Workforce

The Bennett County Nursing Home is located in Martin. (Photo Courtesy of Connie Smith/Lakota Times)

Third SD nursing home to close in 2023 as Legislature studies long term care sustainability

BY: - August 24, 2023

A third South Dakota nursing home will close this year — citing short staff, rising costs and years of insufficient Medicaid reimbursement. More than 15 South Dakota nursing homes have closed since 2017. The Bennett County Nursing Home in Martin operated at a loss of over $1.3 million in the first six months of 2023, […]

Eric Kluver, of Terex Utilities, and Gov. Kristi Noem pose in front of a race car decorated with Noem's image and South Dakota's 605 area code on July 27, 2023, at Falls Park in Sioux Falls. (John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight)

Noem turns workforce recruitment focus to NASCAR fans

BY: - July 27, 2023

SIOUX FALLS — Gov. Kristi Noem wants a few more NASCAR fans in South Dakota. Specifically, NASCAR fans from other states with job skills. To that end, Noem announced Thursday that the state will use a portion of the $5 million budget for the state’s “Freedom Works Here” marketing campaign to sponsor a vehicle bearing […]

Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-South Dakota, left, tours the Manitou Madison manufacturing plant on June 26, 2023, with plant manager Jeff Minnaert. (Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight)

Leaning into pay and diversity, manufacturer expands amid workforce shortage

BY: - June 27, 2023

MADISON — A manufacturer conducting a $60 million expansion in South Dakota says it’s attacking a workforce shortage by raising pay and embracing diversity. Manitou is a manufacturer of construction equipment based out of France. It is expanding its operations in Madison and Yankton and will add about 125 jobs between the two sites. Currently, 510 […]

A farmhand preps dairy cow udders for milking inside the parlor building at Boadwine Farms in Baltic. (Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight)

Lack of action on immigration is ‘holding SD back,’ dairy farmers say

BY: - June 9, 2023

EDITOR’S NOTE: This story on dairy farmers is the second of two examining the challenges some South Dakota businesses face as they attempt to hire international workers. The first story examined problems in the tourism industry. — The Department of Homeland Security wanted to do a routine work authorization audit of the Turner County Dairy […]

H2-B worker Francisco (whose last name has been withheld by request) and Janet Boyer pull a couple of tap beers at Mt. Rushmore Brewing Company ahead of the tourist season in Custer. (Paul Horsted/for South Dakota Searchlight)

Volatile, costly international visa program strains SD’s tourism industry

BY: - June 8, 2023

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the first of two stories examining the challenges some South Dakota businesses face as they attempt to hire international workers. The second story examines challenges in the agricultural industry. — Janet Boyer estimates she spent over $40,000 arranging housing for international workers and transporting them to the Black Hills before she […]

Gov. Kristi Noem, right, talks with Tamara Carns, a teacher from North Dakota now working in Yankton, and state Sen. Jim Stalzer, R-Sioux Falls, during a bill signing March 1, 2023, at Midwestern Mechanical in Sioux Falls. (Joshua Haiar/SD Searchlight)

Business community greets new law to recognize out-of-state licenses

BY: - March 1, 2023

SIOUX FALLS – A new law to recognize out-of-state licenses for most professions in South Dakota will “do a lot of good” for the state’s economy, according to Ken Amundson, president of Midwestern Mechanical in Sioux Falls.  “There will be more tradespeople coming to the state when they don’t have the red tape to deal […]

Gov. Kristi Noem presents her fiscal year 2024 budget proposal to legislators on Dec. 6, 2022, at the Capitol in Pierre. (Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight)

Child care is a major workforce concern. Why wasn’t it in Gov. Noem’s budget address?

BY: and - December 14, 2022

Child care is one of South Dakota’s most pressing workforce issues, with cities, businesses and organizations searching for solutions to keep child care accessible and affordable across the state. Gov. Kristi Noem addressed it as such on the campaign trail, but it did not appear in her Dec. 6 budget address to the Legislature, in […]

Photo of the Buffalo Gap National Grassland, which features long-grass prairie landscapes

SD counties to receive $15M in federal money with few strings attached

BY: - December 3, 2022

South Dakota counties will receive over $15 million in one-time funds from the U.S. Department of the Treasury over the next two years, with the ability to spend the money on nearly anything they want. The federal money is another form of COVID-19 economic relief stemming from the American Rescue Plan Act. This time, the […]

(Getty Images)

‘Workforce behind the workforce’: Businesses, organizations tackle child care in new program

BY: - November 14, 2022

The child care crisis is, above all else, a workforce crisis in South Dakota. Gov. Kristi Noem addressed it as such on the campaign trail, and Sioux Falls Mayor Paul Tenhaken says its one of the most common issues presented to him in recent years.  But it hasn’t been treated as a “crisis” by businesses […]

Sioux Falls leaders bring high-schoolers to workforce event with hopes of stemming ‘brain drain’

BY: - October 26, 2022

SIOUX FALLS — High-schoolers received special focus at a day-long workforce summit Wednesday at the Sioux Falls Convention Center. The Sioux Falls Development Foundation hosted the WIN Summit. The event featured guest speakers and community business leaders sharing insights, and opportunities for young people to build relationships with those leaders. Approximately 70% of in-state students […]