Economy
In recent years the economy of the Black Hills area of South Dakota has been going through a complete economic makeover. Previously the economy consisted of traditional jobs in mining, food processing and military. But with the closing of the Homestake Mine in 2001, the fire that destroyed the only large-scale meatpacking facility in 2002, and the closure of the Rapid City flour mill, the Black Hills area has only the tourism base left. Even the sawmills which used to be a fixture on the edge of nearly every small town in the region have been replaced by just a few, large automated sawmills.
However, instead of giving up, the small business owners in the local fourteen communities are finding new and innovative ways to build up their lagging economy. Some of the local ideas are to convert the former Homestake Gold Mine into a national underground laboratory, improve air service to Rapid City Regional Airport, and develop a business incubator. Plans are under way to build such an incubator on the campus of South Dakota School of Mines & Technology. They also see benefits in establishing quality low-income housing.
The good news is that there has been a major boost in the tourism industry prompted by the HBO TV series "Deadwood." Visitor interest in the modern gambling and tourist town of Deadwood has been high ever since the debut of "Deadwood," HBO's gritty serial drama about the 1870s mining camp. At Deadwood's Adams Museum, officials reported that new visitors to the museum's Web site went from just 197 in January 2004 to 34,554 in April, a definite major increase in interest. A lot is at stake. Last year, visitors spent $698 million in South Dakota — $398 million of that in the Black Hills and Badlands region.
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