The diversification of business in South Dakota

By: Kendy Smith

South Dakota located in the Midwestern region of The United States of America. South Dakota is bisected by the Missouri River. South Dakota has a continental climate with four very distinct seasons ranging from typically very cold winters and hot summers. South Dakota is a large state with 77,000 square miles and 750,000 people. It is known for farming and some of its tourist attractions, particularly the Mt. Rushmore sculptures, in the Black Hills, and its national parks. There is also a large banking sector in the state, something to keep in mind when choosing your South Dakota Incorporation. Its largest city is Sioux Falls, with 145,000 people, and the capital is Pierre. Other larger cities are Rapid City and Aberdeen. South Dakota also has casinos at Deadwood and various Indian reservations.

The Missouri River runs through the center of the state. Four dams on the Missouri River have created flood control and hydropower and recreational opportunities. Overall, South Dakota is a fairly dry state, with most of the state averaging 25-inches or less. This does create periodic problems with drought. Agricultural production includes beef, wheat, corn, soybeans, sheep and poultry.

There are no personal or corporate taxes in the state, which has made the state known as very business friendly. Due to the state’s corporate policies, such financial giants such as Citigroup have moved into the state, and are large employers, mainly in Sioux City. Other banks active in the state are Great Western Bank, Bank First, HSBC and Wells Fargo. Many of these banks moved into South Dakota in 1981 when the usury ceiling on interest rates was raised, and moved their credit card divisions here. Other industries in Sioux City are John Morrell meat packing plant, and Hutchinson Tech- a manufacturer of close-tolerance products and precise metal-springs that hold disk drive’s recording heads. Tyco has an electronic power component in Watertown, South Dakota. In Aberdeen, closer to the Canadian border, there is the state school, Northern University. Nearby is the Richmond Lake Recreational area, with cabins and other camping facilities. It has over 10 miles of trails for hikers and bikers, and there is extensive fishing and wildlife in the area.

South Dakota is also known for its National Parks and Monuments. In 1978 the Badlands National Park was formed, and before that in 1903, the Wind Cave National Park. Wind Cave has nearly 120 miles of explored underground passageways.

Mt. Rushmore is truly a unique American monument. It shows the faces of four American Presidents, George Washington. Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln. It was begun in 1927 by the sculptor Gutson Borglum, and took 14-years to complete. The faces are 60 feet high, 500 feet up the mountain side. Mt. Rushmore goes up 5.725 feet. There is also the Lincoln Borglum museum at the site, with exhibits and a film shown.

Badlands National Park has its famous moonscape, which is created by eons of erosion. There are also rich deposits of fossils here. Badlands National Park is located in Southwestern South Dakota.

More than 62,000 American Indians live in South Dakota, mostly of the Sioux peoples. Most of these tribes operate casinos. There is the Dakota Sioux Casino, near Watertown, north of Sioux Falls. It has blackjack, slot machines, poker, as well as fine dining and entertainment. Another casino is in Lower Brule, called the Golden Buffalo Casino and Motel. There are slot machines here. It is by the Crow Creek Indian Reservation, southeast of Pierre, the state capital.