A state and federally licensed center will provide infant, preschool, Head Start and older adolescent children with extended-hour care and involvement in a childhood development program. Area employers may subsidize fees and a sliding fee scale will be available to provide affordable care.

Creating an affordable, quality, early childhood development program/child care center will reduce the cost of living in the county for working families. This activity is also instrumental in making sure our children are ready to learn when they begin school and that those who are of school age are receiving the best care possible.

Have economic activity that builds wealth for all

The center will create jobs as well as provide an opportunity for on-the-job career training programs in management and early childhood development. The center will reduce the cost of services for low-income families, helping them take greater advantage of employment and/or training opportunities (rather than being unable to work or working part-time because of lack of affordable childcare). Ample, affordable day/night care for children will retain and attract current working families and businesses that may otherwise consider leaving the county. Adequate childcare will reduce employees' absenteeism. Productive employees will increase business profitability.

Most mothers of preschool children are employed outside the home to help provide family income; others would be if they could find adequate daycare. This realization led to an emphasis on expanding preschool childcare service, beginning with a comprehensive analysis of the need for additional childcare services.

According to surveys at PBM (Miner County's largest employer), 41 day shift employees are currently using childcare; 73 percent of those 41 indicated they would utilize formal childcare. This majority represents 50 children in full-time childcare and two in part-time. Eighteen of 25 night shift employees indicated they would also utilize formal childcare. Currently Miner County has nine daycare providers, two of which are licensed. Quality childcare is nearly impossible to find and burdensome to afford.

A greater percentage of Miner County's population is living below the poverty line than in any of the surrounding counties. Twenty-two percent of Miner County's children (ages 0-17) live below the poverty level. Children who live in poverty are more likely to experience neglect, hunger, and abuse.

Miner County has approximately 1,100 people who are of working age employed at about 1,400 jobs, which means that many residents are working and many are working more than one job. The children of Miner County are either looked after by a retired relative or neighbor, left to look after one another, or left alone. Children need a quality, dependable place to be when both parents are working.

The center will work with existing child care programs including the enhancement of the newly formed Fun After School Time (FAST) program. The program started in the school with community and state money to provide safe, structured activities for school-aged children from 3:30 to 6:30.

Inter-Lakes Community Action Program (ICAP), local businesses, USDA Rural Development, Rural LISC, state and local government, civic organizations, churches, Howard Industries, and the schools. The center will work in cooperation with current day care providers to assist in training and program development.

An initiative to attract technology-based businesses to Miner County through working with such businesses and business people who have ties to Miner County on developing a trained local workforce. This activity builds on the technological assets already in place in the County.

The activity will help train residents interested in learning new skills and provide local employment while increasing wages. A focus will be on assessing the aptitude of and training low-income members of the community. Attracting information technology employers to Miner County will increase overall employment and raise wage levels, which potentially enables residents to purchase a home and enjoy a higher standard of living. Economic diversification and expansion within the county is an integral step toward county revitalization.

Develop and retain human and social assets in the community

This activity will allow community members the opportunity to gain knowledge in a growing sector of our nation's economy and further their technological experience and competence. It may enable or encourage young people to return to the county, help underemployed individuals find higher-wage employment, and attract telecommuters.

This activity will take advantage of one of Miner County's strongest assets, which is a sophisticated and locally dedicated telecommunications infrastructure, to help attract more living-wage employment into the county. According to Splitrock Properties, the regional telephone company that services most of Miner County, the county's telecommunications infrastructure is one of the best in the state. Splitrock Telecom Cooperative, a regional phone company, has provided Miner County with fiber optics that have a bandwidth that can accommodate future expansion and be increased to meet future needs. Howard has a T-1 line that supports video technology and T-1 lines at the high school that can be used for the entire community. Splitrock was one of the founders of the South Dakota Network, which is a consortium of telephone cooperatives providing service to the eastern part of South Dakota. Splitrock also just purchased the satellite cable services for all of Miner County and some of the surrounding communities.

A major reason technology/telecommunications businesses don't locate in rural areas such as Miner County is the lack of an existing workforce with the aptitude for technology-based work.

Miner County residents already have a knowledge base in technology. The schools in Miner County were all wired for computers with the help of a statewide government program, and the county has expanded its library to house four computers with Internet access. The Howard School District, along with the Miner County Extension Agency and students from the Future Business Leaders of America, have taught more than 700 residents a variety of computer skills over the last six years. There has been a tremendous amount of positive feedback by all of the participants. The ages of the participants ranged from 18 to 86. The training program will work in conjunction with the local school districts and interested universities in the region as well as interested employers. Local students and teachers are of great assistance. Although there is little unemployment in Miner County, those who are currently underemployed would be interested in these positions.

Interested persons of all ages will learn from one another in a Community Learning Center that will take advantage of the most innovative technology with the help of the new partnering companies and Splitrock Properties.

