Jackie Hendry

Visitor spending topped $5 billion last year and supports 9% of the workforce, or nearly 59,000 jobs, many of them smaller operators. "We have the ability to do things that maybe other hotels don't."

Report: 39% of South Dakota child care centers can't find enough workers. "The current model we have to child care is not sustainable."

"I believe that it is an act of sovereignty for a tribe to take control of their cultural history by telling their own story. And what better way to do that than tourism with people from your local community to even internationally?"

Laura Ingalls Wilder, Wild Bill Hickok and other famous (and infamous) figures contribute to state tourism.

Some sites are capitalizing and partnering on an increased interest in learning in hopes of inspiring the next generation of South Dakota's STEM workforce.

In the past two years of Sturgis Motorcycle Rally campaigns, 97% of advanced bookings are from people 49 years old and younger.

If the shortage of providers is going to change, it will require a lot of people like Cordelia Rieck, who has chosen to pursue the career her mother started 20 years ago.