Community Profile - Pierre, SD
By: Alan Van Ormer, Prairie Business Magazine

A diverse economy has kept the central South Dakota community of Pierre afloat, even in the midst of a recession that has blanketed much of the nation over the past few years.

Professional services, tourism, agriculture and state government jobs have helped Pierre become what many local officials say is one of the best kept secrets in South Dakota.

“I have heard Pierre described as a jewel on the prairie,” says Jim Protexter, executive director of the Pierre Economic Development Corporation. “Many evenings when returning to Pierre on (Highway) 83 going over that last hill, you see this cluster of city lights mixed with the emerald lights around Oahe Dam, and it does look like a jewel. We are proving that on the professional services and retail side we are able to grow and attract quality employers.”

Pierre Mayor Laurie Gill considers the city a gateway to the state because of the many dignitaries from around the world who visit the community because South Dakota’s state capitol is located in Pierre. The community’s close proximity to Native American reservations also adds a diverse cultural influence to the area.

“There is an ethnic mix and we very much embrace that,” Gill says. “We’re unique that we have state government in the community. It provides a stable force throughout any type of economy. State government is always here and operating.”

STABLE ECONOMY

With Pierre’s many industries, the community has remained stable despite the nation’s economic troubles. In spite of the recession, the community has not seen a decline in sales tax revenue. In fact, Pierre has actually displayed annual sales tax revenue increases in recent years. Gill said in June that the city’s 2010 sales tax revenues were running at more than 4 percent above last year’s total.

“That is a great indicator for us,” she says. “People are still coming into the community and spending money. We have weathered this recession well.”

Laura Schoen Carbonneau, CEO of the Pierre Area Chamber of Commerce, says chamber membership actually grew last year with the help of a person dedicated to serving members. The Shop Pierre First initiative was also launched.

“We wanted to help people understand that you don’t have to go out of town to purchase. We have very unique stores downtown,” Carbonneau says. “We need to encourage people to get past the assumption that it is not there.”

Pierre is home of the state capitol and many state government jobs. It has also helped stabilize the local workforce as many who have taken state government jobs have decided to settle down and stay in the community.

Lois Ries, the director of the local convention and visitors bureau, moved to Pierre 21 years ago when her husband got a state job. The couple had originally planned to move back east in a few years, but instead decided to stay. “Now we’re going to retire here,” Ries says. “It is a great community. Many come back, live and raise their families.”

Glennis Zarecky and her husband, Mark, have been operating Zarecky’s Midwest Construction and Development in Pierre for 29 years. The company is currently involved in the planning stages of a large townhouse project.

“As a contractor, we know there has been a slowdown in parts of the construction industry in town,” she says. “But because of Pierre’s economy being so stable, fortunately there aren’t construction businesses closing down that I am aware of. We are as busy this year as we have ever been. We are not seeing anything negative in the economy.”

TOURISM STRENGTH

Tourism is one of the area’s main economic drivers. There is fishing along the Missouri River that runs through the middle of Pierre and Fort Pierre, located on the western banks. In addition, the area offers abundant pheasant and other types of hunting.

“We do well in the recreational area,” says Blake Barringer, vice president of Brosz Engineering Inc. “We need to find other things for people to do that isn’t hunting and fishing related. Not everybody wants to go out on the river.”

Pierre has lost some major conventions because of the economy. But the local convention and visitors bureau has shifted gears and has been able to book conventions over the next two years because of its centralized location. “We work really hard to get those meetings to come here,” Ries says.

To assist with hosting conventions, a 4,500-square-foot Clubhouse Inn & Suites is planned for Pierre. The new facility will have 80 rooms and a restaurant. Across the river in Fort Pierre, a Perkins restaurant and Dacotah Prairie Bank have recently been built.

HEALTH CARE EXPANSION

St. Mary’s Healthcare Center, which employs 475, is the second largest employer in Pierre.

In 2000, St. Mary’s completed a $12.5 million building project to upgrade its services for patients in the emergency room, same day surgery and operating rooms. Four years later, another $12 million addition was completed to house transitional care, kidney dialysis and rehabilitation. The health care facility also partnered with Capital University Center on a $3.4 million education facility that contains a nursing laboratory and four classrooms to assist with nursing shortages.

“A great number of our nurses are homegrown,” says Ellen Lee, vice president of outreach at St. Mary’s Healthcare Center. “They stay or come here to be trained. The major shortages the rest of country is experiencing, we have already figured how to keep that from impacting us.”

STATE GOVERNMENT INFLUENCE

Another piece of the economic puzzle is state government.

Kim Olson, director of the South Dakota Governor’s Office of Economic Development, says the GOED has an excellent relationship with the city of Pierre, as it strives to develop with all communities in the state.

