Jodi’s Journal: Faith, fear and facing the future

When you lead statewide economic development, the department’s annual conference is a room filled with your “people” — typically public and private leaders from across South Dakota who do the work of building communities and businesses.

For years, it was held in Sioux Falls, and I always tried to go. Now, it’s in February in Pierre, and, well, I haven’t exactly gotten it on my calendar.

But I wish I had this year after I did a call days after the event with Bill Even, who was named commissioner of the Governor’s Office of Economic Development, last year. In a wide-ranging interview, I asked him to tell me about the message he shared.

I thought it was so timely and on point I’m going to attempt to share it with you in the hope that it finds a wider audience.

Even is part of a fifth-generation farm in Humboldt, homesteaded by his great-grandfather in 1884. So he framed up his comments around the way that farm has changed over 142 years of operation.

Out in the shop or the barn, you wouldn’t find motivational sayings on posters. There were no core values posted, he told me. They didn’t need to be.

“It was just how we were raised,” he said. “Faith, family, farming and service. And I … shifted to what does that mean for South Dakota.”

On the question of faith, he sees “the opposite of faith” across much of the state and nation.

“And that’s fear,” he said. “People are afraid of change. They’re afraid of science. They’re afraid of trying something new. We have to move back to having faith in each other and in South Dakotans that we can do the right thing.”

On the issue of family, he told his family’s story of immigration from Ireland and Luxembourg.

“We all came here wanting to be Americans,” he said. “As South Dakotans, we shouldn’t be afraid of having people come to our state because we need workers to come to our state. … If we do this well, you welcome people without losing your core values.”

Farming and a farming mentality needs to be part of South Dakota’s business conversation, he continued.

“Businesses build things,” he said. “All of us here are benefiting from the investments our forefathers and mothers made, and it’s our obligation as adults to go back into the business world to make sure we’re leaving this place a better spot for our kids.”

When South Dakota leans into its strengths, agribusiness naturally emerges. That’s why you see everything from soybean processing to hog processing to dairy production here.

“In South Dakota, we need to get our hands around the fact that in zoning there’s residential, there’s commercial, industrial, ag, but there’s no zoning classification for museum,” Even said. “South Dakota can’t develop a museum mindset where we don’t want anything built and we don’t want any change. That’s not a path forward.”

And, finally, service. As the nation approaches its 250th birthday, Even talked about something I rarely hear from elected or appointed public-sector leaders. As we celebrate the rights of this country — property rights, freedom of speech, etc. — “we also need to start talking much more seriously about our responsibilities,” he said. “It’s the other side of the coin. If you are going to have rights, you also have to have responsibilities.”

It is the responsibility of South Dakotans to recognize the necessary investments it will take to secure this state’s future.

That means being willing to consider things like dairy and hog farms, packing plants, data centers, power plants and manufacturing facilities, he said.

“That doesn’t mean we won’t be responsible and zone them and put them where they need to be and where it’s appropriate,” Even said. “But we want all the benefits we have, and there’s a loud vocal minority that’s taking a lot of this stuff for granted.”

The more I see the pace of change that could be coming in business, the more this whole message resonates. A state that is production-heavy — a place where goods are made and critical services are delivered — is a place that can sustain the upheaval that could be ahead as the pace of technological change accelerates.

More solemnly, that same investment can help ensure that South Dakota can continue to operate in the case of unforeseen emergencies, he added.

“We need to get really serious to understand we have an obligation not only to our kids to give them jobs and business and a future. We have an obligation to make sure this state can operate.”

These are not the easiest messages to espouse, but they’re important ones to hear. It’s encouraging to see a key statewide leader deliver them.

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