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Volunteers working on a community construction project.

Our Community Will Never Change

Change is inevitable in all small towns, but communities have a choice to either let change happen passively or work together to direct it in a way that moves their shared vision into the future.

Sun rising over small town mainstreet.

SDSU Extension to host webinar on rural community narratives

August 15, 2023

“Rewriting the Rural Narrative,” hosted by South Dakota State University Extension, starts at 5:30 p.m. MT/6:30 p.m. CDT on Aug. 17.

Kellie Ecker Kolb smiles for a portrait

SDSU Extension welcomes new Community Vitality Field Specialist to Aberdeen office

August 22, 2023

SDSU Extension is pleased to welcome Kellie Ecker Kolb as a new Community Vitality Field Specialist based out of the Aberdeen Regional Center.

Team discussing business strategy at a table.

Be Strategic About Using an Outside Facilitator

Working with an SDSU Extension Community Vitality Field Specialist facilitator can help create an actionable strategic plan for your business with goals and tactics to align your team, board and stakeholders.

Sunny Hannum, a dancer based in Fort Pierre, SD, dynamically posing with a horse in a field.

Hosannah Dance Studio: Sunny Hannum

In this episode of Home Starts Here, Kara Harders and Joshua Hofer, SDSU Community Vitality Field Specialists, meet with Sunny Hannum, of Fort Pierre, South Dakota, Co-Owner of Hosannah Dance Studio based in Fort Pierre, SD.

Book Cover: The Growing Season by Sarah Frey

SDSU Extension to Host Third Community-Focused Book Read

November 01, 2021

“The Growing Season: How I Built a New Life—and Saved an American Farm,” by Sarah Frey, will be the focus of the November/December book read.

Mother with two young children shopping at a holiday craft fair.

Your Town Matters! Shop Where Everybody Knows Your Name

Shopping local allows you to make a difference in your hometown. Locally owned businesses reinvest a large share of their revenue back into the local economy, enriching the whole community.

Two woman reviewing a building plan in a community workshop.

Truly Authentic Leaders Build Community

Authentic people build successful communities. If community leaders practice and share the habits that foster authenticity, positive change can and will happen.

Atty Eastman, Jonathan Burleson and Joshua Burleson collecting glasses at an eye clinic for the South Dakota 4-H "20/20 Vision" community service project.

South Dakota 4-H Members Donate Over 3,000 Eyeglasses Through Statewide Service Project

January 27, 2022

The eyeglasses collected through the project were primarily donated to the South Dakota Lions Foundation, which collects thousands of eyeglasses annually for volunteer missions.

A group of attendees at the Small Business Basics course at Volga, South Dakota.

Small Business Basics

The Small Business Basics program covers an extensive list of topics, including writing or updating business plans, tax and licensing, employee relations, pricing and marketing, customer service, social media, and aspects of financing.