South Dakota
South Dakota retailers adapt to online shopping trend by improving in-person experience
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RAPID CITY, S.D. (SOUTH DAKOTA NEWS WATCH) – South Dakota retailers hope to reap the benefits of a nationwide development towards growing in-store purchasing this vacation season by enhancing buyer expertise and mixing on-line choices into their enterprise mannequin.
An annual survey by the Nationwide Retail Federation and Prosper Perception & Analytics discovered that of an estimated 115 million Individuals who deliberate to buy this 12 months on Black Friday (the day-after-Thanksgiving retail extravaganza), 67% anticipated to buy in individual, up from 64% in 2021.
That modest improve might be partly attributed to fewer COVID-19 an infection issues and, in accordance with South Dakota customers interviewed by Information Watch, a rising want to reconnect with household and associates via shared enjoyment of in-person purchasing at a time when retailers throughout the state are taking steps to enhance the general in-store expertise.
The in-person uptick goes towards the traditional knowledge that brick-and-mortar purchasing confronted a dire outlook lately as a result of rise of digital retail giants corresponding to Amazon and the shift in emphasis amongst many retailers towards on-line gross sales.
“Once I took this job 4 years in the past, the narrative was the loss of life of retail, on-line goes to take over,” mentioned Nathan Sanderson, government director of the South Dakota Retailers Affiliation. “However what we’ve seen for many years, even centuries, is that retail is in a continuing state of evolution. What I feel you’re seeing proper now’s an actual hybrid between on-line purchasing and in-person purchasing. On-line goes to proceed to be with us, however that doesn’t imply it’s taking place to the exclusion of what’s happening in shops.”
Retail shops had purpose to be involved because the COVID-19 pandemic coincided with rising curiosity in on-line purchasing amongst Individuals over the previous few years.
In keeping with the U.S. Census Bureau’s Annual Retail Commerce Survey, e-commerce gross sales elevated nationally by $244.2 billion or 43% in 2020, the primary 12 months of the pandemic, rising from $571.2 billion in 2019 to $815.4 billion in 2020.
Serving to to degree the taking part in discipline for in-person retailers was South Dakota v. Wayfair, a 2018 U.S. Supreme Courtroom determination that nixed the requirement {that a} vendor have a bodily presence in a state to be pressured to gather and remit gross sales taxes to that state. Requiring e-commerce websites to pay the identical tax charge as in-store retailers decreased a few of their aggressive pricing benefit, Sanderson mentioned.
“I don’t assume the impression (of the courtroom ruling) may be overstated,” he mentioned. “In the event you don’t must pay gross sales tax, that’s a 4.5% distinction between the value of a product on-line versus a (bodily) retailer, and that’s vital.”
A nationwide inflation charge of seven.75% in November has helped enhance gross sales tax income, however retailers are keeping track of the proportion improve between general gross sales tax and distant gross sales tax reported by on-line sellers.
In keeping with the South Dakota Board of Income, income from gross sales, use and excise taxes elevated by 13.8% from 2020 to 2021, whereas distant gross sales tax revenues rose 22.6% throughout that interval.
In search of steadiness fairly than outright competitors between these income streams is a part of what Sanderson calls the “hybridization” of on-line and brick and mortar purchasing.
The mix of shopping for on-line and in-person is the most recent instance of retail developments altering, he mentioned, “from open-air markets to normal shops to department shops to purchasing malls, and now on-line retail and the resurgence of Principal Avenue. There’s all the time this evolutionary course of, and we’re persevering with to see that.”
Bettering the in-store expertise
On the afternoon of Nov. 18, there was a palpable pre-holiday buzz on the Nice Out of doors Retailer in downtown Sioux Falls. Proprietor DeAnn Echols moved swiftly amongst not too long ago strung Christmas lights, chatting up prospects and sorting merchandise whereas making an attempt to deal with a winter outside sports activities kickoff sale that evening on the Washington Pavilion.
The specialty outside retailer does on-line gross sales, however its web site is especially for regional prospects who can’t make the journey to Sioux Falls. Since shifting into the previous Rock Island Depot constructing in 2009, DeAnn and her husband, James, have targeted on in-store service to these searching for manufacturers corresponding to Patagonia or North Face in addition to tenting and rock-climbing requirements.
