Posts Tagged ‘South Dakota’

Rural America: Who’s getting younger?

August 5th, 2010

I doubt anyone is surprised by this news, but information published on the Daily Yonder confirms that much of the rural Midwest has continued to age.  Not all rural Midwestern counties, however, followed this trend.  Some got younger, including a handful of counties right here in South Dakota.

That’s good news for each of the counties that became younger.  But it’s also good news for those counties that became older; hopefully we can learn from these hipster counties.

What does the Daily Yonder article say?

Produced by Roberto Gallardo, the Daily Yonder article focuses on the proportional change in population under age 25 of all rural counties in the U.S during the last decade.  As the map to the right indicates, most rural counties (shown in red) experienced a decrease in the percentage of young people; those identified in blue became younger.  (source:  “Rural America inthe 2000s: Age,” Roberto Gallardo, Daily Yonder,  July 21, 2010.)

In total, nine rural South Dakota counties experienced an increase in the percentage of young people.  Those counties include:

Looking at the list, I’m a bit surprised.  I had expected to find Beadle and Brown Counties on the list, two counties benefiting from major new business startups in recent years, and reservation counties, where birth rates are typically higher.  I’m also surprised by just how “typical” these counties are.  Strike Clay and Brookings Counties, which house our state’s two largest universities, and the remaining counties are very similar to most rural counties in eastern South Dakota.

Why’s this important?

This research is timely for me because it comes on the heels of “The Rural Growth Trifecta” study, the most recent of a long line of studies emphasizing the importance of outdoor amenities to rural community development.  Comparing maps we can see that all of the South Dakota communities that grew younger rank low on the outdoor amenity scale used in “The Rural Growth Trifecta” study.

If outdoor amenities are key to attracting people to rural communities, and I agree they are, then why are these lower amenity counties getting younger?   I don’t have the answer to this question, but I’d sure like to know more.

Tags: , ,
Posted in Community Development, Rural | Comments (0)

Broadband: An entrepreneurial requirement

July 28th, 2010

I’ve been thinking about broadband a bit lately with the approaching Midwest Rural Assembly.  Spreading broadband to more rural communities was front-and-center at last years’ Assembly.  I’m sure it will be a hot topic again this year.

Broadband helps Break Barriers of Distance

Those of us who live and work in rural communities know the importance of high speed Internet connections.  Because of it, the barriers of distance are broken and more businesses are possible in small towns.  In fact, just the other week I met with an entrepreneur from Howard, SD whose business would not be possible without it.  The owner has an engineering background, and he needs the Internet to connect with clients around the country.  He’s a creative guy and wants to live in a rural community.  Without broadband, he might have to consider moving to a city.

Howard is lucky to have high-speed Internet, but not all rural places are that lucky.  My experience in rural economic development tells me that those communities who lack broadband access have little opportunity to attract entrepreneurs.  And without entrepreneurs, they have little future.

Digging into broadband access in South Dakota, I learned that 81% of South Dakotans currently have high speed access.  sources: (Broadband for America)  That will increase with the latest round of federal funding recently announce (link), but I doubt it reaches the current access rates in Finland, where 96% has high speed access.  (source:  “Finland makes Broadband a legal right,” BBC News, July 1, 2010)

 

More Can Be Done

It is in the long-term interest of the US to spread broadband access to every small town, so more people like my entrepreneur friend, can live where they choose without being limited to densely populated, and therefore connected, areas. Finland’s move to make access to broadband a “right” is dramatic (although mostly symbolic, since, as previously stated, 96% are already connected) proclamation that broadband is the way of the future; a statement that I strongly agree with.

What is important for us to focus on is that rural communities need to foster entrepreneurial economies, and those entrepreneurial economies require broadband access.   Lack of broadband access is like a death sentence for any community, large or small.  And that’s something nobody wants to see.

 

Note:  Broadband for America’s mission is “to make broadband access to the Internet available to every household in the nation….”  The map on their homepage makes it easy see to how accessible broadband is on a state-by-state basis.  You may also want to check out their blog.

Tags: , ,
Posted in Economic Development, Rural | Comments (0)

Is your project funding ready?

June 17th, 2010

One thing I’ve learned during my time in the rural community development field is that every community is looking for grant money for projects, but few communities actually have projects that are ready for grants. 

Instead of having projects, what communities actually have is an idea or two about something they might like to do in their community.  It’s an idea that often emerged after a community leader reads an article in a regional newspaper about a grant that a neighboring community received.  The leader brings the article to the next meeting and questions; “Why didn’t we know about this grant?  We could have done the same thing in our community if we’d only known about the money.” 

Whenever I hear situations like the one above, I try to tactfully tell community leaders, “You shouldn’t start by thinking about the money.  Instead, develop a project, and then go looking for assistance with it.  If the project is good, the money will come.  It might take some time, and you risk the possibility of spending time working on projects that never receive funding.  But if the project is really good, funding usually emerges.”

That’s a response that many community leaders don’t like to hear, but I think it has a lot of merit.