Miner County has lost a large number of its skilled and educated young people to higher skill and higher wage employment elsewhere. Miner County realizes that loss may continue to be true for some time but that rural communities need not be closed out of telecommunications dependent businesses and careers. This activity is viewed as a first step to take advantage of existing telecommunications skills and resources in the community, but plans call for a much more connected community in the future. Community leaders appreciate the potential of telecommunications technology in assisting local businesses expand markets, distance education, telemedicine, etc. These initiatives should help stabilize Miner County's population and lay a foundation for dynamic economic development and related population growth.

MCCR, Splitrock Properties, Inc., Miner County Economic Development, PBM, Sioux Valley Health Care, Avera Health Care, local and state governments, local schools, Howard and Carthage School District, and USDA Rural Development.

A county land use plan will provide clear descriptions and use designations of residential areas. Industrial areas and commercial areas will also be zoned with appropriate water, sewer and roads planned. The county commissioners and city councils will work toward ensuring equitable services and fair treatment of property owners.

Planning and zoning will allow for uniform housing development, more equitable taxation, and promotion of new construction. A proper land use plan will also discourage ad hoc development and prevent harm to either the physical or social environment.

When new homes and businesses are built, the economic tax base increases, services provided by the city and county are enhanced through tax dollars. Construction generates economic activity for other businesses. Construction of all kinds also generates additional higher skill, higher wage employment. A comprehensive land use plan also may facilitate development as there is clarity in infrastructure, growth boundaries, and community support for development projects.

Currently the communities of Fedora, Canova and Carthage have no land use plans or zoning regulations. Howard's land use plan needs significant revision. This lack of planning inhibits the communities from receiving federal assistance/grants and leads to disorganized growth and development or to no growth at all. Some zoning regulations are currently in place but are not enforced.

Updating current land use plans and zoning regulations will be an effective tool to help local developers meet housing needs of all income levels. The land use plan will specify where new construction is permitted and can assist in incorporating mixed-use development, where feasible, without degrading the environment.

Miner County Commission, with MCCR, city councils, Howard Industries, Miner County Economic Development, First Planning District of Local Governments, and USDA Rural Development.

The development will modernize and increase camping in the park and at the lake and continue progress on the partnership between MCCR, the Carthage Improvement Association (CIA), and the State Department of Game, Fish, and Parks (GFP) to develop Lake Carthage as a recreational site. That development is expected to take advantage of a camping and tourist overflow from Lake Thompson only 14 miles away.

Developing this area will not only attract financial and human capital from outside, but will enhance the lives of the entire county by providing additional recreation opportunities for Miner County residents, an important factor in improving quality of life in the county. This development will also provide an accessible amenity for all age and income levels including those who are financially stressed. It will provide an inexpensive place to spend more time with family. The lake and park will provide a place of beauty for all residents.

MCCR is already contributing to the development of Redstone Park, based on a unified decision of the 18 organizations in Carthage to focus on development of its park and lake. The collaborating organizations recently formed the Carthage Improvement Association (CIA). Where animosity and competition was once evident, the community is now working together. The community has worked with the GFP for over a year to gain a voice in what happens to Lake Carthage. Now the department is meeting with members of the CIA to include them in next year's planned developments. With small improvements such as more electrical hook-ups at the campsites and general beautification including the removal of dead trees, there is significantly more usage of Redstone Park. These efforts need to be continued for Carthage to become more economically viable and contribute to the overall economic and social well-being of the county.

The state has expressed an interest in partnering with Carthage to be an overflow site for campers at Lake Thompson, the largest lake in the state and the location of a $2 million renovation two years ago.

Carthage Improvement Association, MCCR, state and federal programs designed for recreation development, USDA Rural Development, tax entities, State Department of Game, Fish, and Parks, and continued volunteer efforts.

Description

The business assistance program is designed to promote activities that empower community members to pursue business ventures that further the community's goals, help diversify the Miner County economy, and contribute to positive economic development. It will offer technical assistance, training, and business support programs, as well as a revolving loan fund to help leverage financial support.

This fund will provide equal access to technical assistance for all people and financial restructuring services and credit for low- and moderate-income people interested in creating, stabilizing, or expanding local businesses that further the community's goals. Significant focus will be on targeting low-income individuals. Another focus will be on facilitating the development of export-oriented businesses that will bring money back into the community. Facilitating the success of small businesses will contribute to retaining local financial and social capital by providing additional living-wage job opportunities as well as meeting the consumption needs of residents. It is well established that a key to rural development is retention of existing businesses and helping those that have the potential to expand into new markets and services and thereby become larger employers. That is an objective of the business assistance program.

A business assistance program will increase the skills and income of community members and better enable them to participate in the social institutions and networks in the community.

