Fall is finally here, the South Dakota State Fair is right around the corner, and school is coming on fast. The pace is picking up quickly. As you probably noticed it is for us as well.
In my last column we talked about the Coborns’ land acquisition and our intention of putting in roads and water and sewer yet this summer. As you can see those projects are well underway. By the end of the year, we hope to have all of 24th Street from Highway 37 to Idaho Avenue SE completed, and Kansas Avenue from Coborns to 26th Street completed as well. This includes the water, sewer and storm sewer as well. We will likely allow the roadbed to sit over the winter, and then asphalt the roads sometime next spring. Completion dates for these projects are set for May of next year. In talking with several key prospects for the area, it was critical that the infrastructure be put into place yet this year to give them the necessary utility infrastructure they need to move ahead with their projects. Hopefully, by the time you read this we may even have an announcement to share with you.
Many of you will have heard by the time you read this column about Dakota Provisions’ significant expansion. For those of you who haven’t heard, Dakota Provisions has committed to expanding its operations here in Huron. As part of that expansion they intend on acquiring GHDC’s spec building in our West Industrial Park along with the surrounding 24 acres, and equip it and operate it as part of their “RTE” or Ready-to-Eat operations. I’d like to allay any fears now; there will be no “raw-side” operations at the facility. The finishing and processing operations, including the cooking, will all be contained within the building. All of the raw-side input for DP’s operations will continue to be processed at their primary location, east of town. In total this expansion is projected to cost approximately $30 Million and will eventually employ up to 250 people.
In order to facilitate this expansion, the community will have to meet certain conditions to create additional housing for the new employees. Here in our office we are working with a number of developers to identify possible opportunities to do this, including single family homes, apartments, or even townhouses or duplexes. We hope to have a number of solutions by the end of the year to help alleviate the stress on the housing market within the next year and a half.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t talk about our good friends visiting our community while working on the Dakota Access pipeline. In our area, things have been going very well; too well in fact. Construction in our “spread” is about 3-5 weeks ahead of schedule. Unfortunately, that means we will begin to lose some of the people to areas to the North and South of us, as they haven’t fared as well. I want to extend a huge compliment, and express how proud I am, of this community. We have heard countless compliments about how wonderful our community has been and how well the workers have been treated. You should all be very proud of yourselves, as you’ve made their stay very warm and welcoming.
In closing, I’d like to congratulate Dakota Provisions and thank them for their commitment to our community. We are thankful that they selected our community to host their newest expansion.
Have a great fall season and I hope to see you at the State Fair!
Whew! June and July have been busy. Starting with the late model challenge series racing, Wheel Jam and the SD BBQ championships, then the 4th of July and ending with Downtown Street Fest & Ravine Lake Summer Fest and the Thunder on the Prairie concert featuring American Country. There was so much more in between that helped fill the last couple months. Are you keeping yourself informed with whatis going on each month? There has certainly been a lot to choose from and I would venture to say that you haven’t said “there is nothing to do in Huron”. The organizers of these events and activities put in a lot of time and effort to give us these opportunities.
With that same train of thought, about things going away, the same goes for our local businesses, whether they are shops, restaurants or service industries. We all want Huron to have more, but are we supporting what we already have? We are trying something new at the Huron Chamber & Visitors Bureau in the next few months to keep you thinking of doing business locally, while also learning more about our local businesses. For more information read on in this issue of PrairieTracks!
Can you believe that the SD State Fair will be here in a month and we will once again play host to thousands of visitors? Let’s look around our places of work and homes and make sure we have Huron looking beautiful. Also, remember we are looking for housing for our fair goers, please call the Chamber to get on the list, if you have rooms or camping space available. Helen Keller said “Alone we can do so little. Together we can do so much.” Let us keep working together to support Huron and make it an even better place to live, work and play! WE ARE HURON!
This month I want to take some time and talk a little bit about one of our major undertakings for 2016 and 2017. As many of you know GHDC has acquired the land south of the Coborns grocery store. We are now entering into the final stages of putting together the financing that will enable us to begin construction of the roads and installing the sewer and water necessary to feed the interior lots for further development.
Our plans include creating a road running south from the main entrance of Coborns all the way to the 26th Street near the First United Methodist Church. We will also be installing 24th Street, which will run from SD Highway 37 all the way east to Idaho Avenue. We are hopeful that once we are through the necessary legal processes with the City’s new Tax Increment Finance Project Review Committee, the City’s Planning Commission and the actual City Commission themselves, we will have an approved project that will be ready to move forward. The goal would be to begin construction hopefully by mid-August, with the idea in mind to have all of the water and sewer installed along with the primary gravel base for all of the roads. We would then let them settle over winter with the intent of adding paving and gutter in the spring of 2017.
It is our intention to market this area for further development for retail and service industries. We have been approached by a number of businesses expressing their interest in considering the area as a location for things such as a restaurant or a hotel or other possible service industries. Unfortunately, until now, the development costs
for the interested parties have been too great to do on their own.
Over the course of the next three years, we believe that this development area will prove to be an outstanding new addition to our core business area on the south side of town. With this in mind we are moving ahead as quickly as we can to begin the construction to get the necessary infrastructure installed.
