South Dakota often gets attention for its low unemployment rate or favorable business climate, but this No. 1 ranking is not for the squeamish. Reptile Gardens has renewed its title as the world’s largest reptile zoo.
Reptile Gardens renews world record Read More »
Rapid City Family Receives Regional Family Business Award October 9, 2017 – Rapid City, South Dakota The Patnoe Family of Liberty Superstores was presented the 2017 Coca-Cola Excellence in Family Business Award in Rapid City, South Dakota, on October 9. Liberty Superstores was founded in 1931 by Ernest Patnoe. Now with the third and fourth generations
Fourth-generation auto dealership owners plan more growth Ernest Patnoe’s motto in the 1930s was “We smile when you come, you smile when you leave.” Almost nine decades later, the family-owners of Liberty Superstores are still smiling, with a business that recently doubled in size and a long-tenured group of dedicated employees. Liberty Superstores and the
Fourth-generation auto dealership owners plan more growth Read More »
Cloverdale Foods in Mandan, N.D., has been owned and operated by the same family for more than 100 years. But just because it’s the same family doesn’t mean it has always been the same business. Adaptability has been key for the meat processing and packaging company, said President and CEO Scott Russell, and as the
Cloverdale Foods evolves to meet changing market Read More »
Family learns to strike balance — while running a business that responds to emergencies Stacey Thomas’ father, Jerry, started their family business with one van, a few air movers and dehumidifiers. Since 1992, Specialized Cleaning & Restoration Inc. has grown into a second-generation family business in Bismarck, N.D., managing projects over $2.5 million. It occupies
Family learns to strike balance — while running a business that responds to emergencies Read More »
Muth Electric builds on decades of success with plan for the future It was somewhere in Vietnam – likely while driving a U.S. Army truck or on guard duty – that Dick Muth made a life-changing decision. When he finished his Army service and returned home to Ethan, he resolved he would learn a trade
Muth Electric builds on decades of success with plan for the future Read More »
Brothers Bryan and Keith Miller learned organizational leadership at a young age. Their father was the academic vice president — akin to the chief operations officer — of a small college in their Nebraska hometown, where he and his wife worked for 51 years. Every immediate family member, several aunts and uncles, as well as
Brothers combine skills to build Human Systems Consulting Read More »
It’s a classic entrepreneurial story: Identify a problem, create a solution, build a business. Dillon Moffatt wasn’t thinking about founding a company back in 1954. The self-taught auto mechanic from Minnesota was just trying to see better under the hood of a car. So he built a flexible arm from stock components and attached it
Innovative auto mechanic ends up building international business Read More »
How does a more than 130-year-old family business transition to its first generation of nonfamily leadership? With a lot of careful planning and clear communication. The First National Bank in downtown Sioux Falls The First National Bank in Sioux Falls was founded in 1885 and is one of the oldest and largest independent banks in
First National Bank: Behind-the-scenes of a CEO transition Read More »
Business blooms as Medary Acres Greenhouses enters third generation Brian Darnall had a decision to make. His wife, Lynn, had told him: “You can be either a rural mail carrier or a greenhouse guy, but it’s one or the other,” he said. “She said, ‘If you really concentrate on that greenhouse, I think you’ll be
Business blooms as Medary Acres Greenhouses enters third generation Read More »