Article Body
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 1, 2023
Contact: Ian Fury
Gov Noem’s “Freedom Works Here” is Bringing People to South Dakota
PIERRE, S.D. – Governor Kristi Noem’s “Freedom Works Here” nationwide workforce recruitment campaign has 1,289 applicants in the final stages of moving to South Dakota. The week of August 20th-26th saw the largest jump in this number since the start of the campaign. During that week, the “Bright Side” ad aired during the first Republican presidential primary debate on Fox News.
“South Dakota businesses are starting to reap the benefits of this workforce recruitment campaign,” said Governor Noem. “We’d like to share some of the incredible success stories of businesses that have actually been able to fill some of their workforce needs by welcoming our newest citizens to the best state in the nation.”
Glacial Lakes Rubber & Plastics, a business located in Watertown, had 40 job openings early this spring. Now, they only have 10 job openings. Recently, they have hired 14 workers from Texas, California, Colorado, and Minnesota.
Demkota Beef in Aberdeen has also hired 82 workers from out of state in the last six weeks. They have been recruiting from Texas, Minnesota, Iowa, Kansas, Indiana, Illinois, Arkansas, Florida, Colorado, and Missouri.
6,039 people have applied to move to South Dakota through “Freedom Works Here.” The most applications have come from California (959), Texas (448), Florida (445), Minnesota (353), and New York (276). 168 South Dakotans have also used the campaign as a tool to get plugged into career opportunities. A map showing where applicants are from can be found here.
These numbers represent those working directly through the “Freedom Works Here” program. Even more people are finding jobs and moving to South Dakota of their own accord after seeing the ads.
More information about the Freedom Works Here campaign can be found here.
###