“These relationships are mutually beneficial for both the state and the communities as we grow and diversify South Dakota’s economy,” Olson says. “State, city and local leaders worked closely in the last several years to help locate Eagle Creek to Pierre, bringing high tech jobs to the area. It’s this kind of collaboration that helps move this state forward.”

CHALLENGES REMAIN

Despite the community’s economic strength, there are challenges ahead.

Pierre continues to add more jobs. One of the concerns when adding new jobs is meeting the housing needs of those moving into the community. Medium-range priced apartments for those who might not be ready to purchase a house are one of the community’s major needs, as well as low-income housing.

“The more immediate need is for apartments,” Gill says. “We are trying to work with the private sector to invest in apartment complexes.”

Two new apartment complexes were recently constructed — the first new apartment buildings added in the community in more than 20 years — but more are needed to meet future growth projections.

Along with housing needs, there is a labor force challenge, especially in the service sector. There is also a challenge in the nursing home segment of the community.

“Our attached nursing home, similar to nursing homes across the country, struggles to attract and retain certified nursing assistants,” Lee says. “The past year has been especially difficult in attracting new talent to these entry-level nursing positions.”

SIGNS OF GROWTH

A $10 million airport terminal is being constructed. Butler Cat is expanding and making Pierre its central agriculture headquarters in the state. Last year First National Bank added 7,800 square feet of space, turning a one-story bank into a two-story facility, improving the lobby and waiting area and installing an elevator to meet ADA requirements.

Minnetonka, MN-based Eagle Creek Software Services has added 50 new employees and is looking at adding 30 more at its business intelligence facility in Pierre. The company specializes in implementing and integrating Oracle customer relationship management software for Fortune 2000 clients.

In Harrold, SD, a small community half an hour from Pierre, an $8 million elevator construction project is being completed. Many of the facility’s employees live in Pierre.

A storefront improvement project is also under way in Pierre. The community provides a 50 percent matching grant for businesses on Pierre Street to help redevelop downtown. To date, nine businesses have expressed interest.

Part of Pierre’s economic growth revolves around public and private ventures. During its strategic planning sessions, the Pierre City Commission decided that one of its guiding themes would be trying to partner with the private sector to complete projects.

“There are things many groups are asking us to do that we couldn’t do alone with our funds,” Gill says.

The city commission set guidelines. If the private entity was willing to raise 80 percent of the funds, the city would consider chipping in 20 percent.

So far the public-private partnership has worked in at least two instances. A $630,000 remodeling of the Hillsview Clubhouse and Pro-Shop is a partnership between the private sector and the City of Pierre. The community has raised an estimated $504,000, while the city is providing $126,000 for the project.

Opening a regional distribution center for the Food Bank in cooperation with Wal-Mart is another example. The first shipment of food went out in June to be used for nonprofits and food pantries to serve people.

SISTER CITY COLLABORATION

Another partnership that stretches across the river between Pierre and Fort Pierre is as old as the history of central South Dakota itself.

“We have always worked together,” says Dave Bonde, executive director of the Fort Pierre Development Corporation. “We are sister cities, but we are definitely independent identities.”

Local officials say it is important for the two communities to work together because they are able to share resources, professional expertise and volunteers. “Small communities survive on volunteers,” Bonde says.

Pierre is able to provide Fort Pierre with resources and professional expertise. “Having Pierre as the seat of state government is an unbelievable resource,” Bonde says. “Having the Governor’s Office of Economic Development across the river is also pretty nice.”

On Fort Pierre’s side of the river, businesses help draw business to its sister across the river. One major business, Fort Pierre Livestock Sale Barn, is one of the largest of its kind in the Midwest and has also been ranked as the nation’s top sale barn. “That’s big for the businesses of Pierre,” Bonde says.

The mayors of Pierre and Fort Pierre have also displayed a willingness to work together. Gill and Mayor Sam Tidball of Fort Pierre are good friends and are also aware that the two communities need to collaborate to get things done.

“We’re finding that in order to get major projects accomplished, it is best to do it with a cooperative effort,” Bonde says.

Van Ormer, a former Madison, SD-based freelance writer, is the new editor of Prairie Business. He can be reached at avanormer@prairiebizmag.com.

RAPID CITY, S.D. — A whirlwind getaway jam-packed with world-famous attractions, scenery like nowhere else on earth, wildlife, good food, and even, if you want, gambling.

That's what you get in the Black Hills region of South Dakota. In a single weekend, using Rapid City as our base, our family hit Mount Rushmore, Custer State Park, the Crazy Horse Memorial, Wall Drug, Badlands National Park and Deadwood. Along the way, we saw buffalo, antelope, bighorn sheep, burros and prairie dogs. We met a man who was one of the original workers on the construction of Rushmore, and we had several terrific meals.

