Sept. 10, 2021

Forward Sioux Falls, the community’s five-year economic development campaign, has exceeded its $15 million goal.

The total raised is more than $16.1 million in cash and pledges, plus $667,368 of in-kind investments.

Funds are used for both longstanding and new initiatives within the program pillars of talent and business attraction, retention and development; innovation and entrepreneurship; business advocacy; airport marketing; and quality of place.

Campaign co-chairs were Dave Rozenboom, First Premier Bank; Dave Flicek, Avera McKennan Hospital & University Health Center; and Paul Hanson, Sanford Health. Mayor Paul TenHaken served as honorary co-chair. More than 120 individuals volunteered as campaigners, including 43 leaders from both the private and public sectors who served as Cabinet members.

“We experienced significant and broad-based support from our investors from both the public and private sectors despite the challenges of the pandemic,” Rozenboom said in a statement. “This is a testament to our outstanding community and the high level of confidence in Forward Sioux Falls to continue to lift up our area’s economy.”

Projected program goals and outcomes through 2026 include:

• 4,500 new direct jobs at or above median wage.
• 1,000 new housing units.
• 25,000 new residents.
• $500 million in new capital investments.
• $250 million in new property tax revenue.

“It is truly amazing to see how investors come together as one to support prosperity for all,” Flicek said.

The spirit of collaboration was “front and center” in this campaign, with co-chairs from both major health systems, Forward Sioux Falls said. The idea of putting aside competitive differences for the overall good of the community has “resonated since inception” in 1987, it said.

“This journey has been special for Dave Flicek and me to join forces and become campaign leaders,” Hanson said. “We both understand that in order for our individual health care systems to prosper, the entirety of the Sioux Falls region needs to do so. This aligns perfectly with the Forward Sioux Falls mantra: a rising tide lifts all boats.”

TenHaken said it’s also a collaborative effort between the public and the private sector.

“Working together, we have positively impacted virtually every resident and business in our community,” he said. “That’s powerful.”