SOUTH DAKOTA

South Dakota is home to several major credit card companies, including a subsidiary of Citibank. One of the main reasons is that the state, like several others, does not impose a cap on the interest rates that credit card banks can charge their customers. Former Governor Bill Janklow pushed for the no-cap policy in 1980, kicking off a race among states to lure credit card firms with attractive lending terms.

"We have everything here; we have the makings of a great biotech industry here."

Quarq, the brainchild of Dakota Rising Entrepreneur Fellow Jim Meyer, was created in 2006 when Meyer couldn’t find a bicycle power meter that met his requirements. So he invented his own.

The recent political flare-up raises questions about just what more South Dakota can do to lure new businesses or coax existing companies into expanding.

Leaders are building awareness of the company’s intent in a triangle-shaped market area that will be anchored by offices in the Sioux Falls-Brookings area, the Fargo-Grand Forks, N.D., area and Rochester, Minn.

Once again, it is time to renovate the landscape and invest in individuals’ dreams for change. Dakota Rising http://sdrei.org/dakotarising/index.php , an exciting new rural entrepreneur fellowship program, sets the foundation for making those visions possible.

When considering Sioux Falls to be the major hub of its region (the most proximate major cities are Omaha and Minneapolis, both over 150 miles away) it’s no wonder that many people are flocking there to be a part of its thriving economy that can’t be found for miles.

"I don’t know if it’s business entrepreneurship or survival."