Of course there is an argument to be made for a slower style of travel, soaking in the sights. But as New Yorkers on our first visit to the area, traveling with two boys whose travel mantra is, "Show us the wow, never mind the details," a tour of the highlights was perfect for us. Stops along our route were located a half-hour to about two hours' drive apart, so we never had too much driving at once. Mostly, it was remarkable how much fun we managed to pack in to a mere 48 hours.

"So many times people from the coasts look at South Dakota as fly-over country, but we have so much to offer," said Melissa Miller, director of the South Dakota Office of Tourism.

We started at Mount Rushmore. Who hasn't seen photos of this place? And yet to view it in person is astonishing. You simply can't get over the sheer hubris that it took to carve presidents into a mountain. You glimpse the faces as you approach, but then, suddenly, you're right there, staring up Jefferson's nostrils. The reality lives up to the hype.

A highlight of our visit was meeting Nick Clifford, 88, a construction worker at Rushmore from 1938 to 1940. Today he greets visitors and signs copies of his book, "Mount Rushmore Q&A," in the park gift shop. My younger son, 11, was especially thrilled to meet someone with a direct connection to the monument. Later we found his name on a wall listing all the workers.

Next stop was Custer State Park. Driving the park's 18-mile wildlife loop in a mere two hours, we saw buffalo, pronghorn antelope, bighorn sheep and burros. Deer, prairie dogs and mountain lions live here too.

"There's probably no place better in the nation than Custer State Park to see wildlife," said park spokesman Craig Pugsley. "In a short amount of time, you have a very good opportunity to see a number of species." The hours just after sunrise and before sunset are best for seeing wildlife, he said.

We encountered a traffic jam in Custer Park as cars stopped to pet and photograph the friendly burros who happily stuck their heads in our car windows.

"They're very popular," said Pugsley. Petting the burros is not forbidden, but he said there are reports of bites "from time to time. You need to use your best judgment being around them."

The bison herd is generally kept at about 1,300, and the calves, mostly born in May, are still pint-size by late summer compared to their parents. A roundup is held each year the last Monday in September to count, brand and vaccinate the herd. Some animals are sold at auction to keep the population manageable.

The park, established in 1919, "played an instrumental role in bringing back the bison from the brink of extinction," Pugsley said. The buffalo here are descended from animals captured on one of the last big bison hunts in South Dakota in the early 20th century.

Custer Park is named for Gen. George Custer, who was famously defeated by Native Americans at Little Bighorn, Mont., in 1876. Prior to Little Bighorn, he had led an expedition of the Black Hills that discovered gold.

We stopped in the town of Custer for dinner and had a good meal of bison burgers at the Sage Creek Grille after visiting the nearby Crazy Horse Memorial. This fascinating mountain carving was conceived by Lakota Chief Henry Standing Bear as a way to let "the white man to know that the red man has great heroes." Crazy Horse fought at Little Bighorn, but was shot a year later by U.S. forces.

Sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski, who started blasting the rock for the Crazy Horse carving in 1948, died in 1982 but his family and a crew keep the project going. Crazy Horse's head is complete, at 87 feet high, and his horse's head, now under construction, is 219 feet tall. A museum and film at the site help visitors understand what the memorial is designed to achieve.

Fast Facts

    *     The Lodge at Deadwood cost $47 million to build and is nestled on 25 acres at the base of MountRoosevelt, along Highway 85 near Deadwood
    *     The meeting and convention space can accommodate up to 1,700 people
    *     The state-of-the-art casino at the Lodge at Deadwood features poker, blackjack and slot machines

Overview
Named after famed Lt. Colonel George Armstrong Custer, Custer State Park is the largest state park in South Dakota, containing over 71,000 acres of the spectacular Black Hills. The park is the home of free-roaming large game, like the park's hallmark herd of 1,300 bison. Visitors can sleep under the shadow of granite mountains and beside spacious, open ranges at one of the park's four resorts.

Regulations
Every cabin sleeps a set number of visitors; there is an additional charge for additional guests. Rollaway cots are also available upon request. Certain cabins allow pets for a fee. All lodging is strictly non-smoking. If you want to make a cancellation to your reservation, the lodge will refund your total deposit if you make the cancellation 15 days before your reservation. Cancellations after 15 days will not receive a refund. Guests must pay a cancellation fee.

Lodging
Custer State Park offers four separate lodges: State Game Lodge, Sylvan Lake Lodge, Legion Lake Lodge and Blue Bell Lodge. Sizes and amenities vary widely, from single-room sleeping cabins to a five-bedroom house complete with a kitchen and two TVs. Every cabin has at least one private bathroom. The lodges provide all cabins with maid service, towels and linens. Kitchen utensils are included in every cabin except "Housekeeping Cabins."

