MITCHELL S.D. (MITCHELLNOW) The South Dakota Secretary of State’s Office used to commission an economics report from Northern State University. That practice ended prior to Monae Johnson taking office as Secretary of State. Her office, in conjunction with the Mitchell Chamber of Commerce and Dakota Wesleyan University have resurrected the report.
Dr. Tracy Dice, a Business and Economics professor at DWU, led her classes to produce an economics report for the Mitchell community. The report is sixty-six pages long. One of the things the report shows is that Mitchell lags in growth. Yankton is a community of similar size to Mitchell. Since 2003, Yankton’s population has grown by 15% while Mitchell’s growth has been 6.79%. It has caused those who have read the report to wonder what Yankton’s doing that Mitchell could or should be doing to promote growth and vibrancy.
The report breaks down how much income a typical Mitchell resident devotes to various expenses: 21% housing, 18% vehicles for payments and maintenance, 1% to insure homes and vehicles, 15% for food, 9% healthcare, 8% utilities, 6% entertainment, 4% household operations (cleaning, mowing, snow removal etc.), 3% apparel, 3% furnishings, 3% education, 3% charitable contributions and 3% for gifts.
The full report can be found on the South Dakota Secretary of State’s website at https://sdsos.gov/general-information/publications/default.aspx