The Rural Initiatives Center in Sioux Falls conducted workshops sponsored by MCCR to address the feasibility of small venture opportunities in Miner County such as a local hunting lodge, deer farming, water aerobic business, bakery, welding business, and parts supply shop. The Small Business Development Center in Madison, SD, has also worked with local business people to reorganize and expand their existing business. These well-received workshops indicate that there is interest in such assistance. Local business owners who are struggling to survive also reflect a need for a business assistance program.

Many of the workers at PBM, the local packaging plant-especially female employees-have expressed an interest in starting their own businesses and are potential clients for this program. This program will help reduce some of the underemployment that is such a problem in Miner County and other rural areas by fostering entrepreneurship based on local assets.

The benefits of this program start with making resources that do not currently exist available to community members. Additionally, the business assistance program will continue to offer resources even after the business/venture is started to ensure sustainability of the business. The program will help bolster the credibility of the entrepreneur to lending institutions through presentation of a well-developed business plan, assurance that the entrepreneur is receiving sound business advice and leveraging loan programs. New economic activity adds to the tax base through an increase in higher skill jobs and businesses with growth potential. Bringing interested parties together to work for the benefit of the community through an assistance program is extremely important, as was the case in building six independent living units through a partnership with the Good Samaritan nursing home and local contractors and developers.

A local banker recently pointed to the lack of resources available in Miner County for business people and farmers to understand the steps needed to be successful in starting and maintaining a business. "Business people need to realize how important the background work is and the ins and outs of running a business that aren’t apparent if they’ve been an employee. Farmers must realize that their operation needs to be run like a business and not something that is done once a year for the banker."

The business assistance program can help by working in partnership to increase the generation of value-added agricultural products, the development of a more active and productive construction sector in building needed housing, and efforts to attract telecommunications-related enterprises to thrive in our community.

MCCR, Howard Industries, Miner County Economic Development, Carthage Improvement Association, Fedora Community Development group, Canova Community Club, local tax entities, Rural Initiatives Center, South Dakota Department of Economic Development, Governor’s Office of Economic Development, USDA Rural Development, Rural LISC, South Dakota Small Business Development Center and Small Business Administration. South Dakota State University and Dakota State University will be asked to provide technical assistance, training, and consultation with feasibility studies.

The development of such ventures will include research and studies of promising projects and continued facilitation among people and groups interested in the effort to make agriculture-related ventures more diverse and profitable.

When agriculture products are converted to finished products, they are worth more to the local farmer. When agricultural products are produced locally from the farmyard to consumption, vertical integration will ensure a higher income and more control over local capital leaving the county. As farmers become more profitable, they can support local businesses, schools, and civic and religious organizations and add to the tax base.

Farmers are by and large not making it in Miner County. Most farmers and farm families are working multiple jobs or living in poverty. This situation erodes family life and the quality of life and puts children (and women) at risk. Obtaining support to transition to a more profitable agricultural enterprise can help some of these families gain or regain a quality family and social life.

Miner County cannot alter devastatingly low commodity prices, but farmers can strive to find alternative ways to make a living on the farm. Miner County considers itself to be agriculturally based, but a closer look at how the government defines a viable farm-those having gross sales of at least $100,000 (which provides about $15,000-$20,000 net income)-is essential to understanding which farmers in the county are making a living on their farm.

According to the U.S. Agriculture Census, in 1997 there were 369 farms in Miner County. Only 111 of those farms had gross sales in excess of $100,000. More than one-fourth of all Miner County "farmers" had net sales of less than $10,000.

Niche marketing of specialized agricultural products can often produce a higher net income than conventional commodity production. There are many alternatives for crops and products that are possible in Miner County but have never been explored. Farmers need help in learning the potential of these new avenues for rural land use. Conversion of commodities into value-added products creates new jobs and demands for supplies and services. Together with niche marketing of specialty products, value-added processing can increase family incomes and reduce poverty.

MCCR has begun facilitating agricultural diversification in the county. A significant asset for Miner County is the high quality beef that is raised in the county, and the existence of a small but high-quality meat processor who sells more than meat processors combined in the surrounding counties. MCCR has helped the meat locket obtain a federal license that will allow it to sell local meat across state lines and will also allow it to sell to the school district, local nursing home, and local restaurants. With the license, local livestock producers can look into cooperative ventures to market their meat locally and regionally from the locker.

This program will work closely with the business assistance program to provide technical assistance, financial restructuring services, and financial support to those creating or expanding value-added or niche market enterprises.

Howard Industries, Miner County Economic Development Corporation, tax entities, South Dakota Farmers Union, South Dakota Farm Bureau, South Dakota State University, Farm for Profit, the South Dakota Department of Agriculture, USDA Rural Development, South Dakota Fish Producers, Value Added Agriculture Development Center, plus other regional efforts to promote value-added and niche marketing enterprises.