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  1. Broadband grant helps deliver life-changing connectivity to West Edgemont area
    Converting rural western South Dakota customers over to fiber optics within 10 years is a giant undertaking. A federal grant is helping make that possible for some customers in 2021.
  2. SD telecom leaders retire with nearly 70 years of industry leadership
    Three state telecommunications leaders stepped into retirement over the past year after having a front-row seat to the changes in the industry during the past two decades.
  3. The future of the telecommunications industry from two perspectives
    During the 2021 SDTA annual conference in Deadwood, industry experts Dan Caldwell and Carissa Swenson of Consortia Consulting debated the future of the rural broadband industry - where it’s going, how it will be funded and what it will look like.
  4. Passion for technology drives Austin Hansen to new GM role at BMTC
    Beresford native Austin Hansen began his telecommunications career while in high school. He worked at the Beresford Municipal Telephone Company (BMTC) as part of a School-to-Work program.
  5. Governor praises SDTA companies for ‘changing the ballgame’
    Gov. Kristi Noem wants telecommunications professionals in South Dakota to know they’ve changed the lives of people in the state.
  6. Bandemer leads ITC as it expands state-of-the-art broadband services
    As the new General Manager and CEO of ITC, Tracy Bandemer wants to ensure customers across the region continue to experience the most reliable and best possible speeds for services at home, work and school.
  7. Mutziger leading Midstate Communications as new GM
    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.
  8. Gov. Noem Announces 18 New Broadband Grant Awards
    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.
  9. $100,000 scholarship donation aims to keep homegrown ag talent home
    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.
  10. The law that will forever change SD's economy
    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.
  11. Governor Kristi Noem Announces 24 Broadband Grant Awards
    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.
  12. Build Dakota scholarship offers debt-free tech degrees in high-need careers
    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.
  13. SDN helps fund Avera eCARE school nurses caring for growing diabetes cases
    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.
  14. Housing investments saving small towns, helping businesses grow
    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.
  15. Tribal telecom is unique in S.D. and distinguished nationally
    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.
  16. SDN employees pin leadership on CEO Shlanta, raise funds for cancer research
    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.
  17. New SDTA executive director ready to advocate for rural telecoms
    Kara Semmler is now about two months into her role as the new general counsel and executive director for the South Dakota Telecommunications Association (SDTA). Get to know her, as well as her vision for the SDTA and its role in expanding broadband access across the state.
  18. Hope, Connection and People: The Top SDN Articles of 2020
    The stories from 2020 certainly reflected the environment of the world, with people adjusting their schedules to stay safe during a global pandemic. But there were also stories of growth and investment, as well as faces of the industry.
  19. 211 Helpline available statewide, launches new app
    The 211 Helpline program that’s often considered the “front door” of the social services system is now available to all South Dakotans thanks to the 2020 Legislative Session. And it couldn't have come at a better time.
  20. Rich Coit says ‘so long’ after 27 years of leading SDTA
    Rich Coit has played an important role in helping rural telecoms across the state to develop broadband connectivity and other telecommunications services for nearly 28 years. He's now moving to the next phase of his life as he retires from the SDTA.