Armour, SD

If you’ve checked out the video blogs that were posted yesterday, you’ll know a little bit about our Community Club. We’re just getting started on our work for the year, so if you’ve never attended the meetings, now would be a good time to show up. The added bonus is that now you’ll also be able to follow the progress on our Horizons projects because we talk about them every month at Community Club.

Community Club is a way for Armour’s leaders to stay on top of things in the community. It’s a good place to share ideas and talk about our struggles as well as our successes. Adding Horizons into the  mix is a good way to keep things moving forward.

Here’s the 2008 Community Club Schedule. We meet at noon on the third Monday of each month. Lunch is served, but you are responsible for paying for your own meal. (Note: The meetings are held at the restaurant that serves except on the months when it’s XPress Mart’s turn. Then the meetings are held in City Hall.)

• February 18 – XPress Mart
• March 17 – Blue Moon
• April 21 – D&D Bowl & Lounge
• May 19 – Hoi Polloi
• June 16 – XPress Mart
• July 21 – Blue Moon
• August 18 – D&D Bowl & Lounge
• September 15 – Hoi Polloi
• October 20 – XPress Mart
• November 17 – Blue Moon
• December 15 – D&D Bowl & Lounge
• January 19, 2009 – Hoi Polloi

Say, “Hello,” to Bob. Bob is a Horizons participant, Armour business owner and currently serves as the chairman of Armour’s Horizons Planning Committee. Did you know you are the chairman, Bob? Well, you are! We voted on it. At the last meeting, which you missed. That will teach you.

Anyway, I asked Bob what additional resources would make a difference in our community’s work to reduce poverty. Here’s what he said.

This is Lea. She’s a Horizons participant, blogger and Armour business owner. I asked her what changes she’s seen in the way leadership is carried out in Armour since the start of Horizons …

Here’s Todd. He’s a Horizons member, blogger and business owner. He can fix your car when it breaks down. He doesn’t like to type very well, but he went along with this goofy video experiment. Thanks, Todd! You’re a good sport.

Todd wants to tell you about Armour’s Community Club. That’s our local organization that’s similar to the Jaycees in a larger town. Community Club members work to promote business in Armour. When Horizons started, the Community Club embraced the effort and has included the various Horizons project groups in its monthly meetings.

Here’s Bob again. I also asked him if Armour is more hopeful about the future since we began our Horizons work. Here’s what he said …

And one more from Todd. I asked him what new resources have been secured to assist in the work of the community since Horizons began. His answer, “The blog.” Watch the video for his comments.

Are you looking for a networking opportunity that could benefit your community? Last year, I attended Launch ‘07 at the DWU campus in Mitchell. It was an excellent way to spend the day and network. The registration was cheap–something like $40–and even included lunch. There were some great speakers such as the student from Plankinton who invented both a child drowning alert system and a car seat safety system (for those of you who are boys’ basketball fans, I noticed he was a starter on the BB team the other night when we were playing them! What a talented young man). Another favorite speaker was Brian Klock, who own Klockworks custom cycles in Mitchell and has been featured on the Discovery Channel’s Biker Build Off among other TV shows. There was also a lot of opportunity for networking, which was the best part. I came home with a lot of ideas and a lot of business cards! I know I brought a lot of ideas back to our Horizons Circle Groups.

This year, it looks like Launch will not feature the same tracks as last year. Last year, there was a track devoted to community entrepreneurship. I am not sure which track I would register for this year–it might be a good idea to call or e-mail for more information to get some advice if you are thinking of attending.

Here is the information from the web:

Launch ’08 will be held on Thursday, Feb. 28 at Dakota Wesleyan University.

Launch ’08 is a one-day event advancing entrepreneurship education in South Dakota. The 2008 annual conference features two tracks. The educator track is geared towards those who are interested in integrating innovative and creative thinking within their respective disciplines. The student track is geared toward inspiring and supporting students who are entrepreneurial. The conference will also feature networking opportunities and relevant resources for entrepreneurs.