In closing, I’d like to suggest you read Brooke Sydow’s article later in this edition of Prairie Tracks. If you don’t know Brooke, she is GHDC’s Workforce Coordinator. Brooke has been busy with a number of things that I think you’ll find quite interesting, including the Third Annual 4th of July Karen Soccer Tournament, her recent seminar for online marketing, and the presentation by Spencer Beach to name just a few.
Have a great 4th of July!
“I didn’t hear anything about that” and “there is nothing to do in Huron” are two phrases that we find very frustrating here in the Chamber office. The Huron Chamber & Visitors Bureau along with many other organizations and businesses are doing great things and holding fun events in Huron and yet we still hear those statements. So where are you looking to find out what is going on, so that you can be informed of the events taking place in Huron?
There are so many avenues of information available to us these days. You can get information from this publication, PrairieTracks, traditional newspaper and radio sources along with television. Did you know that Tiger Channel 6 posts not just school activities, but other events going on in Huron? Are you paying attention to Facebook posts? So many groups are using Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to let you know about what they have going on. Be sure to “Like” Huron CVB on Facebook, you may also want to “Like” Splash Central Waterpark to check out what is going on there too. Or check out Performance Radio online, Facebook or Twitter, they can keep you up to date on news and events. Another GREAT source of information is the Huron website; huronsd.com. Under the Living
In Huron tab you can find the community events calendar which again lets you be in the know about what is happening in Huron, it also gives you access to our city government, economic development, Huron Chamber & Visitor Bureau information and much more.
If by chance, you don’t have access to any of those avenues, take time to look at the bulletin boards around town. The Huron Chamber & Visitors Bureau, with the help of our volunteers, distribute posters monthly to nearly 140 locations, one of which you are sure to visit. These posters include a “Huron Happenings Calendar” along with many individual posters showing the events going on throughout the month.
With this being said, I encourage you to do your part in keeping yourself informed as to what is going on in our community. And don’t forget to share those fun things with your friends and neighbors. Huron is a great place to live, work and play, so let’s make sure we all know what we can do when it is time for the “play” part of our lives.
This spring has been very busy here at GHDC. One of the things that many of you have seen or heard about is the all of the preparation that has taken place in anticipation of the arrival of the workers associated with the Dakota Access Pipeline project. As the primary general contractor for our area Michels Pipeline company will be working in the area, along with a number of other subcontractors. In total, this area will likely see approximately 500-600 temporary construction workers and various staff members that will oversee and assist in constructing the pipeline.
As we understand it, the pipeline itself is about 30 inches in diameter and will run about 1,168 miles from the Bakken oil fields down through South Dakota and Iowa, eventually making its way to a terminal in Patoka, Illinois. As it travels through our area it will cross through Spink County, then along its route through Beadle County crossing just north and east of Lake Byron.
The arrival of these new visitors to our area has been the source of constant conversations between the companies that will be represented in the area and community contacts. There has been a tremendous effort by many people trying to ensure their arrival goes as smoothly as possible. Conversations have revolved around everything from available businesses and services, to area attractions, to temporary housing, and more.
GHDC has been fortunate enough to be an integral part in these discussions, as Michels and their subcontractors have entered into arrangements to lease a significant portion of our West Industrial Park and our spec building which is located right on the truck bypass. To read more about current efforts on the housing front, please see Brooke Sydow’s article on Workforce Development efforts later in this edition. Brooke has been focusing a lot of effort on both temporary and longer term housing for the workforce lately and I think you’ll find her article to be of interest.
As we prepare for our new friends to arrive, I’d like to encourage everyone to please provide them a warm Huron welcome. Some will be traveling with friends, others with their families, and we want to make sure we make every effort to help them with their needs.
In closing, we recently had our joint annual meeting for GHDC and the Huron Chamber. I’d like to just take a moment to congratulate Potter’s Shoes on being selected as the community’s Family Business Award winner, and also to Steve Charron, who was the recipient of the Distinguished Civic Service Award. Finally, I’d like to congratulate the staff and leadership of the Violet Tschetter Memorial Home on their selection as the recipient of the 2016 Mayor’s Award for Excellence in Business award. All of these individuals and businesses have made strong commitments to make our community a better place to live.
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you …………… April is National Volunteer Month and coming from this office, we know, without a doubt that we cannot do what we do without our volunteers.
I saw the following quote and thought it was fitting in the midst of this crazy election year!
“Volunteering is the ultimate exercise in democracy. You vote in elections once a year, but when you volunteer, you vote every day about the kind of community you want to live in.” ~Author Unknown
Huron is so fortunate to have so many who want to make it a better place to live, work and play. Beyond the awesome volunteers here at the Chamber, who have worked well over 4000 hours this past year, the volunteer efforts throughout Huron is much more than that. According to the Department of Labor and Statistics, 24.9% of the US population volunteered in one capacity or another in 2015. That is an unbelievable number, but again over the generations, more and more people are realizing the impact that volunteering can have on a city, state, country and worldwide.
Another quote, this one by Albert Pike that I find quite fitting is “What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal.”
