Dakotafire Get your spark here.

Britton hosted the inaugural Dakotafire Café event on March 28, and it served to fuel some thinking on how the community might do a better job of attracting workers. Read More »

Want to know how Gackle, N.D., has changed since its heyday in the 1950s? The person to ask is Marilyn Elhard, who has watched the changes from her viewpoint behind the counter at the local bank. She’s been there for almost 61 years—outlasting several owners, and having a longer tenure on Main Street than most of the businesses that remain. Read More »

We're slowly traveling along an expanse of snowy pasture. It’s been a rough winter in this part of South Dakota, with a parade of blizzards and cold fronts. Foot travel would be treacherous on this icy roadway, but it’s the only route across this prairie. So we crawl ahead in a pickup truck. The land bordering the two-track is so densely draped by dormant grasses and drifted snow that hiking there would be nearly impossible. On a windless day, a calm settles over the smooth topography. The sun glows yellow-orange, and a cloud-free sky surrounds us in a dome of frigid blue air. If you conjure a romanticized image of the Great Plains in winter, this might be what you visualize. Read More »

During the Dakotas' early settlement by non-natives, in the 1880s and 90s, business interests such as immigration promoters and railroad and land development companies lured prospective residents to our region using the jingle: rain follows the plow. Read More »

Farmers are increasingly installing drain tile to make land more farmable. Water comes from somewhere and goes somewhere, however. Here’s a look at the system. Read More »

By Heidi Marttila-Losure “What if …?” Those two words convey a powerful idea: The willingness to consider another way of looking at the world, which is how innovation happens. That’s the kind of shift in perspective that’s happened in the last decade or so in the Netherlands as they reconsider their approach to managing water. The Dutch have battled back ... Read More »

Public water on public land is open to the public. But what about private land now covered by public water? Read More »

By Shirley Anderson A beautiful piece of heaven fell to Earth, and we named it South Dakota. In the more than 50 years while I was a visitor to when I returned as a resident, Frederick and the surrounding area turned into one of the most splendid places on Earth. In the 1950s I was a student at Northern State ... Read More »