“With the ability to attempt issues on, contact and really feel them, see the precise colour, watch what one other individual is desirous about to get concepts for gift-giving, you may’t do any of these issues on-line,” DeAnn Echols mentioned. “Lots of the merchandise we promote are considerably technical or particular to a sure sport or exercise, so it’s nice to have the ability to discuss to somebody who has used that product or has expertise or coaching inside that exercise. It’s concerning the private contact.”
The Nice Out of doors Retailer was quickly closed to in-person enterprise for about six weeks in March and April of 2020 after COVID-19 hit, however they nonetheless allowed individuals to buy and decide up orders by appointment. The momentum of the enterprise – offering attire and gear for outside actions – wasn’t affected as a lot as others in the course of the pandemic as a result of individuals have been bored with isolation and on the lookout for methods to discover the outside.
“Persons are trying not only for purchasing, however for camaraderie and engagement.”
For many retailers, although, sustaining social distance throughout COVID-19 led to ramping up on-line avenues for patrons, whether or not that meant curbside pickup at big-box shops or expanded distant choices and contactless fee at grocery shops. Companies discovered to make use of social media extra effectively to be a part of the neighborhood dialog and supply updates to prospects.
A lot of that progress translated to post-pandemic conduct, with companies sustaining an internet presence by necessity. However consideration turned to the in-person expertise when individuals began leaving their properties and returning to boutiques and booksellers, searching for the kind of purchasing tour that a pc, for all its comfort, can’t present.
Uptown Fast, previously the Rushmore Mall in Fast Metropolis, options Bar Okay-9, an indoor canine play middle and beer and wine bar as a part of a renovation underneath purchasing middle funding agency RockStep Capital, which took possession of the Fast Metropolis mall in 2021. There’s additionally Joyful Hills Portray, which mixes “professionally led portray courses with a high-energy surroundings and some drinks.”
“Persons are trying not only for purchasing, however for camaraderie and engagement,” mentioned Sandy Brockhouse, normal supervisor of Uptown Fast, including that ladies’s clothes retailer Böhme affords custom-made group purchasing experiences with a private assistant. “We get individuals popping out from the four-state space to do some weekend purchasing and have some enjoyable.”
Balancing camaraderie and comfort
On Nov. 20, Erica Berghammer and her 15-year-old daughter, Elizabeth Kvanvig, carried luggage from Tub & Physique Works and the upscale clothes retailer Francesca’s after finishing a purchasing journey to Uptown Fast.
They have been in good spirits after spending a Sunday afternoon on a mother-daughter purchasing journey. The communal facet of in-person purchasing is a giant purpose they often eschew on-line shopping for, Berghammer mentioned. They really feel freer to be out and about as of late now that the pandemic has waned, she mentioned.
“We like to buy as a result of we additionally wish to go to lunch and get espresso,” mentioned Berghammer, 42. “It’s one thing to do collectively.”
However Berghammer mentioned she makes use of the comfort of on-line purchasing regularly and makes use of coupons, pricing offers and free transport to economize. She’s in a position to purchase dwelling items on-line and accrue Kohls’ Money coupons that present reductions and typically free merchandise which she will be able to have delivered or decide up on the Fast Metropolis retailer.
As a lady about to show 16, Kvanvig mentioned the comfort and ease of purchasing on-line are additionally incentives for her to buy by cellphone. “You are able to do it out of your mattress at dwelling,” she mentioned with a smile. “You don’t must rise up and prepare to exit.”
Kym Hop of Fast Metropolis mentioned she tries her greatest to buy in individual at native shops to help companies run by individuals who she considers her neighbors.
“I’m keen to pay a bit bit extra for issues on the native degree,” mentioned Hop, 57. “I grew up in Kansas in a small city, so my pondering is all the time to provide again to locals and since we need to preserve our metropolis wonderful for our enterprise individuals which might be making an attempt to handle inside the world of Amazon.”
Like many individuals, Hop additionally outlets on-line for comfort and to get higher offers, particularly on merchandise that may be much less accessible in the area people. For instance, Hop mentioned her husband not too long ago saved cash by shopping for her a Fitbit well being monitor from Amazon.
