This piece is brought to you by the Lincoln County Economic Development Association.

From apartments to major industrial projects and neighborhood retail, the communities of Lincoln County seemingly are growing in every direction.

Eric Pauli

Eric Pauli has a front-row seat to it as chairman of the Lincoln County Economic Development Association and community relations manager for Xcel Energy.

Here’s an inside look at his expectations for the year.

You get to spend a lot of time in the communities of Lincoln County. How would you describe what you’re seeing there?

Lots of optimism! The communities in Lincoln County are growing, which is great. This can and sometimes does pose challenges, however, from an infrastructure standpoint. Going forward, it will be important that the communities in Lincoln County continually plan ahead to accommodate growth now and into the future.

What is your anticipation as far as growth and business development in the county this year?

I expect another busy year. We just seem to live in a region that keeps chugging along year over year regardless of what other areas of the country are doing.

In your day job, you represent a major utility in Xcel Energy. What type of growth are you planning for in Lincoln County?

We are already taking in requests for new commercial and residential construction projects, and it is only the beginning of March. If this stays consistent, it looks like we are in for another busy year, across all of our service territory and beyond, in Lincoln County.

Is there anything you think people might be surprised to learn is happening in Lincoln County?

I don’t know if there is any big surprises in the county at this time, but some might be interested in knowing one of the things we are doing as a board. Last year, LCEDA ventured into a strategic planning process. The goal is to provide a path that makes our organization stronger, so that we can maximize the benefits being provided to the communities we serve. This is a work in progress but something we are very excited about going forward.

If businesses or communities want to get more involved in the Lincoln County Economic Development Association, what should they do?

Great question as we actually encourage this! I would start by leading them to our website at siouxfallsdevelopment.com/MCEDA.cfm. Then I would ask them to reach out to our executive director, Nick Fosheim. He, along with our board of directors, can provide guidance on what might be the best avenue for involvement.