Case in Point:  The US DOT TIGER II grant

This topic came up in a discussion I had yesterday with Greg Maag from First District Association of Local Governments, the planning district representing Northeastern South Dakota.  Greg is a grant writer for the planning district.  He helps cities, counties, and other entities with grant applications and reporting. 

Greg told me about a tight deadline with the TIGER II grant, and mentioned having difficulty finding communities with projects that met the project’s criteria and could be pulled together in short notice.

For those who might be interested, the TIGER II grant is a competitive grant program designed to assist transportation related projects.  The program, like the ARRA (stimulus) funding of 2009, is looking for projects that can start in a fairly quick time schedule.  Approximately 140 million dollars of the 350 million dollar program is set aside for projects in rural areas.  The minimum grant amount that can be requested on an application is one million dollars.    

If your community has a project ready for the TIGER II grant, I’d encourage you to contact Greg or someone at the planning district serving your region. 

If you are at the idea stage, however, I’d recommend you pull people in your community together and turn the initial idea into a more well defined project.  I’m not calling on you to spend a ton of time on this.  Start small.  Perhaps all you do is put your idea into a “concept paper.”  Over time add flesh to the concept and share the project with people like Greg whose jobs are to help communities fund projects. 

In the long run, I think you will discover that more of your projects receive funding.   

Photo Credit:  hannah.rosen - Flickr

Tags: , ,
Posted in Community Development, Economic Development, Rural | Comments (1)

I’m feeling the renewal of spring

April 9th, 2010

(Note: It’s Friday, which means this post is a part of our “I Feel Fridays” project.  Our goal is to share stories from the past week that generated an emotional response.  We encourage readers to respond to the post or to share something from their lives in the past week. To learn more about “I Feel Fridays,” check out this post - and then tell us what you’re feeling.)

 

Spring has arrived in the northern Midwest, and I feel energized.  I also feel lucky to be able to celebrate holidays with family.

These feelings emerged last Sunday - Easter Sunday — when in-between church and my parents’ arrival for dinner, I grabbed a book, snuck down to the lake, and basked in the warmth of the spring sun with some light reading.  Sure, the temps were only in the upper 50’s, but it renewed me.  This short hiatus also reminded me of the Easter tradition Jodi and I initiated while living in South Carolina, some years ago.

Easter in South Carolina

With no family around for Easter, our tradition involved picking up a bucket of Church’s chicken on our way home from Easter services, donning our swimsuits, and heading to the beach just 20 minutes away.  We thought our picnic and beach excursion made us pretty cool. We were young, footloose, and living a dream.  But even then, I think we knew this youthful “coolness” could not compete with the void created by missing family.

Three years in South Carolina were fun, but it never felt like home.  I’m glad we experienced this time away because it causes me to appreciate South Dakota even more.

Should I go or should I stay?

What’s better?  Living your whole life in the place that’s home or moving away for awhile so that you recognize what home has to offer?  The answer is probably unique to each individual. 

I also often wonder if I neglect telling others enough about why I chose to live in South Dakota.  It’s definitely not as “hip” as living in tourist-trendy South Carolina, nor can I enjoy a spring day in the Atlantic. 

But I’ve learned that I don’t want to live without family and the variety South Dakota’s seasons offer.  Spring means renewal, summer is outdoor recreation, fall (my favorite season) brings crispness, and winter connects friends, indoor time, and togetherness.   There’s a beauty in each.

In short, the variety of these seasons, along with the closeness of family (and friends), are the reasons I call this place home. 

Why do you call your place (wherever you live) home?

Tags: , ,
Posted in Rural | Comments (4)

Tech Trendy South Dakota

April 6th, 2010

Yesterday, Keloland TV in Sioux Falls featured Tea, SD and the Facebook page created for the community by its economic development director, Jenni White.   


 

(Note:  Thanks to Jonathan Garcia  answering the “help request” I posted on Twitter last night.  I initially had to post a link to the Keloland site because their embed code wasn’t working. Jonathan sent me this YouTube file, which I’m able to embed Thanks Jonathan!) 

White says she created the tool as a way to share information with the community’s residents.  Even though it’s only been around for a few months, the page has attracted almost 400 fans.  Nice job Jenni!

But Tea is not the leader in the pack of South Dakota communities using Facebook.  I marvel at how effective Miller, SD has been with their Facebook page.  Any community of approximately 1500 residents that is pushing 1000 Facebook fans is doing a remarkable job.  And there are others. I know of half dozen other communities that are using Facebook pretty effectively, including Lennox, Miner County, Chamberlain, Webster, Deuel County, and Oldham.

But you know what?  Maybe we shouldn’t be surprised that so many communities using Facebook.  After all, South Dakota a national leader in our percentage of Facebook users. 

 

Mashable give us the goods

Yes, you heard me right.  Yesterday, I learned about South Dakota’s high adoption rate for Facebook in research posted by Muhammad Saleem on Mashable. 

In short, the research tells us that South Dakota has the highest percentage of its population with Facebook accounts-coming in at 31.1%.  (Get all the goods with the graphics below or at the Mashable article. )

I’m proud of this statistic! It wasn’t all that long ago that I considered South Dakotans as social media/networking laggards.  When we started ReImagine Rural in the fall of 2008, I conducted an informal survey of rural community development leaders asking about their social media usage.  I didn’t find anyone with a Facebook account (myself included), and only 10% said they read blogs with any regularity. 

