Redfield, S.D., could be called a small city or a big town. It has features that are the best of both. “Main Street is a very interesting, fun place to go visit on a Saturday afternoon. You’ve still got those…
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…
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.
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.”
“This has been the grain bin year.”
Frankie Rollins, who has built grain bins for the past six years with Hart Steel, said the company has been busier than normal in 2014, and that more and more bidding competition is emerging in southeastern South Dakota.
“I hear of a lot of new crews starting up, so it sounds to me like this year has been the grain bin year,” he said.
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.
The recreational vehicle lifestyle—traveling the country and taking your homes with you—has some appealing advantages for retirees, but also one significant problem: How do you get your mail? That’s where South Dakota Mail Forwarding aims to help. The Chamberlain business receives and forwards mail for its clients and can also help those without a permanent home establish residency in South Dakota.