Guest post: state government in Pierre picks winners and losers

Editor's note: France controls each end of the Rapid City Pierre and Eastern Railroad in South Dakota. On the west end a bentonite mining firm that operates near Belle Fourche merged with the French company Imerys. On the eastern end a State-funded French salted fat factory in Brookings relies on socialized dairies and the state's current Republican governor criss-crosses South Dakota doling out cash as his campaign flounders.

The following column was penned by long time blogger Steve Sibson of Mitchell.

In their 2024 tax return, Dakota Resources said they build the financial capacity of rural economic development corporations through community development loan products. They also reported that the own 51% of Dakotas America, LLC, which was formed through a joint venture solely for the purpose of applying for allocations of New Markets Tax Credits from the US Treasury which had totaled $460,000,000. 

Perhaps South Dakota News Watch should tell the story of the $1,000,000 loan Dakota Resources provided the Mitchell Area Development Corporation (MADC), the developer behind Mitchell TIF 31. The project plan is to extend 15 th Ave to the West to allow Echo Electric Supply to construct a new $2,500,000 building. “Without the assistance of a TIF, the project will not be built, and the Echo building project will not proceed,” according to the project plan. The South Dakota Governor’s Office of Economic Development is providing a $362,500 grant for the project. 

Echo Electric Supply was acquired in 2024 by Sonepar, which is based out of Paris France. Sonepar is a member and active participate of the World Economic Forum and the world leader in B-to-B distribution of electrical equipment, solutions, and services. They are also involved in the controversial data center business. 

So the story is how Dakota Resources, who makes money off of the federal taxpayer, is loaning money to the MADC that is also subsidized with state money and will be diverting a million dollars in local property taxes allowing a multi-national corporation a competitive advantage over local electrical supply businesses. 

This is not what we should call rural economic development. This is a story about how public-private partnerships are used in a communist-styled planned economy that sucks money out of rural areas, through the taxing authority of federal, state, and local governments, and ends up in places like Paris France.