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White Lake, S.D., may see itself as a “bedroom community” to nearby Mitchell and Chamberlain, but the town of 450 has found its own ways to stand strong. Read More »

The Blue Ribbon Task Force on Teachers and Students has identified distance education as one solution to South Dakota's teacher shortage, but experts say it's not a fail-proof solution. Read More »

by Anna Jauhola and Wendy Royston, Dakotafire Media Some entrepreneurs in the Dakotafire region are banding together to bring more of the thrill of the holiday shopping experience—and those who seek it—into their shops. “The experience … determines how long a customer stays around and how much shopping they’ll try to do while they’re in the store,” said Becky McCray, ... Read More »

by Anna Jauhola and Wendy Royston, Dakotafire Media Perhaps the answer to South Dakota’s teacher shortage doesn’t lie in recruiting this year’s high school seniors to the profession or retaining next year’s education grads within our borders. Maybe the answer is sitting in homes and in offices throughout our state, already engaging with youth. “Being a teacher was not an ... Read More »

Editor’s Note: See related story here. by Wendy Royston, Dakotafire Media with additional reporting by Sheila Ring, Onida Watchman; Kim Ehlers, Standard Publishing; and Ken Schmierer, for the Dickey County Leader Consolidations of schools and sports teams are common across both Dakotas, and they often change the way homecoming unfolds in those schools and communities. Corsica and Stickney, S.D., will ... Read More »

Editor’s Note: See related story here. by Wendy Royston, Dakotafire Media with additional reporting by Sheila Ring, Onida Watchman, and Ken Schmierer, for The Dickey County Leader The word “homecoming” suggests the original intent of the fall celebrations was to bring graduates—and the focus of the community—back to the school. In many towns today, that call to come home is ... Read More »

Top 10 quotable moments from National Rural Assembly 2015 In order to be heard, rural advocates must amplify their voices through powerful, impactful statements. At the 2015 National Rural Assembly, held Sept. 8-10 in on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., rural ideas were shared amid peers and top-ranking White House officials alike. A focus on youth in planning the infrastructure, ... Read More »

What is rural? A table of six young leaders from across America hashed out the definition of the word “rural” during Young Leader’s Day at the National Rural Assembly in Washington, D.C. In a framing exercise, we discussed what we most want policymakers to know about the places that, to us, epitomize the institution of “rural,” as well as the ... Read More »

Though school districts throughout the Dakotas are diverse in many ways, troubles recruiting and retaining bus drivers are not unique. “Every place I’ve worked at, we’ve dealt with issues with buses (and) transportation,” said 22-year superintendent Terry Eckstaine, who presently works in the Ethan, (S.D.) School District. Read More »

When it comes to the U.S. Postal Services’ cost for renting post office buildings in the Dakotas, price varies as much as population, and the reasons for those rental rates can vary just as much. “The government doesn’t understand these small towns ... They’ve just got a rate they pay, and they don’t adjust it for what the market will bear.” Read More »