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Summerset economic development update: workforce programs and a prospective gunsmithing school relocation
Summary
The city’s economic development representative reported on recent conferences, business retention visits, a regional marketing project, workforce outreach including Build Dakota scholarships and employer partnerships, and preliminary talks to relocate the Colorado School of Gunsmithing to the area with an estimated 100–120 students.
Speaker 3 provided a high-level update on Summerset-area economic and business development on May 15.
Speaker 3 said SEDC/SEVC attended regional housing and community revitalization conferences and that staff completed seven business retention and expansion visits. The city finalized a business development page for the Summerset website and has been engaging with the Black Hills Home Builders Association and the governor’s Office of Economic Development familiarization tour. On workforce development, Speaker 3 described the Build Dakota arrangement in which an employer and a student sign a contract that results in the employer paying half of tuition and the scholarship paying the other half, with the student agreeing to work for the sponsoring employer for three years after completion.
Speaker 3 also reported preliminary discussions to relocate the Colorado School of Gunsmithing to West River, projecting roughly 100 to 120 students if the move proceeds; the school engagement remains at an early stage and staff noted additional coordination with Western Dakota Tech and local partners is ongoing.
Why it matters: workforce pipelines and targeted business recruitment can affect local employment and the tax base. The relocation of an educational program could bring students and economic activity to the area, but details remain preliminary.
What happens next: staff will continue outreach with potential business partners, follow up on the regional marketing project, and pursue negotiations regarding the gunsmithing program; no formal commitments were recorded in the transcript.
