In addition to the Governor’s Hunt event today, Governor Kristi Noem was a road warrior at events across eastern South Dakota. The Governor was on hand for an appearance on ESPN’s game day held in conjunction with the Dakota Marker game. While the Governor was in town, she took time with the hundreds of Brookings residents and SDSU students who were on hand at the event…
….and immediately thereafter, Governor Kristi Noem spoke at the Welcome Home ceremony for 112 soldiers in the South Dakota Army National Guard’s Bravo Battery, 1-147th Field Artillery Battalion and 147th Forward Support Company. The event was held this afternoon in the Sioux Falls Lincoln High School gymnasium. Governor Noem commended the soldiers for their “faithfulness and excellence” and thanked them for their service to our country.
Also pictured are US Senators Mike Rounds & John Thune, and Congressman Dusty Johnson.
Governor’s hunt event? Only in South Dakota. . where hunting is more cherished than developing real 21st century careers and bringing them to South Dakota. South Dakotans spend all of their time hunting and fishing that they fail to educate their kids properly for today’s jobs. I’m really ashamed of my home state.
South Dakotans are also the laughing stock when they go to other states for jobs as all they know is to kill animals for fun. World is changing folks and SD is living in the past.
Jeff, if you’re not familiar with the Governor’s hunt, it has been going on for decades. As noted in a recent article, “The annual Governor’s Hunt has brought business leaders to South Dakota to experience the pheasant habitat and business climate”
https://www.argusleader.com/story/news/politics/2019/06/10/governors-hunt-become-sportsmens-convention-sioux-falls/1409538001/
There are business owners across the country who enjoy outdoor shooting sports such as bird hunting, and this has been one way to showcase our state to those business owners. Part of economic development is getting them to make a visit.
If it didn’t work or there was a lack of interest, they would have quit holding it in the 1980’s.
Pat Powers, and what has it accomplished for South Dakota? it is still at the bottom of states in growth and has no industry other than agriculture and a small banking sector in Sioux Falls. We are locating our business elsewhere due to the lack of talent in South Dakota as the only thing people know here is agriculture and hunting, far away from 21st century growth industries. I grew up here and know of the wild obsessions with hunting and fishing as that is all the state has to offer.
You should of asked what industry we were bringing into the state, which would have had the potential to double the entire ag GDP on an annual basis while offering 6 and 7 figure incomes for South Dakotans if not for Trump’s trade war but South Dakotans as usual cannot think outside of the box.
It is reminiscent of our phone call to your last governor where we had three California Fortune 500 businesses looking to come to South Dakota to relocate and yup, the governors office never returned our call. Must have been out hunting right Pat.
Jeff, to be honest I’ve Kind of lost track of how many times you’ve declared you “are locating our business elsewhere,” and gone on ad nauseum how because of it, we’re losing out, along with a list of ways you find South Dakota deficient.
I’m not sure what you are trying to accomplish. If you want to bring your business here, then say so. Note what requirements you need for a location. If there’s a place in the state that might fill the bill, I’m sure someone can help.
But if you’re here to complain for the sake of complaining, I’m sure you’ve gotten your point across.
Waiting on the outcome of the trade war Pat. For a year we have had hundreds of millions in orders at pre-tariff commodity prices and cannot ship due to Trump’s protectionism. As a Republican you should know that is why protectionism is bad but then again, you are not a Republican, but rather a far right extremist following the new Trump party that is not conservative Republicanism.
And Pat, you knew that in why we haven’t began shipping product. In the meantime we looked at South Dakota as a permanent placement and other than possibly Sioux Falls, the rest of the state is devoid of talent like your inability to understand the process and effects of trade wars on business and the consequences to entrepreneurship and innovation.
Pat, you do know what a commodity is, right, and why adding 30% to its cost is detrimental to success. Just ask your farmers if you don’t.
So Jeff, you won’t come here because you consider your home state “devoid of talent.” Got it.
While it may prove a struggle, I’m sure we’ll find a way to soldier on.
Pat, the only businesses SD has recruited for a long time are unskilled jobs sourcing foreigners to work at them. You must be ignorant, as you called me, to not see the danger in that while your bloggers complain about illegal migration. You can’t have it both ways Pat. Either stop recruiting these companies or shut up about illegals coming into the U.S.
Pat, I also had to laugh at your promotion of hunting and its draw for business leaders to check out South Dakota’s pheasant habitat and business climate. In all my career throughout the U.S. in business I have never heard any business using hunting as a prerequisite for location and is synonymous with this state’s living in the past and being afraid to evolve like other states have in diversifying their economic base.
If this marketing program works please inform all of us which companies moved to South Dakota for its hunting. The state certainly doesn’t have the talents to occupy these businesses as the only talent in the state usually leaves and goes elsewhere in search of careers.
Your obsessions with these activities are why companies refrain to come here. The vast percentage of Americans don’t hunt and is a poor and arrogant marketing scheme to attract business that matters for growth.
Angus-Palm Industries was brought to Watertown, SD by John Calvin in 1988. Being an avid hunter, Calvin’s first trip to SD was for pheasant hunting. He liked what he saw, liked the business climate, and his company eventually employed over 500 workers. It was bought several years ago and is now part of national group Worthington Industries.