This 2008 event marks the third annual conference which has included some of the most respected state and national leaders in entrepreneurship education. This year’s conference features internationally renowned speakers: Ed Sobey, Ph.D., global evangelist for creative learning and founding director of the Northwest Invention Center, the National Inventors Hall of Fame and the National Toy Hall of Fame; Kathleen R. Allen, Ph.D., a nationally recognized and respected leader, consultant, speaker and author of numerous books on entrepreneurship as well as the director of the University of Southern California Marshall Center for Technology Commercialization; and Timothy M. Stearns, Ph.D., holder of the Coleman Foundation Chair in Entrepreneurial Studies and the executive director of the Lyles Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at California State University-Fresno.

The conference is a collaborative project of the Enterprise Institute, the Kelley Center for Entrepreneurship/Dakota Wesleyan University, South Dakota State University Entrepreneurship Program, EQUIP, South Dakota EPSCoR, South Dakota Small Business Development Center, and the South Dakota Governor’s Office of Economic Development.

A special program sponsored through South Dakota EPSCoR which offers $1,000 faculty stipends and/or faculty and student conference scholarships is available. For more information visit www.sdepscor.org.

For registration information, visit www.dwu.edu/sdlaunchconference, call 605-996-1140, or 800-487-1740.

As the snow was coming down outside tonight, I was thinking about last year at this time when I was trying to make it in to town to attend the early Circle Group meetings. Wow! Armour has made so much progress since that time. When I look at the blog site, I see the results of our hard work in all the posts–a new parent-teachers group that is busy implementing things like a school breakfast program and hosting Internet safety clinics; a housing task force that is looking at purchasing lots and building up to three new homes; and a group looking at expanding recreational offerings at the Lions’ Park with the addition of new camping cabins! Wow! That is only the list from the last couple weeks. Think about how many things were done earlier and how many more people are now active in our community. A lot of progress has been made during the past year, and so much of it can be credited to the Horizons project. It really has been a mobilizing force in our community. 

The Horizons Housing Committee has made a great deal of progress in its pursuit of constructing three new homes in Armour. This project would be a partnership with South Dakota State University to study the energy efficiency of the homes. We’ve also learned that there is interest in constructing a weather station in the new neighborhood to further enhance the study of construction methods and energy efficiency.

So far, there are three locations with vacant lots in town whose owners are willing to sell the property for the Horizons Project. Here are pictures of the vacant lots with location information …

Southwest Edge of Armour • Two Lots

East Edge of Armour • One Large Parcel
Suitable to Create Subdivision for Multiple Houses

Northwest End of Armour • One Lot
Approximately 1/2 Block Wide by 1 Block Long

Cost for each 150×150 foot lot would be approximately $2,000. The property owners have been informally approached about the proposed housing projects and all are amenable to a potential property sale.

The Housing Committee has even selected three different sets of plans for the homes. Each home would be approximately 1,500 to 1,800 square feet with three bedrooms and a two-car garage. Here are examples of the floor plans and exterior details … (click on photo to enlarge)

Option 1

Option 2

Option 3

Two local builders have estimated the cost of construction for these types of homes to be approximately $100-$120 per square foot. Utility hookups from the city would be $350 for sewer and $250 for water for each home. It would cost approximately $20 per running foot to run sewer and water from the city hookups to each house.

The Housing Committee has also talked with people in town who may be in the market for an upgrade to their current residence. There is definitely interest in new home construction … we’ve identified at least three families who would be interested in being the eventual owners of these proposed homes.

So what’s next? Show us the money!!! The Housing Committee will continue to work with our Horizons Adviser Dave Olson from SDSU to explore funding options. We’ll talk to governmental agencies and local and area lenders such as First State Bank in Armour, Wells Fargo in Mitchell and First Dakota National in Mitchell.

What do you think of this project. Any ideas or suggestions? Please leave your comments!

Have you checked out the Douglas County Hospital Web site lately? They’ve added a lot of new and exciting features — including information very useful to healthcare consumers. You can see the physicians available for your healthcare needs and also a great picture of Dr. Regg Hagge and Dr. Marlys Luebke with some of the babies who have been born at the hospital in the last couple years.

There is also a cost comparison link to show how much you could save by having your baby locally. DCMH offers great care and givesyou the special attention that you need when you need it. For a small hospital they have a big heart and are willing to give you the care you need. To check out all the hospital has to offer go to dcmhsd.org.