and CEO of Citi Foundation, Ken Stork, President and CEO of Citibank South Dakota, Kevin Walker, President and CEO of the Northwest Area Foundation, and Bob Sutton, President of the South Dakota Community Foundation.  Pam Flaherty (Citi Foundation) will present a $250,000 grant to the Rural Learning Center specifically in support of their efforts to building the Maroney Rural Learning Center and the renewable energy job training program. 

Event details follow.  We hope to see you on Wednesday!

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More on the Clark Variety Store

May 24th, 2009

The Clark Hometown Variety Store received more good publicity today in a story published in the Sioux Falls Argus Leader.  Titled “Buying a store sells Clark on small-town power“, the article describes how the residents of Clark, SD (pop. 1300) banded together to create a cooperatively-owned variety store.  

If faithful readers of ReImagine Rural think the story sounds familiar, it should.  Back in February 2009, I posted about the store, emphasizing the importance of small retail operations like this in small, rural communities.    They are often just as much a part of a community’s “infrastructure” as streets, cell phone service, and broadband internet.

The Argus Leader identifies that cooperative-owned stores like this are on the rise, but they missed an opportunity to provide another “local” example of the phenomena it in action.  After all, the community of Menno, SD took similar initiative to maintain the presence of a grocery store in their community.

The story also raises the question:  What is happening to Clark’s city sales tax revenues?  Most people are not aware of how important city sales tax is to the operations of a municipality in South Dakota.  My guess is that Clark has seen a rise in its revenues since the store opened.  It would be fun to see. 

 

Other stories about the Clark Hometown Variety Store

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Rural vs. Urban job growth in SD

May 11th, 2009

A new report highlights a positive trend in Miner County, SD. Between 2002 and 2008, Miner County experienced a growth of 17.61% in the number of private sector jobs created in the county. That is especially good news when one considers that overall, South Dakota’s rural communities experienced a decline of .27% in private sector jobs.

The study, titled “Private Industry Change in South Dakota,” was completed by the Rural Life Census Data Center at South Dakota State University and released in their April 2009 newsletter. Read the full report here.

Overall, the study shows that South Dakota performed pretty well in the job creation arena during this period (2002-2008) with an overall growth rate of 8.6%. But most of that growth occurred in urban areas or counties bordering South Dakota’s largest communities (those with cities of over 10,000 people). (See report for comparison to surrounding states.)

In addition to its analysis, the report offers a couple brief policy implications:

1) First, the report recommends supporting the development of smaller, locally owned businesses. A community with a diversity of small, locally owned businesses allows residents to take greater ownership of the community. These communities also tend to have less inequality. To me, this sounds like a great case for investing in economic gardening practices, where local businesses are the beneficiaries.

2) Second, policy makers need to understand the relationship between poverty and private industry and take action by investing in education, vocational training, and work experience. It is interesting to note that the study emphasizes accomplishing this through grassroots civic organizations where people have an opportunity to develop greater “personal ownership and community pride.” Sounds like they are buying into the Knight Foundation’s Soul of the Community study.

Some final thoughts

Overall, I appreciate the emphasis the report places on the current economic plight of rural communities. I hope that policy makers take note that across the board, current job creation strategies in rural communities are not working well. This does not mean, however, that places experiencing decline are without hope.

There are places beyond Miner County and those next to South Dakota’s largest communities who are experiencing positive job growth. And we need to start asking why? Perhaps that’s coming in a future report by the Rural Life Census Data Center. Or perhaps you know the answer.

Note: I took note of the job growth in Miner County because it is the home to this blog. The work of the Rural Learning Center attempts to build on the economic model being used in Miner County, so highlighting a few elements of its economy provides context to the writing here.

Image Credit: The map is presented as a part of the “Private Industry Change in South Dakota” report, prepared by the Rural Life Census Data Center.

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