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.
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.”
Rural ambulance departments across the Dakotas, which have struggled for years to have enough volunteer EMTs, are hitting a tipping point: Some are not able to continue as they have for decades. Others will face decisions in the next few years. What’s changed? How will it affect rural communities? How are people thinking differently about how to treat medical emergencies in rural communities?
See a PDF version of this map here.
The percentage of snowbirds in Dakota communities is quite small, if an informal survey of Dakotafire participating newspapers is any indication: Only about 1 percent of subscribers to those newspapers change their addresses for the winter.
Are there hungry people in your community? Yes. But we may not see them because they look just like everybody else.
Many area communities now offer an option that until a few years ago was only available in larger communities: A place to exercise, with specialized machines and sometimes classes available—and no need to exercise in the cold and snow.
By Lana Bandoim What happens when farm family members can’t agree about what to do with a family business or an inheritance? Both North and South Dakota offer mediation services than can help two parties resolve their issues. Mediation…
(NPN) – Though one of the most agriculture-dependent states in the nation, South Dakota is among a group of states that have the lowest percentage of schools participating in farm-to-school activities, according a new USDA report. Twenty-four percent of South…
South Dakotans and Midwesterners comprise a region that is “friendly and conventional,” according to a new social psychology study.