One company in 30 years, that’s success alright.
You wanted an example, and it originated with a pheasant hunt!
I’m just wondering when she will unveil the “next big idea” she mentioned in her last budget address.
Here’s how it works: Lots of business leaders enjoy hunting. They come to SD to hunt & meet our dynamic governor. That helps our economy a little. But while they’re here, they discover SD is much nicer than expected. They learn SD is the least regulated state, whereas California is the most regulated. They learn about our lower taxes, lower crime rates, and pro-business government. I can link to the state’s impressive recent rankings, but when I’ve done it before you play Baghdad Bob & steadfastly ignore the evidence. Suffice it to say that, according to the FBI, we suffered the least murders per capita in 2017. That’s something people fleeing Chicago, LA, Philadelphia, and Baltimore notice. If you want your kids to attend a top college, they need to survive high school.
Pheasant hunting is one way — not the only way — of marketing SD’s advantages. You’re right that some business leaders don’t enjoy hunting and that a few oppose it. We’re not going to please everyone, nor should we try. If some dude believes hunting/ eating animals is barbaric, he’s welcome to live elsewhere. One thing making America great is our regional diversity. Folks can live in Spearfish, Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, La Jolla, Savannah, or South Beach. Each has a different culture. Unhappy citizens may vote with their feet.
The value of the hunt is it allows people considering relocating their life’s work to South Dakota to have frank, spontaneous, and detailed conversations with South Dakota business owners. They discuss business environment, quality of employees, availability of employees, quality of physical and educational infrastructure, etc. All of these conversations take place outside of the presence of the economic development people (who know their pitch is consistent with reality so they don’t have to be there) which makes it more credible.
Is the Hunt the only way this could happen? No. But, it is distinct from what other states do and it works. Anyone who says otherwise has never seen it in action.
The companies who relocated where the Governors Hunt was a component in the decision employees literally tens of thousands of our neighbors, people I am glad are here.
Wow, I call this delusional. Other states have hunting also but it is not marketed as their only draw to come to their state and you limit only those that hunt and scare away everyone else.
Well good luck then, keep losing population and exporting your talent out of the state in search of jobs and careers.
Jeff, claiming that hunting is marketed as the state’s “only draw” is an ignorant statement.
Seriously. If you don’t want to come here, don’t.
Either did thousands of other companies that liked the tax advantages and found its attitudes like yours that kept them away. Soldier on Pat and maybe someday South Dakota will start to grow. Sioux Falls is your only hope, the rest of the old world state is gone and will be left behind.
SD’s population is growing. Net domestic migration is positive. Americans are fleeing big, crime-infested cities (NY, LA, Chicago). Meanwhile, SD’s population has increased by 22-23 percent since ’99. Sioux Falls population has increased by 70 percent since ’99. SD will soon exceed 900,000 residents. It’s never been bigger. We’ll surpass 1 million by 2030. Yes, I am aware 40 million people reside in California. I know 30 million live in Texas. That does not change the fact that SD is growing.
Google 2018 Best States to Start a Business
#5 South Dakota
We’ve been over this. You need new talking points.
Apparently what I’ve been told by state’s attorneys is South Dakota does have a big crime problem and the first time here my car was vandalized by some crazed drug addict. I’ve never had that happen in big cities so your point is moot.
SD is number 5 but what’s keeping them from coming? Attitude and old world philosophies maybe? Far right political views? Appears the only companies attracted are those requiring unskilled foreign workers which means SD is building a welfare state in my opinion.
I think the Ramkota has past it’s time hosting such events. Pierre needs to keep up with beautiful facilities if they are going to keep events like the gov hunt in the future.
Look at some of these hunting lodges around the area? Why does Pierre not have a state of the art event center? All this town does is events during session.
i believe there are those in Pierre who have advocated for one, but it’s a lot more complex than just building it. It has to support the expense. Just building bigger doesn’t necessarily mean you can fill it. Plenty of days that the Ramkota has conference rooms that sit empty. Plus. you have to have a location.
Who is Jeff?
Whoever this Jeff is, get a life. We get it…you don’t think much of South Dakotans. Fine, then I’m glad you live wherever else. There are plenty of people in this state who are good, intelligent, entrepreneurial, hard working who appreciate what we have and appreciate the lack of negative things your state probably has. That’s what makes this nation great…we are all free to live where we want.
Agree. I prefer to live among folks who love hunting and the outdoors. Other people can live other lifestyles in other places.
And I appreciate Governor Noem getting out there and doing whatever she can to promote the state. She was everywhere this weekend.
I guess we just aren’t all that interested in big city problems. If you want corporate handouts, SD isn’t the place and never will be. Some people love the city and some love the country; one is not better than the other. I don’t see your problems with SD. Donald Trump was elected so clearly there’s more than a few conservatives in this country. You can keep your liberal views and intolerance for other people’s views and we will carry on with appreciation for our great state. I want people to come here that share our views and not to make a buck and expect to come here and talk about how bad it is here unless we change.