The way Dave and Ryan Austad see it, the game of golf has stuck. “In 2020, everyone golfed because it was safe. After a dicey March, April and May, the sport just saw an explosion,” Ryan Austad said. “But you have to golf with someone. So, generally, people invited friends. And in 2021, we started […]
This year has brought changes in tax laws, which are resulting in higher taxes in many instances. Estate planning and business succession attorney Andrew J. Knutson of Thompson Law and Adam Sweet, who leads Eide Bailly’s Passthrough Entity Consulting Group, will present their knowledge and insights of current tax law changes at a Nov. 17
Plan now for tax time, 2022 Read More »
At an age when most people would be retiring, W. Fredrick and Ferne Edney became business owners. It was 1951, and Fredrick had spent a career bringing wind power to rural homes that previously didn’t have electricity. By late in his career, he had a choice – transfer to South Dakota or Texas – which
*Part three of a series of stories about Prairie Family Business Association founding members in celebration of our 30th anniversary. If you’re going to work in the water tower business, it helps to appreciate the world from 150 feet up. Parker Jones saw that view for the first time recently, after becoming the third generation
Freeman, South Dakota – population approximately 1,500 – isn’t the sort of place you might expect to discover a growing oil company. “There were other people that said the same thing,” laughed Scott Stern, who became CEO in 2018. “My father was pretty tenacious. We were tenacious. If you take care of the customer, the
More than half of U.S. gross domestic product and domestic employment is generated by family firms, according to Family Enterprise USA. Nearly eight in 10 new jobs come from family-owned businesses. More than one-third of Fortune 500 companies are family-owned or controlled. And family firms typically have higher employee retention rates than nonfamily firms. But
The first one in the door every morning at BankStar’s Elkton branch is 96-year-old Jack Hegerfeld. “He comes in about 6:30 a.m., opens up the door and prepares the bank for the day,” said Jack’s son, Chuck. Then, it’s time for coffee to catch up with the locals, and after that it’s back to the
Generations of entrepreneurs celebrate 95 years in family banking Read More »
*Part two of a series of stories about Prairie Family Business Association founding members in celebration of our 30th anniversary. Nelson & Nelson CPAS knows something about longevity. As the state’s oldest homegrown accounting firm, founded by James Nelson in 1923, it’s now in its fourth generation and includes clients from 32 states and multiple
Three generations look inside South Dakota’s oldest homegrown accounting firm Read More »
What would be the worst-case scenario? In 2020, the leaders of Hamlin Building Center asked that question. “We put it on paper,” said Joe Homola, manager of the business with locations in Brookings and Lake Norden. “What would it look like to shut down? Not close the business but pause it.” It was the beginning
Building boom means business boom for longtime family companies Read More »
*Part one of a series of stories about Prairie Family Business Association founding members in celebration of our 30th anniversary. As an 8-year-old, Bill Shorma remembers shining shoes in the basement of a clothing store where his father owned a shoe repair shop. He didn’t realize it at the time, but he was learning business