South Dakota workforce

Houses in a new development on Oct. 28, 2022, in Harrisburg. (John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight)

Housing money fix could clear Senate in week one

BY: - January 10, 2023

State lawmakers aim to quickly pass a bill to clear a thicket of confusion over how to get $200 million in housing infrastructure money out of state coffers and into the hands of developers. The money, initially appropriated last session, was meant to help address a 10,000-home shortage in workforce housing. But concerns over the […]

Employees and their children pose for a photo in front of a Pioneer Bank & Trust branch. The company offers each of its employees $5,000 to pay for licensed child care. (Courtesy of Pioneer Bank & Trust)

How South Dakotans are making child care affordable and available

BY: - December 14, 2022

South Dakota has a tight labor market. It’s even tighter as parents struggle to find available and affordable child care. To bolster recruitment and retention among parents, some employers and organizations are taking matters into their own hands. One major employer in Rapid City has a day care center in-house, and a contract with a […]

COMMENTARY
In this aerial view, a destroyed apartment building is seen next to an area of heavily damaged houses on April 21, 2022, in Borodianka, Ukraine. (Photo by Alexey Furman/Getty Images)

Refugees, immigrants to South Dakota need our compassion

BY: - November 17, 2022

During the past two months, I have emceed three benefit concerts to raise awareness of a statewide effort to bring 5,000 to 10,000 Ukrainian war refugees to our state. The concerts in Watertown, Rapid City and Sioux Falls raised about $50,000 to support a fund that will help defray expenses for those who sponsor refugees. […]