A South Dakotan
protests
Dear
HCN,
I found Paul Krza’s article on Wyoming in
the July 7 issue fascinating, since I recently saw some of the
things he discussed – the instant boom towns, the huge trailer
parks, the endless coal trains, the deserted towns in the rural
areas. But will Wyoming “become more like the South Dakota of the
Intermountain West, more habitable by bison than people,” as he put
it?
South Dakota has its problems, like Wyoming.
We are a rural state, dependent too much on federal dollars,
perhaps too optimistic about agriculture and tourism. We still
struggle with the loss of young people and our education system
could use a boost. But the trend is reversing. Most of the
state-supported colleges and universities have seen increases in
enrollment. Local educational systems need help, yet the state
still produces some of the smartest students in the United States:
National test scores are consistently higher in South Dakota than
in any other state in the upper Midwest.
And
diversity is coming to South Dakota. The northern Black Hills area
is undergoing a decade-long period of growth; the city of Spearfish
is growing constantly, thanks to recreational opportunities and the
gambling industry in Deadwood. Rapid City is also growing, thanks
to a growing diversified industrial base.
My town
of Beresford, a small city 30 miles south of Sioux Falls, for
example, has encouraged three major companies to locate small
factories in the community, giving locals another employment
opportunity. Small towns around Sioux Falls are booming because
Sioux Falls has become a focal point for economic development in a
three-state area, bringing in money from northwestern Iowa,
southwestern Minnesota and a huge part of eastern South
Dakota.
In fact, South Dakota has become a minor
success story because of the willingness of people to adapt to the
nearly constant economic downturns in
agriculture.
Steven
Collins
Beresford, South
Dakota
The writer is a law
student at the University of South Dakota who is currently serving
with the National Guard in
Bosnia-Herzegovina.
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline A South Dakotan protests.
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