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Old 08-31-2013, 12:07 AM
 
Location: Everywhere, USA
3 posts, read 7,358 times
Reputation: 11

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Hellooooo! or is it Helloooooh? ;-)

While perusing the *numerous* threads by folks with relocation questions, I was thinking they were kind of hokey to be asking here on on the forum... UNTIL ... I read your replies and saw how helpful you were.

So, thank you in advance for any direction you can give us. The other web searches I've done have not been fruitful at all.

We, hubby & I, are both scheduled to talk to a Hiring Manager for SD Wheat Growers on Tuesday after Labor Day. I found one solitary review for SD Wheat Growers, it was from a prior employee... and it was good... but there was only the one. There was also only one reference pulled up when searching this form for them... and it was by an employee who said, "We're Hiring!" So, question 1 is if anybody has any reports of any kind for this employer? Just doing our due diligence here, because the people we've talked to at SD Wheat Growers have been so SO very nice and positive!

Then, depending on how the meeting goes, we may be relocating to SD. We're very excited about that because we both have family history in SD, WY, and MT... My great grandmother is buried in Mt. Moriah Cemetary in Rapid, and Great GrandDad helped build the railroad. Alas, I doubt we will be living in Rapid if we are hired. Bummer. But, we'll sure visit! We love Rapid!

They spoke of Chamberlain, or a new facility going up in Kimball, as the two possible choices of where we could be assigned to work if hired. We have driven through Chamberlain on I-90 many times as we've crossed the country during our big rig driving, and it's beautiful. Kimball is very small on the map though. Question 2: Any opinions on one versus the other, or if a commute would be in order or preferable?

And, lastly; there are a number of other towns where they have their operations set up, and if you are familiar with them and can indicate Yes or No as to whether the town's personality is one of friendliness, or if for any other reason you would definitely label it as a Thumbs up or Thumbs down, it would be so very much appreciated. Then, most of my angst would be removed and we'll have a better idea of what to ask a realtor when we look for a rental, if hired.

The choices are.... and I apologize in advance for the lengthy list... (watch, I'll get hired and find out some of them were just tool sheds) ...drumroll please.... LOL

Alpena
Andover
Bath
Berlin
Bristol
Carpenter
Chamberlain
Columbia
Cresbard
Eldridge
Grebner
Hecla
Highmore
Huron
Kennebec
Langford
Mansfield
McLaughlin
Mellette
Miller
Oakes
Redfield
Reliance
Roscoe
St. Lawrence
Stickney
Tulare
Wessington Springs
West Terminal
Willow Lake
Wolsey
Woonsocket
Yale

Thanks a million and I hope to get to know all y'all way mo bettah! (Born & Raised Texan accent)
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Old 09-01-2013, 01:18 PM
 
Location: Sioux Falls, SD area
4,818 posts, read 6,823,738 times
Reputation: 10088
I hear of the SD Wheatgrowers Assoc. all the time. Sounds like a very strong organization. Unfortunately, I have no inside knowledge on them.

