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Economist: West River Could Face Tough Times Ahead

http://www.jacobmortenson.com/

Some researchers say the West River economy could be headed for trouble. An economist is sharing his thoughts at an upcoming talk in Rapid City.

Dr. Jake Mortenson is a Fort Pierre native and recently earned his economics doctorate from Georgetown University. He is providing an economic outlook as a Black Hills Knowledge Network consultant. Mortenson says West River is facing several economic head winds. Decreasing coal production and oil drilling in surrounding states and grain prices could all have negative impacts on the region. Mortenson says despite these things, the area is still stable.

“There’s a lot of interesting stuff going on in the Black Hills such as with the Sanford mine. And agriculture is something that is never going to go away. People might run their cars on something rather than oil. People might heat their homes with something other than coal powered electricity. But there always going to need to eat, so that’s something that we do very well and I don’t think it’s something that’s going to go away,” says Mortenson.

Mortenson says he’s looking forward to the event and speaking with community leaders. Mortenson's talk on the South Dakota economy is in the King Center at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology on June 27th.