Hi Katie and welcome to the forum!
We live in Mitchell, but we're from Alexandria.
As far as the daycare~I've known the director there for years. Her name is Carol and she's a very nice Christian person. She is fantastic with children. She and I used to go to Bible Study together years ago.
I only know two of the employees there and they are both very nice people. They're both middle-aged (and a bit over mid-age) and have both raised their families and helped with their grandchildren. I'm sure I may know the others who work there, but just not sure who they are.
The real estate in Alex has always done very well. At one time the town had it's own grocery store and was somewhat self-contained. Things have changed, but it's proximity to Mitchell has always helped the homes sell well there. They have held their value very well with quite an increase, too.
Alex is a very friendly little town and you'll love it there. People take pride in keeping up their homes and having gardens and flower beds. Many still can from their gardens and do good old home baking. It's my favorite little town in eastern So. Dak.
I don't know where you're from, but just want to let you know that those 12 miles can be awfully far during the wintertime. Hopefully you and your DH will be working the same hours so you'll be able to carpool. Of course, I'm just not a winter driver or a winter person at all so take that into consideration. If you have any other questions, I'd be happy to try to answer them for you.