Elsie M. Meeks

The recently concluded South Dakota State Fair is ‘Still the One!’ The Value Added Agriculture Development Center (VAADC) hosted Value Added Ag Day at the 2012 South Dakota State Fair on August 30th. USDA Rural Development was represented at the tent and State Director Elsie Meeks was on a panel...

USDA Rural Development in South Dakota is interested in learning about and working with other cultures. To enhance employee understanding, Mark Heuston, Director of Human Resources with Dakota Provisions, a turkey processing firm, was invited to USDA offices recently to make a presentation on the...

While the shovels may have all been painted gold, they weren’t just bought off the shelf; some were used, donated, came in different sizes, and had different uses. It was a metaphor for the day as community members from the small community of Parmelee, South Dakota, located on the Rosebud Indian...

Headquartered in the community of Highmore in the heart of South Dakota, Venture Communications Cooperative is committed to providing friendly, first-rate service. Commitment to their members and customers has distinguished them as one of several businesses from across the country that were invited...

It could be that the holiday season is approaching or winter weather in South Dakota, but three different regional meetings were held this last week highlighting differently funded projects. The common theme to these projects is that South Dakota organizations and agencies have heard the call...

John Yellow Bird Steele, President of the Oglala Sioux Tribe (OST) signed a proclamation declaring June 2011 National Homeownership Month. The signing event took place in Pine Ridge, South Dakota, earlier this month with Partnership for Housing and USDA Rural Development on site for the ceremony....

Parkview Apartments, Inc. in Arlington, South Dakota, is a nonprofit organization that consists of nine buildings. The first building on this project was built in 1964 and the other buildings were later added in the 1970s. The project had seen an increase in vacancy rates prior to the renovation...

Kingbrook Rural Water System, Inc. in Arlington, South Dakota, (KBRW) is spread over a service area of nearly 3,000 square miles, larger than some states. The distances involved create opportunity for failures of equipment or facilities due to natural or man-made causes. Any calamity can cause...

In the mid-1970’s, the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate (Sioux Tribe) relocated from a small tribal office building in Sisseton, SD, to establish a new tribal government at the Old Agency Dakota community in Agency Village, SD. Since then, the tribe has grown immensely in population and in services provided...