I can comment on some of your future living locations

Alpena - Feed your wild side, home of Jack's Links Meats. Very small town. Has 4 lane highway only a couple miles away connecting to the larger towns of Huron and especially Mitchell. I believe they still have their own school, but they sports co-op with Wessington Springs.
Andover - Whistle stop town, but located on 4 lane hwy. only a few miles from much bigger established communities like Groton and Webster. Only about 20 mi. to Aberdeen, SD's 3rd largest town. Great area for fishing.
Bath - Little suburb of Aberdeen being maybe 6 miles away. Kids probably go to Aberdeen for school.
Berlin - Never heard of it.
Bristol - The next town to the east from Andover. Larger town than Andover. Geographic advantages same as Andover. Has their own school however.
Carpenter - Whistle stop town. Not very good access to any larger communities. It's right beside Willow Lake and I'd pick Willow Lake if you're living in that area.
Chamberlain - Much larger community than the others above. Is somewhat of a hub community, plus it's on the interstate AND on the Missouri River. Has it's own school and hospital.
Columbia - Very small community that's only a few miles from Aberdeen. Don't know what school kids attend from this town.
Cresbard - Town is quite a ways from any decent size town. Maybe 40 miles from Aberdeen. Closed their school a couple years ago. A town on the decline.
Eldridge - Never heard of it. I think there's an Eldridge ND though.
Grebner - Never heard of it either.
Hecla - You can throw a rock and hit the ND border from here. Is on the edge of Sand Lake National Wildlife Refuge which is quite large and very cool. Last time I was there, the place seemed to be holding it's own. Kids commute to school in Britton which is at least 20 miles away.
Highmore - Community that's still viable, but declining. Fairly close to a larger community of Miller, but the main hub town of Pierre is still maybe 40 miles away. Still has it's own school.
Huron - The biggest town on your list. It is the hub community for it's area. This town has declined more than any larger hub town in SD. Population has to be less than 10,000 now. Packing house town with some issues because of it (you can make your own conclusion). It is the home of the SD State Fair which like the town has been in decline over the years as well, but is still a big deal for the area.
Kennebec - I like this town. Right on the interstate with a reasonable distance to Chamberlain and the Missouri River. Cowboy town with a cute little rodeo grounds. Area north and south is pretty wide open country.
Langford - Town on the slow decline. Only major community close is Aberdeen, but still maybe 45-50 miles away. Does have it's own school
Mansfield - Know nothing about it. Heard of it though.
McLaughlin - Located on the Standing Rock Reservation, thus it has some problems. It is reasonably close to a larger town of Mobridge which is right on the Missouri River (maybe 25 miles). Mobridge is kind of a cool town though.
Mellette - Small, but still going community straight south of Aberdeen maybe 30 miles. Has their own school called Northwestern. 4 lane highway to Aberdeen.
Miller - A once thriving town that's lost a lot of population over the years. It's still a decent size of maybe 1,300 people. It's maybe 30 miles to the larger community of Huron, which as I mentioned is not necessarily a plus. They have their own school.
Oakes - I didn't know we had an Oakes in SD. Oakes North Dakota is right across the border from Hecla.
Redfield - Kind of a hub community directly between Huron and Aberdeen (maybe 30 -35 miles from each. Has decent size of maybe 2,500 people and thus has most everything you need. Kind of the pheasant capital of SD. Has other employment opportunities including a state hospital, it's own hospital, and it's own school.
Reliance - Little town between Kennebec and Chamberlain on the interstate. I'd pick Kennebec or Chamberlain first
Roscoe - Little town a long way from any major shopping. Aberdeen is closest, but still a good 35 - 40 miles away. Closed their school recently.
St. Lawrence - A suburb of Miller if there is such of thing.
Stickney - Very nice little town that's only a few miles off Interstate 90 and less that 20 miles from Mitchell (population of around 15,000) which is a very nice larger town in SD. Has it's own school and a decent main street.
Tulare - Small town close to Redfield. Closest major town is Huron. School is consolidated with Hitchcock. I "think" that the main school is in Tulare.
Wessington Springs - Decent size town that like most in the area is struggling to keep it's population. Is maybe 1,000 people. It's kind of off by itself, with the closest bigger town being Huron, BUT Mitchell is a drivable distance of about 50 miles.
West Terminal - Never heard of it.
Willow Lake - Very small community located close to a big fishing area for lakes. Still has it's own school. This town I don't think has changed much over the years one way or the other population wise. Doesn't have real good access to major communities with closest communities being equal distance of Watertown and Brookings. Distance to both 55 - 60 miles. Both cities however are thriving communities of over 20,000.
Wolsey - Small town only a few miles from Huron thus shopping is not much of an issue. Has a consolidated school with the town of Wessington. I believe both communities have a school with the high school in Wolsey (I could be wrong on this).
Woonsocket - A viable small town directly between Mitchell and Huron at about an equal distance of 30 miles. It has a 4 lane highway close by making the commute for shopping easy. Has it's own school. As mentioned before, Mitchell is a nice larger town to be within commuting distance to.
Yale - Just another whistle stop town outside of Huron. I believe the kids go to school in Iroquois.
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Old 09-01-2013, 03:16 PM
 
