Economy

Climate trends in South Dakota, ways to better Rapid City’s economy, a bill that would legalize industrial hemp, and Greta Thunberg visits Pine Ridge. These headlines and more on this week’s In the Moment news podcast.  

In The Moment ... June 4, 2019 Show 588 Hour 1

In his Mid-America Index Report, Ernie Goss says May numbers show the regional economy continues to grow at a positive pace. He adds, however, that tariffs and flooding across several states has pulled the overall index below growth neutral in South Dakota's neighboring states of Iowa, Nebraska and North Dakota.

Goss is director of Creighton University's Economic Forecasting Group in Omaha.

In The Moment ... May 14, 2019 Show 575 Hour 1

Trade battles between the U.S. and China have escalated, South Dakota farmers are feeling the crunch.

Evert Van der Sluis is an agricultural economist with South Dakota State University. He joins us today with perspective.

In The Moment ... July 10, 2018 Show 375 Hr 2

China, Mexico, Canada and the European Union are strategically targeting industries with retaliatory tariffs in response to Trump administration trade policies.

Jason Ball is president and CEO of the Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce.

He joined In The Moment to look how a trade war stands to impact the interconnected South Dakota's economy. 

A new economic feasibility study is investigating opportunities for commercial and retail growth in an area on the Rosebud Sioux Indian Reservation. The Rosebud Economic Development Corporation—or REDCO—is working with Native-owned Blue Stone Strategy Group to conduct the study. 

In The Moment ... January 3, 2018 Show 248 Hour 1

All eyes are on the economy as Americans endeavor to figure out how tax reform impacts their bank accounts. But when the top story of the day is the economy, how do South Dakotans make sense of it all?
Dr. Robert Wright is the Nef Political Chair of Political Economy at Augustana University
University.

In The Moment ... November 6, 2017 Show 214 Hour 2

Ernie Goss, MacAllister Chair and Professor of Economics at Creighton University in Omaha is the keynote speaker at an Economic Outlook Seminar presented by the South Dakota Chamber of Commerce on November 7 at The Country Club of Sioux Falls.  Goss and South Dakota Chamber of Commerce and Industry president David Owen discuss important aspects of the regional economy and current economic indicators.

In The Moment ... August 23, 2107 Show 162 Hour 2

Dakota Political Junkies Seth Tupper (Rapid City Journal reporter) and Jon Hunter (Madison Daily Leader publisher) join us for our weekly round-table conversation about South Dakota politics. Today we talk about self-described “Wingnuts,” non-partisan elections, citizen democracy, and national calls to tear down a presidential statue in Rapid City.

Author Paul Higbee is with us for a look at South Dakota’s “Cowboy Governor” Tom Berry. We talk dustbowls, debt, and Democrats.

Thousands of soccer players and fans descend on Sioux Falls this weekend. The city hosts a regional youth soccer tournament. Organizers say no other sporting event in Sioux Falls has a larger economic impact. This isn’t the first time the city welcomes soccer teams from the region. Sioux Falls prepares for the 2017 US Youth Soccer Region II Midwest Championships.

In The Moment ... April 13, 2017 Show 071 Hour 1

After a brief introduction to put “The Shift” into context we kick it over to SDPB’s Kealey Bultena for a live-from-Centerville conversation with Superintendent Tim Hagedorn.

SDPB’s Gary Ellenbolt takes you to Hurley and Parker in Turner County for a look at how the changing farm economy and the urban pull of Sioux Falls has impacted small towns and the people who live there.

Avera leaders say a new campus in Sioux Falls can better serve people with specialty health needs and promote economic growth. Wednesday Avera Health announced plans for building projects including new buildings and a surgical hospital.

Avera on Louise is the name of an additional campus planned for 82 acres at 69th Street and Louise Avenue in Sioux Falls.

Dr. Dave Kapaska is Avera McKennan Hospital’s President and CEO.

The Midwest economy continues to see growth as 2017 gets underway. Businesses are also seeing expanding confidence and new manufacturing jobs.

The Rural Main Street Index is a monthly survey sent out from Creighton University in Omaha to business leaders across nine Midwestern states. The index reached above growth neutral for the third straight month.  It ended January at 54.7. This is the highest the score the index has reached since February 2015. Surveyors also recorded the highest level of economic confidence in over six years.

South Dakota’s two largest cities are breaking building permit records again. Rapid City is more than $50 million ahead of the previous top year. Sioux Falls is setting a record for the fourth year in a row, and the year isn't over yet.

Right now building permits in Rapid City are worth more than $310 million. Division manager of building inspections Brad Solon says Rapid City hit its previous record in November, so every permit since pushes the landmark higher.

One survey on the Midwestern economy shows one in five farmers may have expenses exceeding revenue this year.

The report blames falling farm prices.

The Rural Mainstreet Index shows farm prices have decreased 9% over the last year. The study surveys bank CEOs across the Midwest about economic conditions. Ernie Goss is the Economics Chair at Creighton University. He says multiple agriculture sectors are really struggling.

Regional economic developers at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally want more companies to call the Black Hills their home. They view the rally as a chance to network with businesses while promoting the region.

The pheasant is not only important in South Dakota for its cultural value, but also for what it contributes to the economy. In 2015, more than 150 thousand hunters harvested more than one point two million pheasants in South Dakota. Nearly 85 thousand hunters came from out of state. They poured millions of dollars into local economies. South Dakota isn’t a pheasant destination by accident.

This Fourth of July weekend could see record-breaking numbers of travelers. AAA predicts that increased auto and air travel may result in benefits beyond the holidays.

Nearly 43 million Americans are projected to travel this weekend. Marilyn Buskohl of AAA South Dakota expects the state to have a one percent increase over last year in holiday travel. She says this prediction is based on low gas prices, which are 40 cents lower in the state than last year.

Two business leaders in Rapid City spoke at the Black Hills Forum and Press Club on Friday to discuss the ups and downs of South Dakota’s economy, including what lies ahead.

Ben Snow is with Rushmore Region, the group promotes economic development. He says South Dakota is protected from recessions more so than other places in the U.S.

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.

The 42nd president was back on the campaign trail in South Dakota Friday – this time not for his own political race but for his wife. Former US President Bill Clinton spent time in Sioux Falls stumping for democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

Pop music pumped through the speakers in Sioux Falls as people who waited in line excitedly filed into a space draped with stars and stripes, including massive flags. More than an hour and a half later, former president Bill Clinton took the stage.

South Dakotans list agriculture as the number one driver of economic development. That’s according to a recent survey that polled people nationally and gathered data in three separate states. Some people’s perceptions of the economy don’t jibe directly with information from businesses. 

A Wells Fargo and USA Today survey polled South Dakotans to find out which sectors they think contribute to a healthy economy. The top responses in order were agriculture, health care, education, construction, and retail.

A starving artist is sometimes seen as the norm.  Many great artists lived at least some of their lives struggling with poverty, think, Van Gogh or even Johnny Cash. 

But some argue that artists should not always go hungry, or homeless.     Kelly Lindquist is President and CEO of a Minneapolis based organization called Art Space.

The CEO of Regional Health, Brent Phillips, says the talk on Medicaid expansion in South Dakota has too often missed the point.  

Phillips says expanding Medicaid to thousands of uninsured residents will not only help Native people but also be a huge boost to the economy.  

Regional Health is among the largest employers in western South Dakota, and one of the largest health care providers in the state.

Brent Phillips, Regional Health CEO grew up on a Dairy Farm.