Volunteerism can be done in so many ways and for so many reasons. We may be volunteering without even thinking of it in that light; when we help out at church or help to coach our kids in sports. Sometimes we can only fit in a day to help during Day of Caring or an hour to ring bells for the Salvation Army or to bake cookies for a fundraiser. We may volunteer for reasons such as to meet new people, to gain experience along with networking to bringing more visibility to our business or employer. Some volunteer because of the warm feeling that it gives them. In the end, all acts deserve to be applauded because it is making our community a better place.
Thanks again to all of those who volunteer with the Chamber whether it is on our Board of Directors, one of our many committees or for any of our events. Without you, we could not do what we do. To all the other volunteers, our hats are off to you as well. Let’s keep this momentum going and keep Huron growing.
Laurie Shelton
Huron Chamber & Visitors Bureau President/CEO
Last December I talked in my column about our most recent project, the acquisition of the property south of Coborns. In acquiring this property and working with the city with their parcels, we hope to now be able to further develop the area making it much more attractive to developers seeking sites for retail and service locations. As I said earlier we intend on installing new streets, and infrastructure that will ensure high visibility and easy access from all directions.
In addition to working on the property acquisition, we have also been quite busy working with several clients who have interest in facilities in the West Industrial Park and elsewhere in and around our community. Generally speaking, by this time of the year companies have completed their strategic planning, and are now beginning the process of investigating potential sites to consider for expansion. This year appears to be no different as we have hosted a number of companies or their representatives, and given their interest levels, Huron looks poised to potentially have another solid year of growth.
I would be remiss if I didn’t at least acknowledge the fact that the Crossroads Hotel and Huron Event Center is undergoing some significant changes. The City of Huron and the Huron Chamber & Visitors Bureau are working with the existing owners to ensure that these changes take effect as seamlessly as possible. Everyone is doing their very best to make sure that event goers will get a quality experience when attending functions at the Huron Event Center.
In addition, we are continuing to our efforts to provide additional workforce development opportunities. Later here in PrairieTracks, you can read the update by Brooke Sydow, our Workforce Development Coordinator. Her article will detail her latest efforts to help the community with our workforce initiatives through programs such as the Build Dakota Scholarship, the recent Health and Wellness Expo and her work on a new rental housing locator.
In closing, on behalf of the GHDC Staff and Board of Directors, I’m hopeful you all had a wonderful holiday season and I’m looking forward to seeing you all this spring!
-Jim Borszich GHDC President/CEO
Happy 2016 from all of us at the Huron Chamber & Visitors Bureau! As I write my first article of 2016 I reflect back on 2015, as most of us do when we hit the New Year! Did we do enough? Did we make an impact on our members and visitors? What could we do better in 2016? I know that both personally and professionally I have room to grow. Every day it seems that something comes across my desk that I have not dealt with yet. This can be both scary and exciting at the same time. Exciting that I have the opportunity to learn something new but also scary because doing something new also means that I may fail at this new task. None of us likes to fail, but I read something recently that I thought was beneficial enough to include in PrairieTracks. If you FAIL, never give up, because F A I L means “First Attempt In Learning”. END is not the end. In fact, E N D means “Effort Never Dies”. And if you get NO as an answer, remember N O means “Next Opportunity”. My Goal for 2016 is to be positive and not be afraid to try new ways of improving what we do at the Huron Chamber & Visitors Bureau. I also want to look for new ways to promote and improve Huron. So, with that thought in mind, I need your help. What ideas do you have that could bring more visitors to Huron? What tournaments, conferences, events or activities would you like to help us bring to Huron? What can we do to help you strengthen or build your business? We are interested to know what your ideas are, so please feel free to share them with us. “We Are Huron” and together we can be better.
Laurie Shelton
Huron Chamber & Visitors Bureau
President/CEO
Happy 2016 from all of us at the Huron Chamber & Visitors Bureau! As I write my first article of 2016 I reflect back on 2015, as most of us do when we hit the New Year! Did we do enough? Did we make an impact on our members and visitors? What could we do better in 2016? I know that both personally and professionally I have room to grow. Every day it seems that something comes across my desk that I have not dealt with yet. This can be both scary and exciting at the same time. Exciting that I have the opportunity to learn something new but also scary because doing something new also means that I may fail at this new task. None of us likes to fail, but I read something recently that I thought was beneficial enough to include in PrairieTracks. If you FAIL, never give up, because F A I L means “First Attempt In Learning”. END is not the end. In fact, E N D means “Effort Never Dies”. And if you get NO as an answer, remember N O means “Next Opportunity”. My Goal for 2016 is to be positive and not be afraid to try new ways of improving what we do at the Huron Chamber & Visitors Bureau. I also want to look for new ways to promote and improve Huron. So, with that thought in mind, I need your help. What ideas do you have that could bring more visitors to Huron? What tournaments, conferences, events or activities would you like to help us bring to Huron? What can we do to help you strengthen or build your business? We are interested to know what your ideas are, so please feel free to share them with us. “We Are Huron” and together we can be better.
Laurie Shelton
Huron Chamber & Visitors Bureau
President/CEO
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