Location: Sioux Falls, SD area
4,818 posts, read 6,823,738 times
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You also mentioned Kimball. As you know it's on the interstate right by Chamberlain and an easy commute to Mitchell. I've never been IN the town, but have driven by it 100's of times. It does have a clinic and it's own school. Very well known wrestling and football school over the years. I've heard it's still a very viable town. If you move there you would increase the small percentage of people there not named Konechne.
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Old 09-02-2013, 04:19 PM
 
Location: Everywhere, USA
3 posts, read 7,358 times
Reputation: 11
LOL! Konechne, eh? You betcha that's hysterical. Thank you THANK YOU for taking the time to put down all that information... I will definitely be double-checking the list tomorrow if we find we are indeed to become gainfully employed. Plus, I'm grateful for the verification that this company is solid. Considering we just drove 600 miles to reach our hotel in Chamberlain for tomorrow's interview... it made my day, needless to say. :-)
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Old 09-02-2013, 04:25 PM
 
27,957 posts, read 39,581,788 times
Reputation: 26197
Wheat Growers is huge is central South Dakota and northeastern South Dakota. They've been around for quite a while. They are continually improving their facilities. Yes, it is a good company. As far as locations, I would tend to look at next bigger town, Pierre, Mitchell, Aberdeen, etc.

Chamberlain is an hours drive from Mitchell or two hours from Sioux Falls.
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Old 09-20-2013, 01:43 PM
 
Location: Everywhere, USA
3 posts, read 7,358 times
Reputation: 11
*** Well, we drove up to Chamberlain over Labor Day and had a chance to see many of the towns you have been mentioning. Loved it!!

We had a terrific interview. Did our drug screens and finished submitting paperwork so the background checks could be done. Everybody was so nice and helpful! We had a local drop a miracle in our lap and got in touch with a woman in Pukwana, 8 miles from Chamberlain, who had an awesome rental coming available. Everything was all systems go and we were just holding back on any changes to our current job until it was for sure we had been approved for hire.

Then the bottom dropped out. During this last week our kids had unexpected crisis situations come up that required financial assistance. They are all working hard to get on their feet and don't ask for help unless they are against the wall. By the time we were done getting slammed with that we calmly reviewed the situation again and had to admit that the pay cut we would be taking would effectively take us out of the ballpark when it comes to being there for the kids.

So... we had to back out of the job offer and rental. It was heartbreaking because we were already living there in our heads y'know? The timing was just not right. I suppose God just wanted to give us a little practice and a 3 day vacation from this truck... which did indeed help us a lot I must admit. LOL We've agreed that we have to take a little home-time every month without fail so we don't burn out. When the kids are through school and on their way to being doctors and such, we can think about doing something about settling down ourselves.

Until then... we'll keep her between the ditches and keep checking out South Dakota in our dreams! :-)

Thanks for your help. guys!
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Old 09-20-2013, 11:39 PM
 
Location: Spots Wyoming
18,700 posts, read 41,879,923 times
Reputation: 2147483647
That's too bad, sorry to hear it. Nothing promising anywhere else in South Dakota? I know how the burn out is in a truck. You get to see a lot of country, but pretty soon you're seeing the same stuff, every day.

My dad retired from truck driving and the first thing he did was buy a motor home. I asked him why would he do such a thing after being on the road all of his life. He said something that really made sense. He said, "Son, with this motorhome, I'll be able to slow down and see if Montana really has trees."
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