A recent article by South Dakota Searchlight highlighted a divide among gubernatorial candidates over a state investment tied to a major business expansion in Brookings. This raises a question about whether South Dakota intends to compete. The article also suggests that the narrative that economic development incentives are “corporate welfare” is false. These claims are refuted by other states like North Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska and Wyoming, which use structured incentives to attract and retain employers. South Dakota has fallen from the top state for business to 35th in the nation in 2025, a significant drop from where we stood at our high point of being number one in 2013. The state's focus on economic development is on performance-based incentives, projects aligned with workforce and infrastructure capacity, a focus on long-term return on investment, transparency and accountability.