Extra usually, although, particularly now that the COVID-19 pandemic has eased, Hop tries to help Fast Metropolis retailers by purchasing in individual at native shops. The social, familial facets of taking a purchasing journey are additionally large causes Hop likes to buy in individual, she mentioned.
“We’re actually again to regular in how we’re getting out and getting collectively,” mentioned Hop, who’s married with two grownup youngsters who will go to in the course of the holidays. “My husband likes to come back alongside as a result of we’ve a goofy, humorous household, and I like to see individuals whereas we’re out, to run into individuals I don’t often see.”
-– Information Watch reporter Bart Pfankuch contributed to this report.
ABOUT STU WHITNEY
Stu Whitney is an investigative reporter for South Dakota Information Watch. A resident of Sioux Falls, Whitney is an award-winning reporter, editor and novelist with greater than 30 years of expertise in journalism. Contact Stu at stu.whitney@sdnewswatch.org
Funded by non-public donations and foundations, South Dakota Information Watch is supported by a number of media organizations.
South Dakota Information Watch journalists examine essential topics, unravel difficult points and inform tales that too usually go untold—tales that make sense of our complicated world.
Copyright 2022 KOTA. All rights reserved.
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – A political border war between South Dakota and Minnesota on how to handle tax policies, abortion and the pandemic response could spill over into renewable energy and the future of coal plants.
At issue is the pace with which gas and electric companies can transition away from fossil fuels without compromising reliability and affordability for customers, and what role government plays in those calculations.
That reliability was tested several times over the past few years, including during a winter storm in January that nearly caused rolling blackouts, one South Dakota official said.
The Democratic-controlled Minnesota Legislature passed a law in 2023 requiring all electric utilities in the state to produce only carbon-free energy by 2040 using sources like solar, wind, hydroelectric and nuclear power.
Xcel Energy, whose 3.7 million electrical customers include about 100,000 South Dakotans, is based in Minneapolis, so that law applies to the utility.
The South Dakota Public Utilities Commission, consisting of three elected Republicans, sent a letter to Xcel in January asking the company to reverse plans to close several coal-fired power plants ahead of schedule as part of its transition.
“Evidence is mounting that the premature closures … will elevate the risk of electricity outages particularly in tight load hours, including hours of extreme cold and extreme heat, as well as those hours when wind generation is low,” the letter stated. “These events are likely to pose a threat to life and property.”
The company stuck to its timetable, which includes replacing the coal plants with solar projects in the next few years, a plan approved by the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission.
Minnesota PUC commissioner: ‘Massively frustrating conversation’
More recently, members of Minnesota’s PUC clashed with utility company Otter Tail Power over its decision to amend its long-range plan to push back closures of coal plants – including Big Stone near Milbank, in northeast South Dakota – until at least 2040.
The Minnesota PUC approved Otter Tail’s Integrated Resource Plan on May 30 after concessions that included the company no longer using its North Dakota-based Coyote Station plant for Minnesota customers beyond 2031.
Otter Tail’s most recent modeling projects a retirement date of 2046 for South Dakota-based Big Stone, which started operation in 1975 and burns coal from Wyoming’s Powder River Basin.
“I just find this to be a massively frustrating conversation,” Minnesota PUC Commissioner Joe Sullivan said at the May 30 meeting . “I sympathize with Otter Tail because you have two different jurisdictions that look at the world differently. But if (Coyote Station) were in Minnesota, we’d say, ‘Otter Tail, it’s time to pull out.’”
Otter Tail, which serves about 130,000 electricity customers in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota, addressed the delicate balance of transitioning to renewable energy when submitting its 2022-36 plan to state PUCs.
“Shifting the generation fleet’s focus to dispatchable gas resources and away from coal will help to improve operational flexibility while hedging market risk,” the report said. “That said, it is also necessary to ensure fuel-secure generation is available for those times when self-generation is necessary to maintain reliability of the system.”
South Dakota opposes new EPA rules
Disputes about the urgency of ditching fossil fuels for clean energy start at the federal level, where the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) follows protocols in line with the party that controls the White House.
The EPA released new rules April 25 that elevate pollution controls for the coal industry, impacting wastewater discharge, the handling of coal ash and carbon emission limits. EPA Administrator Michael Regan, appointed by Democratic President Joe Biden, called it a “defining moment” for the agency.
