Blog & Tools

Having worked in Downtown Sioux Falls for nearly two decades, I can remember when the addition of SculptureWalk helped transform Phillips Avenue 18 years ago. Since its inception in 2003, volunteers have placed 903 sculptures downtown and a total 1,050 throughout all of Sioux Falls.

The telecommunications industry has come a long way over the past two decades. Chad Mutziger with Midstate Communications remembers the excitement of offering speeds up to 56K when the company was referred to as a telephone company.

Highmark Credit Union employees view SDN Communications as one of their team members. “Anytime we reach out to make a change, a configuration or an upgrade, it’s on a first-name basis,” said Tony Pannone, Highmarks' Chief Information Officer.

You don’t have to go far or wait any longer to find a network design that will meet tomorrow’s business needs. Luke Schwingler at Plains Commerce Bank is confident that’s exactly what they have today.

There’s a different kind of Silicon Valley that exists in the upper Midwest. Its product is agriculture and an initiative called GreenSeam is working to elevate the region as a world-class food and agribusiness epicenter — making it the Wall Street of agriculture.

The U.S. Forest Service is asking residents in the Black Hills for public comment regarding the two grants the U.S. Department of Agriculture awarded SDN Communications in 2020 to expand broadband connectivity in the region.

Governor Kristi Noem announced today that 18 new grants have been awarded to fund broadband projects that will better connect unserved and underserved areas across South Dakota.

Agriculture is now as steeped in technology as any other industry. Thankfully, ag education in the state has stepped up to meet the challenges of this new agriculture reality with the addition of the precision agriculture program at South Dakota State University in Brookings.

When you hire the one who almost sent you to your death on a ski slope, it must be for an exceptionally good reason. My writer friend, Lynn Taylor Rick, checks both those boxes.

"It’s a really crazy story with so many twists and turns." What would a cyber attack on your industry look like? Healthcare information and technology professionals in the state recently also got an in-depth look at what happened during a ransomware-event-turned-DDoS-attack at Boston Children’s Hospital.

It’s important we acknowledge neither the telephone nor electric service would have ever reached rural South Dakota without a government investment triggering a public partnership benefitting us yet today. The same can be said of high-speed broadband service.

Governor Kristi Noem announced today that 24 grants have been awarded to fund broadband projects to better connect unserved and underserved areas across South Dakota.

2020 Mitchell Technical Institute graduate Connor Wendland’s face has appeared on several marketing pieces, including a billboard banner visible along Interstate 90. He wasn’t paid for his modeling gig but he did graduate debt-free thanks to the Build Dakota scholarship program.

Dana Culver makes medical recommendations for a living in her professional role as a Brookings pharmacist, but in her role as mother to two young boys diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, she lost her confidence.

Sarah Tuntland and Susan Kyte, who co-manage SDN Communications' accounting department, have mastered the ability to communicate effectively. It's especially important that sharing information between co-leaders of the company's accounting and financial operations is easy and accurate. They have that covered, too.

Located about 15 miles from Mitchell, Mount Vernon is perhaps best known as the hometown of former NFL linebacker Chad Greenway. But the notoriety hasn’t been enough to keep the population from declining, and a lack of housing kept it from growing.

Through the years, the C.R.S.T. Telephone Authority has served as a model, inspiration and national advocate for other tribal telecoms. Its network has been 100 percent fiber since 2016 and is growing.

SDN Communications constantly evaluates its entire network and plans for the future. The pandemic hasn’t changed that – it was a proof of performance. The projects planned for 2021 will continue to position the company’s network to meet future needs and improve the network in four key areas.

At SDN Communications, Mark Shlanta’s leadership recognition is literally pinned to employees. A grassroots employee idea resulted in a caricature lapel pin of SDN’s CEO attached to a valentine to raise money for the Avera Race Against Cancer.

Whether working from home is consistent or as-needed, you might as well enjoy your time staying safe. So I looked around and checked out some of the latest accessories to spruce things up a bit.