Dakotafire Get your spark here.

“One of these realities is right, and one isn’t.” That’s one of the viewpoints that was shared as the S.D. House HHS Committee debated HB 1225, which seeks to limit athletes to participating in S.D. high school sports activities to the division for the sex that was written on their birth certificates. For those who have never questioned our own ... Read More »

One of the disadvantages of rural life is what the big box stores think of us. We get smaller stores and less selection—and somehow the people doing the ordering don’t think we care about the cute stuff that our fashion-forward friends from larger communities are wearing. An increasing number of women in rural communities are providing an antidote by starting ... Read More »

How you spend your money matters to your community! Here are 10 reasons why:   1. Significantly more money recirculates in your local community. When you purchase at locally owned businesses rather than non-local businesses, more money is kept in the community because local businesses frequently purchase from other local businesses. Purchasing local goods and services helps grow area businesses as well ... Read More »

We’re excited to announce Explore Local, a way to add to the fun of discovering and supporting local businesses! Here’s how Explore Local will work: Customers visit participating businesses with their Dakotafire Go Local Directory in hand. They’ll ask someone at the businesses to add a stamp or signature to the Explore Local page in their directory. Customers will work ... Read More »

1. The directory is a new way to get your business “out there”! It’s intended especially for LOCAL business owners—just like you! More shoppers want to buy local. We’ll help them find your business. 2. We all do better when we work together. The directory is a tool for “co-opetition”—the idea that other business owners can be our allies as ... Read More »

The final issue of Dakotafire magazine has been distributed. The topic looks to the future of rural places. Check it out here. Publisher and Editor Heidi Marttila-Losure shares some thoughts about what the view from the end of this rural road here. Note that Dakotafire Media is still doing a few things: We’re publishing the Dakotafire Go Local Directory this spring, ... Read More »

We want to make this BIG, folks. We’re aiming to make the 2017 Dakotafire Go Local Directory as comprehensive a list of local businesses in the Dakotas as possible. And to help us reach that goal, we’re inviting locally-owned businesses in certain towns to sign up for their directory listing each week. If it’s your town’s week, you get a ... Read More »

Dakotafire Media is gearing up to put together the 2017 Dakotafire Go Local Directory. The Go Local Directory got a good start in 2016, and we want to build on that. It’s a project that fits into Dakotafire Media’s mission: Sparking a revival in the Dakotas and beyond by encouraging conversations that help people rethink what’s happening and reimagine what’s possible. ... Read More »

Tell us what makes your community great, and your town’s story could be told in a Community Spotlight feature in 2017 issues of Spark & Dakotafire magazines. We will also share at least one entry each day of the campaign on the Dakotafire Facebook page. Here’s how to enter: Take a picture of what you think gives a spark to ... Read More »

The U.S. Department of Justice recently announced the appointment of a District Election Officer for both North and South Dakota—but the Dakotas’ secretaries of state say this is standard procedure. “This is normal procedure to have a plan in place—a protocol to follow if there are issues,” said South Dakota Secretary of State Krebs. In South Dakota, Assistant U.S. Attorney ... Read More »