Dining
Each lodge has a dining room that serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. Meal choices include local game like bison, fresh-water trout, elk and pheasant. However, if you want a tamer dish, the menus also include traditional American cuisine like burgers, salads and sausages.

History
Legendary American architect Frank Lloyd Wright redesigned and rebuilt the Sylvan Lake Lodge two years after it was incinerated in 1935. Built in 1920, the State Game Lodge was a summer vacation spot for President Calvin Coolidge in 1927. Legion Lake Lodge is the namesake of American Legion Post, which leased the area.

Recreation
Custer State Park has mountainous trails, pristine lakes and wildlife-populated backcountry. Most of the lodges rent out bikes, boats or other recreational vehicles. Guided tours of the surrounding terrain, including narrated tours of the wildlife and fly-fishing lessons, are available upon request and for a fee. Reserve a spot on guided tours in advance, as they may book up. Several trails that wend their way around the park start near each of the lodges.

Camping
For a quieter, more secluded visit to Custer State Park, set up camp at one of the multiple campgrounds in the park. In addition to the campgrounds associated with each lodge, there are campsites scattered throughout the park. All campgrounds include drinking water, showers and picnic tables. Entrance and camping fees are both required. Reservations are accepted beginning in January, while others are first-come, first-served. All campgrounds, excluding Center Lake, have flushing toilets.

The Saloon No. 10, The Lodge at Deadwood and the Deadwood Chamber of Commerce are joining forces to put on a Betting on a Cure fundraiser night out event on June 25 at The Lodge at Deadwood.

In the past four years, the Saloon No. 10 has raised nearly $80,000 to go toward research to find a cure. This year, the bar on Main Street has enlisted other Deadwood partners to put on the fundraiser.

“A little fun competition to help raise money for cancer research can only have good results. We are raising awareness of the cause, and shedding a highly positive light on fundraising efforts in Deadwood and the Northern Hills. If anything is win-win, this is,” said Louie Lalonde, Saloon No. 10 co-owner, in a news release.

The June 25 event will feature live music including T.R.A.S.H. — an ensemble of entertaining Rapid City women — as well as a silent auction with trips and fine art on the block, wine and hors d’oeuvres.

Tickets are $250 for a table of eight, or $35 per individual ticket.

“Nearly everyone has been affected by cancer either directly or indirectly. We want to do our part to help limit the number of those that are affected by this terrible disease, and we hope everyone will come join us on June 25 for a great cause,” Lalonde said.

Deadwood, with just over 1,300 year-round residents, has been a leader in funds raised for the American Cancer Society. The Saloon No. 10 has raised $40,000 so far in 2010; but that’s not enough. The Saloon No. 10 wants Deadwood to be No. 1 on the list of Midwest fundraising groups. This year, Deadwood is competing against Cedar Falls, Iowa for top honors. Organizers of Betting on a Cure hope to bring the total over the $50,000 mark with the June 25 event.

Call Black Hills Central Reservations at 800-344-8826.

A recently published study suggests Albuquerque's hotel industry could be on the upswing.

Hotel data from PKF Hospitality Research indicates hotel occupancy is expected to go up by 3.8 percent, and revenue per room is expected to increase by 4 percent by the end of 2010, according to the New Mexico Business Weekly.

Clubhouse Inn and Suites on Menaul near Interstate 25 said it's already gaining major momentum.

"The last three or four days of this week, including tonight, we've been practically sold out every night," said George Marsh, the general manager of Clubhouse Inn & Suites.

He said business started to bottom out after August 2008, but started to shoot up again last month.

In March, room revenue at the Clubhouse was 4.4 percent more than the same month last year.

"I do sense, from what I'm seeing in the last month and a half here, is that there is a positive outlook that's showing in the hotel industry," said Marsh. He said he plans to add four people to his 29 person staff and make hotel improvements.

East coast professor Jill Rhodes was among droves of teachers and students attending the 79th annual American Association of Physical Anthropologists in Albuquerque this week.

"This is a fabulous place to come to. We've certainly had a great time coming here for our conference," Rhodes said. She added that hotels aren't the only industry cashing in.

"We had wonderful shopping adventures throughout Old Town. We have even been out to Tramway, out to the casinos, a lot of restaurants, so it's been quite a holistic experience throughout the city," Rhodes said.

There are plenty of places to stay in style, but few offer a view of both the Black Hills and the surrounding high plains. That's the milieu of The Lodge at Deadwood in Deadwood, S.D. Opened in the fall of 2009, the resort offers a wealth of gaming choices, a trolley service to Deadwood's historic downtown and the only water playland in the area. Nearby are plenty of spots for hiking, mountain biking and motorcycling.