South Dakota Business- From Agriculture to Credit Cards

South Dakota is a large state with 77,000 square milesAberdeen, closer to the Canadian border, there is the
and 750,000 people. It is known for farming and somestate school, Northern University. Nearby is the
of its tourist atrractions, particularly the Mt. RushmoreRichmond Lake Recreational area, with cabins and
sculptures, in the Black Hills, and its national parks.other camping facilities. It has over 10 miles of trails for
There is also a large banking sector in the state,hikers and bikers, and there is extensive fishing and
something to keep in mind when choosing your Southwildlife in the area.
Dakota Incorporation. Its largest city is Sioux Falls, withSouth Dakota is also known for its National Parks and
145,000 people, and the capital is Pierre. Other largerMonuments. In 1978 the Badlands National Park was
cities are Rapid City and Aberdeen. South Dakota alsoformed, and before that in 1903, the Wind Cave
has casinos at Deadwood and various IndianNational Park. Wind Cave has nearly 120 miles of
reservations.explored underground passageways.
The Missouri River runs through the center of theMt. Rushmore is truly a unique American monument. It
state. Four dams on the Missouri River have createdshows the faces of four American Presidents, George
flood control and hydropower and recreationalWashington. Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt
opportunities. Overall, South Dakota is a fairly dry state,and Abraham Lincoln. It was begun in 1927 by the
with most of the state averaging 25-inches or less.sculptor Gutson Borglum, and took 14-years to
This does create periodic problems with drought.complete. The faces are 60 feet high, 500 feet up the
Agricultural production includes beef, wheat, corn,mountain side. Mt. Rushmore goes up 5.725 feet.
soybeans, sheep and poultry.There is also the Lincoln Borglum museum at the site,
There are no personal or corporate taxes in the state,with exhibits and a film shown.
which has made the state known as very businessBadlands National Park has its famous moonscape,
friendly. Due to the state?s corporate policies, suchwhich is created by eons of erosion. There are also
financial giants such as Citigroup have moved into therich deposits of fossils here. Badlands National Park is
state, and are large employers, mainly in Sioux City.located in Southwestern South Dakota.
Other banks active in the state are Great WesternMore than 62,000 American Indians live in South
Bank, Bank First, HSBC and Wells Fargo. Many ofDakota, mostly of the Sioux peoples. Most of these
these banks moved into South Dakota in 1981 whentribes operate casinos. There is the Dakota Sioux
the usury ceiling on interest rates was raised, andCasino, near Watertown, north of Sioux Falls. It has
moved their credit card divisions here. Other industriesblackjack, slot machines, poker, as well as fine dining
in Sioux City are John Morrell meat packing plant, andand entertainment. Another casino is in Lower Brule,
Hutchinson Tech- a manufacturer of close-tolerancecalled the Golden Buffalo Casino and Motel. There are
products and precise metal-springs that hold diskslot machines here. It is by the Crow Creek Indian
drive?s recording heads. Tyco has an electronicReservation, southeast of Pierre, the state capital.
power component in Watertown, South Dakota. In