Solutions

A team effort, optimistic attitude and innovative leadership put Wall at the forefront of new efforts to develop housing and pave the way for economic and population growth in rural South Dakota.

H20-50 is a citizen-led planning process: "Being involved in the community and helping shape the future for our family and our children, that's super important."

“The bottom line is this: 'Do you want a teacher in the classroom or do you want your kids to learn virtually through a video screen?'”

Pilot project uses storytelling and civic engagement to identify and share solutions to challenges impacting communities across the state.

Family involvement, cultural emphasis among strategies to boost attendance. "It really comes down to engagement. If the kids aren't engaged at school, they probably won't want to come back."

How an Aberdeen nonprofit called Homes Are Possible Inc., or HAPI, shares what it has learned to help ease the state's housing crunch. "Everybody has a problem with housing. ... We're just taking a more aggressive approach to fixing that."

Grow it here, process it here: South Dakota sees big financial benefits from operations like those in Aberdeen and Mitchell.