Community and Economic Development

Recommended Content

2021 Energize! Conference attendees gathered outside a brick building.

Energize!

The Energize! Exploring Innovative Rural Communities Conference is designed to empower South Dakota’s rural communities by inviting them to network with community leaders from across the state to share success stories, get new ideas and take action to improve their own communities.

A group of people watching a movie outdoors on a video screen on the side of a brick building.

Marketing Hometown America

Marketing Hometown America empowers communities to create a vision to attract new residents. Designed as a tool to create dialogue that moves people toward action, the process can be the spark to help a rural community look at itself in a new way.

Instructor and female grant applicant reviewing paperwork at a table.

Writing Your Future: Grant Writing Training

Often community or organizational programs need capital to get them off the ground. Our Writing Your Future grant writing training can be the start to finding that initial investment.

All Community and Economic Development Content

Road sign reading "Welcome to South Dakota - Great Faces, Great Places"
Jan 14

Community Conversation: Public Service Leadership Voices

SDSU Extension and the SDSU Ness School of Management & Economics will host Public Service Leadership Voices a conversation designed to listen, learn, and collaborate, on January 14 from 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. at Startup Sioux Falls in the Arc of Dreams Conference Room (100 E 6th St, Sioux Falls, SD 57104).

A small town main street.
Jan 06

Community Conversation: Non-Profit Voices

SDSU Extension and the SDSU Ness School of Management & Economics will host Non-Profit Voices, a conversation designed to listen, learn, and collaborate, on January 6 from 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. at Startup Sioux Falls in the Arc of Dreams Conference Room (100 E 6th St, Sioux Falls, SD 57104).

A green road sign that says South Dakota with the sunset in the background
Jan 08

Community Conversation: High School Counselors & DECA Leader Voices

SDSU Extension and the SDSU Ness School of Management & Economics will host High School Counselors & DECA Leader Voices, a conversation designed to listen, learn, and collaborate, on January 8 from 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. at Startup Sioux Falls in the Arc of Dreams Conference Room (100 E 6th St, Sioux Falls, SD 57104).

Aerial view of Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Dec 18

Community Conversation: Startup Voices

SDSU Extension and the SDSU Ness School of Management & Economics will host Startup Voices, a conversation designed to listen, learn, and collaborate, on December 18 from 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. at Startup Sioux Falls in the Arc of Dreams Conference Room (100 E 6th St, Sioux Falls, SD 57104).

Aerial view of the Wall high school and athletic complex
May 06

Energize Conference

SDSU Extension will host the next annual Energize conference on May 6–7, 2026, in Wall, South Dakota.

A brochure that says "Energize 2025" sits on a table with red roses laying next to it

SDSU Extension welcomes new Community Vitality Field Specialist

November 24, 2025

South Dakota State University Extension is pleased to welcome Dacia Hilkemeier as a new Community Vitality Field Specialist.

Deadwood, South Dakota buildings with Black Hills in the background

Community

Resources to support communities, organizations, leaders and businesses.

Veteran’s Park in downtown Clark, South Dakota.

Healthy Landscapes Healthy Communities Pilot Program: Looking back and moving forward in year two

Now in its second year, Healthy Landscapes Healthy Communities provides communities across the state with an opportunity to envision vibrant public spaces through an engaged planning and design effort.

Group of people gathered around a table in an office.

Creating a Virtuous Cycle of Grant Writing

Creating a virtuous cycle of grant writing can lead to a cycle of reinvestment and expansion within your community, allowing you to create new programs, reach new populations, and increase your capacity and impact, fueling your next cycle of success.

Stack of newspapers

The State of Local News in South Dakota: Challenges, Innovation, and Opportunities

Years of research across various academic fields have extolled the importance of local newspapers and highlighted the positive impacts they have. Yet, local newspapers are in decline in many towns across the US.