South Dakota joined 22 other states in asking a federal court to review the new standards, which North Dakota Attorney General Drew Wrigley said were intentionally set “to destroy the coal industry.”
In a statement to News Watch, South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley referenced a recent Supreme Court decision that reversed the landmark 1984 Chevron ruling, eroding much of the power of federal agencies such as the EPA to interpret laws they administer, leaving that to the courts.
“The EPA’s directive and attack on fossil fuels is another example of a federal agency creating undue burdens on states and private businesses without proper authority while Congress does not act,” Jackley wrote. “The Supreme Court ruling in the Chevron case is aimed at addressing this type of action by the federal bureaucracy.”
SD 8th in per capita energy consumption
The Inflation Reduction Act passed by Congress and signed by Biden in 2022 included $370 billion in tax credits and other support for clean energy initiatives.
South Dakota has increased its wind energy production to 55% of in-state net power generation, a larger share than in all other states except Iowa, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). Other power sources include hydroelectric (29%), coal (10%), natural gas (6%), oil (0.3%) and solar (0.01%).
But South Dakota ranks eighth among U.S. states in energy consumption per capita, with 31% of households using electricity to heat their homes during frequently harsh winters.
South Dakota sees new interest in solar power
Despite being home to wide-open spaces and abundant sunshine, South Dakota ranks 47th in the nation for production of solar power.
Dependability of resources and rising energy costs are where Kristi Fiegen, chair of the South Dakota PUC, centers her concerns amid talk of climate change and reducing greenhouse gases, she told News Watch in a phone interview.
“When I talk about reliability of the grid, I want dispatchable generation of electricity for customers in South Dakota,” said Fiegen, who is up for re-election in 2024. “Non-dispatchable energy (wind and solar) is reliant on the weather. And when it’s reliant on the weather, we don’t when we turn on the lights if it’s going to be there.”
Winter storms tested the power grid
Fiegen, who was first elected to the PUC in 2011, helps regional transmission organizations (RTOs) maintain and monitor the electrical grid, which was pushed to the limit during recent winter storms that nearly caused rolling blackouts.
The 61-year-old Chancellor native holds leadership roles in the Southwest Power Pool (SPP), a nonprofit organization that manages electric transmission for parts of 14 states, including South Dakota.
South Dakota is also part of the 15-state Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO), which helps ensure energy distribution regardless of whether a customer uses Xcel, MidAmerican Energy, Black Hills Energy, NorthWestern Energy, Otter Tail or another utility company.
Cooperation between these and other RTOs nationally was critical during Winter Storm Gerri, which brought brutally cold air and blizzard conditions to much of the Midwest in January.
“During that storm we got 7,000 megawatts (of electricity) from the East to help us keep the lights on,” said Fiegen. “If we hadn’t gotten that, we would have shut off lights in January during the first week of (legislative) session.”
A year earlier, in December 2022, Winter Storm Elliot led MISO to declare a maximum generation event due to higher-than-expected electricity consumption and loss of production from natural gas facilities due to freezing, mainly in the South. Similar problems emerged during a 2021 winter storm that rocked Texas and shut down power.
“Since those events, we’ve devoted a lot of time to resource adequacy,” said Fiegen, who serves alongside fellow Republicans Chris Nelson and Gary Hanson on the PUC. “We believe in clean energy, but our No. 1 goal as commissioners in South Dakota is to have reliable and cost-effective electricity for our customers.”
‘It’s a life and death issue, not convenience’
Coal was replaced by natural gas as the largest energy source in the United States in 2016, with natural gas now making up 39% of electricity generation compared to 20% for coal.
Transitioning to solar and wind too quickly could impact the reliability of the electrical grid in extreme conditions, the North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC) stated in its 2023-24 Long-Term Reliability Assessment.
“There is a need for dialogue among a broad group of stakeholders when policies and regulations have the potential to affect future electricity (capabilities),” the study said. “Regulations that have the potential to accelerate generator retirements or restrict operations must have sufficient flexibility and provisions to support grid reliability.”
That report was cited by South Dakota’s PUC in its letter to Xcel Energy, which responded that it shares the commission’s reliability priorities and will be adding solar and wind capacity as well as dispatchable energy through nuclear and hydrogen-ready combustion turbines.