 

Why should we care?

The Mashable research has me thinking about what this means for South Dakota.  I’m actually perplexed by why our Facebook usage is so high, especially when compared to our neighboring states. Why do you think that is?

But the bottom line is that Facebook is a great tool for South Dakota communities to use as they attempt to “build community.”  In rural communities, we used to have stronger “third places” that helped build this sense of community. 

In their absence, I think Facebook and other social networking tools offer an alternative for getting people together for conversations that helps build trust.  That doesn’t mean face-to-face conversation isn’t important.  Hopefully, communities with Facebook pages like Tea, Miller, and Chamberlain discover ways to use Facebook to generate more offline personal interaction.   

It’s when this starts to happen, that we will really be able to say “South Dakota is Tech Trendy.”

Note:  Thanks to Hugh Weber at Deep Bench for drawing my attention to this info. 

 

 (source:  Muhammad Saleem , “By the Numbers: Facebook vs the United States (Infographic)” Mashable, April 5, 2010).

 

 

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Posted in Community Development, Economic Development, Rural | Comments (5)

How are you supporting your future popcorn ball makers?

March 15th, 2010

I’ve seen them at every gas station in town.  They catch my eye every time, but I’d never tried one.  Until last week, that is.  That’s when I enjoyed my first Original Kimball Popcorn Ball.  Mike filled me in on the story of the Kimball Popcorn ball awhile back, and we discussed how we should share the story on the blog.  My first response was, “I need to try the popcorn ball!”  So, I stopped at my local Casey’s to purchase one for inspiration … I ended up buying three. 

But, there’s more to this story.  Because popcorn balls, especially those from Kimball, South Dakota, don’t just land on the shelves of our local convenience stores.  There’s the making of the popcorn balls, which I would guess is a difficult process in mass quantities. And then there’s the fact that the business owners have to decide to pursue a business and need to be supported by community, proper facilities and a productive workforce.    As it turns out, it’s quite a story. 

 

The big decision

The owners of The Original Kimball Popcorn Ball, LLC didn’t set out to make popcorn balls.  Lee Pulse and Scott Handel (two of the owners) owned and operated a hunting and fishing guide service in Kimball, South Dakota.  When a convenience store became available a few years ago, they purchased it.  Popcorn balls were part of the deal. 

The business’ previous owner made homemade popcorn balls to sell out of the store’s kitchen.  Lee and Scott continued this practice, tinkering with the recipe as time went by.  Meanwhile the popcorn balls gained a reputation and grew in popularity.  Lee’s brother, Eric Pulse, and another partner Dennis Husman entered the picture as thoughts of expansion emerged. 

Despite a seemingly high demand, the decision to move into production full time wasn’t an easy one.  A special request from a hospital patient who loved the popcorn balls gave the business team the final push they needed.  And today, they ship The Original Kimball Popcorn Ball to convenience and specialty food stores across the country.   Six full time employees are employed out of the facility the company leases in Kimball, South Dakota.

 

How is your community supporting its future entrepreneurs?

The four partners that make up The Original Kimball Popcorn Ball LLC made their decision to pursue a business opportunity based on some market demand information and previous business experience.  But what if the future entrepreneurs in your community don’t have that information?  What would it take to help them make a successful leap into popcorn ball making, gear box remanufacturing or hair styling? 

These questions are being answered differently in communities across South Dakota and the region, but here are a couple of great examples:

Deuel Area Development (DAD), a development organization based in Deuel County, SD is in the process of developing an entrepreneurship program that relies on an Area Resource Team to provide targeted, specific assistance to entrepreneurs.  The Resource Team is made up of a variety of individuals with specific skills and experiences needed to help budding entrepreneurs (resource team members include lenders, lawyers, engineers, etc.).  DAD is also developing marketing materials and strategy to reach potential entrepreneurs in their region.

The Dakota Rising program partners local communities with start-up phase entrepreneurs to begin building capacity and relationships to encourage rural entrepreneurship.  The program is unique in a few ways; first, the program intentionally builds relationships with communities who then seek out area entrepreneurs.  Second, the program develops a strong social network among the entrepreneurs so they can learn from, and lean on one another.  During the 2009 National Economic Gardening Conference, one participant of the program described that “entrepreneurs need other entrepreneurs.”  This program is delivering that need for a number of entrepreneurs in South Dakota. 

I guess the bottom line is that there are many ways to help find and support potential entrepreneurs in your community, and no one program will work for every community.  Eric Pulse’s inspiration shared in the post Still Wondering What If…? applies to rural communities as well.  Rural communities can’t afford to let potential entrepreneurs sit back and wonder “what if?”

 

 

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Economic Development, Rural | Comments (0)

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.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Community Development, Community Engagement, Rural | Comments (4)

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!

 

Tags: , ,
Posted in Economic Development, Rural | Comments (0)

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

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Economic Development, In the News, Rural | Comments (0)

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

 

 

Tags: , , ,
Posted in In the News, Rural | Comments (2)

« Older Entries