From Community to Capitol: Why This Work Matters

Tuesday and Wednesday I was in Pierre with the South Dakota Economic Development Professionals Association of South Dakota(SD EDPA) — standing alongside colleagues from across the state who do this work every day in their own communities.

Both the House and the Senate recognized our presence. That mattered — not for attention, but because we were there intentionally. There are several pieces of legislation moving this session that directly affect how communities grow, compete, and sustain their tax base, and those issues benefit from the perspective of people who do this work every day. Being there together as economic development professionals reinforced something important: we belong in these conversations, and informed policy is better when the voices of practitioners are part of it.

Among those there were Michael Bockorny, CEO of SD EDPA, headquartered in Aberdeen, who previously served more than a decade as CEO of the Aberdeen Development Corporation; Bob Mundt from the Sioux Falls Development Foundation; Rita Anderson (retired, De Smet); Jim Protexter from Pierre Economic Development; Julie Johnson, a long-standing attorney and lobbyist; Kevin Kouba of Otter Tail Power Company; and many other leaders representing communities across South Dakota — people with decades of experience navigating growth, downturns, and change.

I bring that same long-term perspective, shaped by years working in economic development at both the Watertown Development Company and the First District of Local Governments.

And just as important: those weren’t the only voices in the room. There were also professionals newer to economic development — people learning the field, stepping into leadership, and doing the work right now. Economic development only works when that pipeline exists. Experience matters, and so does the next generation.

Economic development doesn’t happen by accident. It happens because people show up — to conversations, to site visits, and to places like Pierre — often long before results are visible.

When I say economic development is the engine, I mean it literally. If we stop supporting it, we don’t preserve the status quo — we guarantee decline. Other communities are still showing up, still recruiting, still competing.

That’s why we do this work. And that’s why showing up matters.