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by Wendy Royston with additional reporting by Kristin Brekke Vandersnick Does your rural community need new rental housing? If so, it’s likely that rental rates will have to increase to make that possible. Many recent housing studies conducted in rural communities recommend rate increases because current rents won’t cover the payments for new construction. Rents in smaller communities with fewer ... Read More »

Once a community decides to pursue new housing, the natural next question is, “Where?” “That depends on the community and the type of tenant,” according to Margot Gillette, executive director of Beadle and Spink Enterprise Community. In and around small towns, land isn’t always advertised as “for sale,” but Gillette said that doesn’t always mean it’s not. “It’s a lot ... Read More »

The community of Delmont, S.D., already struggled with decreasing population when an EF-2 tornado damaged or destroyed about one-third of its homes on Mother’s Day 2015. What emerged from the debris was enhanced camaraderie and the opportunity to reimagine the future. Most Dakotans know the feeling of hunkering down during severe weather, listening to roaring thunder and the suddenly angry ... Read More »

A project of Design:SD  •  Illustrations by Paul H. Boerboom, AIA, and Jeremy Altman, Assoc. AIA Adapted primarily from: AIA’s Ten Principles for Livable Communities, with inspiration from Minnesota Design Team and several other sources When you start designing projects for your community, how do you know they will actually work—that whatever you build will be used, and loved, and ... Read More »

This spring, seven homes will be built in a circle facing each other, re-creating a cultural and physical pattern of living in community that has until now been lost to generations of Lakota. As part of the larger Thunder Valley community being built by tribal members on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, these homes continue a masterpiece in development, community ... Read More »

The streets that line South Dakota’s “silver city” may not be paved with gold, but for at least a few months each year, many of the roads that lead to the community of 761 are surrounded by a rich, golden glow. Onida is in Sully County, the home of the highest per-capita earners in the nation. Much of that financial ... Read More »

A gathering of Miller residents ranging in age from 15 to 89 had a conversation Feb. 5 about this question: “How can we engage young people in the future of the community of Miller?” The gathering was the last event of the Prairie Idea Exchange, a grant-funded project intended to share community-building ideas across the region. Dakotafire Media organized the ... Read More »

by Emma Bouza Three twenty-one is a day to be celebrated in our house. March 21 is World Down Syndrome Day, chosen to represent the third copy of the 21st chromosome, which results in the genetic condition known as Down syndrome. Trisomy 21 came into our lives almost six years ago. Since then, we have had the opportunity to grow ... Read More »

Do you know someone who is building a home in the rural Dakotas? That person is making both a sacrifice and a statement: The “common wisdom” would call their building project a poor financial investment. Yet they care enough about living how and where they choose that they are doing it anyway. I think people who live in suburban or ... Read More »