Business

South Dakota tourism officials and operators are happy to see a tough 2020 in the rearview mirror, and even happier to look forward to what could be a banner year for visitors and spending in 2021. Aside from some pockets of unexpected prosperity in 2020 — in tourist activities focused on

LAKE NORDEN, S.D. – Dairy farmer Rodney Elliott stands in a small room where part of his $12 million robotic milking system is doing its job. The robotic system is located inside a huge new barn on Elliott’s farm northeast of Lake Norden and is one of only a

LAKE NORDEN, S.D. – The Drumgoon Dairy in Lake Norden is one of only a handful of dairies in the state to use a fully robotic milking system. Here are some basics on the operation run by Rodney Elliott, a native of Northern Ireland who has run one of South

South Dakota dairy producers have undergone a rapid expansion in recent years to meet the milk needs of the state’s growing cheesemaking industry, bringing a burst of economic prosperity to farm families and farming communities throughout the eastern half of the state. Milk production in South Dakota rose by

South Dakota lawmakers have passed a bill that would allow agricultural industry groups to develop their own health-benefit plans that would be outside the purview and regulation of the state Division of Insurance and which would sidestep some federal consumer protections. The measure is being pushed by the South Dakota

Entrepreneurs across South Dakota are already taking steps to claim a share of the state’s soon-to-be-legal marijuana market, but legislators and regulators are off to a slow start in crafting laws and rules to govern the controversial new industry.  The sale, possession and use of recreational and medicinal marijuana

The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed more Native Americans living on reservations in South Dakota to seek homeownership, a potential step toward greater family financial security and community stability in some of the state’s most impoverished regions. But long-standing institutional, economic and geographic barriers continue to block some reservation residents