The company’s stated goal is to provide customers with “100% carbon-free electricity by 2050 and reduce carbon emissions from its operations 80% from 2005 levels by 2030.”
South Dakota PUC member Nelson told News Watch in April that there will always be a need for electric power generated by coal, natural gas or other sources that don’t let up when the weather turns still or cloudy.
“I do expect we’re going to see a pretty significant increase in the amount of solar and wind because we really need to keep a diversity of power generation sources,” Nelson said. “But there’s going to be times when the wind isn’t blowing and the sun isn’t shining, and we need to have some way to generate electricity during those times. When it’s 25 degrees below zero, you want your house to stay warm because at that point it’s a life and death issue, and not a convenience issue.”
This story was produced by South Dakota News Watch, a nonpartisan, nonprofit news organization. Read more in-depth stories at sdnewswatch.org and sign up for an email every few days to get stories as soon as they’re published. Contact Stu Whitney at stu.whitney@sdnewswatch.org.
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) – SD Lonewolf survives Sunday’s best, winning and walking-off Smitty’s Terminators 5-4 to claim the top spot in the 18U Division of the 47th Ringneck Invitational.
In the championship game, Liliana Arreola singled to bring in the winning run as the Mitchell-based team topped the field.s
Four South Dakota based teams entered the final day of competition seeded in the “A” bracket, vying for the top spot.
SD Phoenix went up against Valley Sports Academy Guardians 16U in the first round, falling 6-2 and ending their run.
On the other side of the bracket, Sanford Sports Academy 18U dispatched of the Wayne Dirt Devils 6-4 in the first round, before setting up a match with Smitty’s Terminators in the quarterfinals. Despite starting the game up 4-0, Sanford Sports Academy couldn’t hold on to the lead and ultimately fell 7-5.
Brookings Outlaws 18U meanwhile made a strong run in the final day, first taking a 13-6 win over Nebraska Venom Gold 18U. They then moved on to face Valley Sports Academy Guardians 18U, battling into late in the game to squeeze out a 9-8 win. They didn’t have enough left in the tank when facing SD Lonewolf, getting shut out 7-0 in the semifinals.
SD Lonewolf, making the charge to the championship game, started their run defeating Nebraska Quakes Gold 16U 15-3. After defeating Valley Sports Academy Guardians 16U, they shut out Brookings Outlaws 7-0. en route to their championship win. Abi Tweedy launched three home runs in the game over Brookings to help propel their offense.
Copyright 2024 Dakota News Now. All rights reserved.
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) – The names have been released following a fatal crash in Meade County near Sturgis on the 4th of July.
The Department of Public Safety release reads as follows…
What: Two-vehicle fatal crash
Where: SD Highway 34, mile marker 38, two miles east of Sturgis, SD
When: 10:10 a.m., Monday, July 1, 2024
Vehicle 1: 2017 Chevrolet Silverado
Driver 1: John Joseph Lundin, 82-year-old male from Sturgis, SD, fatal injuries
Seatbelt Use: No
Vehicle 2: 2005 Dodge Ram 2500
Driver 2: Jerry Lee Seaman, a 72-year-old male from Newell, SD, serious, non-life-threatening injuries
Seatbelt Use: Yes
Passenger 1: Dixie Lee Seaman, 72-year-old female from Newell, SD, with serious, non-life-threatening injuries
Seatbelt Use: No
Meade County, S.D.- An 82-year-old man died July 4 from injuries sustained in a two-vehicle crash July 1 near Sturgis, SD.
Preliminary crash information indicates John J. Lundin, the driver of a 2017 Chevrolet Silverado, was traveling eastbound on SD Highway 34 near mile marker 38. At the same time, Jerry L. Seaman, the driver of a 2005 Dodge Ram 2500, was traveling westbound on SD Highway 34. While initiating a left-hand turn into a gas station, Lundin turned in front of the Dodge Ram and the vehicles collided head-on. The driver and passenger of the Dodge Ram were transported to a nearby hospital with serious, non-life-threatening injuries. Lundin was life-flighted to a Rapid City hospital, where he passed away July 4 from his injuries.
The South Dakota Highway Patrol is investigating the crash. All information released so far is only preliminary.
The Highway Patrol is an agency of the South Dakota Department of Public Safety.
Copyright 2024 Dakota News Now. All rights reserved.
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