BROOKINGS, S.D. — SDSU Extension and the Ness School of Management and Economics at South Dakota State University will convene the Sioux Falls Metro Economic Briefing, a new forum for the region’s business and civic leaders.
The Briefing is a working breakfast: a moderated panel of senior leaders connecting national and global trends to what they mean for the Sioux Falls metro.
“Rate cycles, mergers, trade disruptions move in real time; the metro’s leaders are negotiating these and other shocks right now. Held about every other month, the Briefing can respond to events as they happen,” said Joe Santos, professor of economics and director of the Ness School. “The Briefing is public, on the record, and built for people who want serious insight at the start of their day.”
The inaugural Briefing convenes Sept. 24, 2026, from 8 to 9:15 a.m. CDT at Startup Sioux Falls in the MarketBeat Theatre. It is free to attend, with breakfast provided. Registration is requested; to register, visit the SDSU Extension Events page and search “economic.”
Panelists are Brian Gramm, CEO of Journey Group, a Sioux Falls-based construction and design-build firm; and Crystal Lail, CFO of NorthWestern Energy Group, which provides utilities to Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska.
Santos said the Briefing lets the region’s business and civic leaders hear directly from the people making decisions. It also builds a forum for a regular, serious, on-the-record conversation about economic conditions and their local consequences.
“You'll hear from the people setting policy at the companies that drive this metro's economy—together in one conversation,” Santos said. “You'll leave understanding what's moving credit costs, what a merger or a stalled bill in Washington means for your business, and where the next investment dollar in this region is headed. Show up, and you'll know it before the rest of the city does.”
He added that the Ness School is the natural convener for this conversation. “SDSU Extension’s reach into every corner of the state makes an urban briefing like this possible,” Santos said. “The Briefing puts that same land-grant infrastructure to work for a new audience—the executives and civic leaders shaping South Dakota’s largest metro.”
Santos continued, “A university brings independence, rigor and a home for the analysis once the breakfast ends. I envision the Briefing as how the region's senior leaders—and those who aspire to be—begin their day. Every Briefing should leave people better informed.”
The second Briefing convenes Nov. 12, 2026. Panelists are Jim Dover, President and CEO of Avera Health, which serves South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska and North Dakota; and Chris Ekstrum, President and CEO of First National Bank, which has branches across the Midwest and Southwest.
For more information, contact Paul Rann, SDSU Extension Program Manager for Urban Economic Development at the Ness School of Management and Economics.
