The guy in the cowboy hat is Larry Rhoden, the current Governor of South Dakota. Here, he can be seen chatting with me outside the doors of the auditorium at Southeast Technical College in Sioux Falls, one of four terrific trade schools in the Mt. Rushmore State where I’ve had the pleasure of speaking on several occasions. As some of you might recall, South Dakota launched a fantastic trade school scholarship program ten years ago called Build Dakota, and partnered with mikeroweWORKS to help generate the necessary publicity to ensure its long-term success. A decade later, I’m pleased to report that Build Dakota is firing on all cylinders – so much so, that trade 
schools like Southeastern are now expanding in fairly dramatic fashion, thanks to surging interest in the skilled trades.
Inside the auditorium, I was pleased to sit on a panel with the Governor, the Mayor, the Congressman, and several other luminaries to discuss the dramatic expansion of Southeast Tech, the success of their many graduates, and the extraordinary need for skilled workers in Sioux Falls – another American town poised to double in size by 2030. Then, I was 
pleased to announce a $2 million donation from Wells Fargo, who has agreed to help build a massive, indoor home building lab that will be used by students of different construction disciplines and trades, many of whom are entering the profession with scholarships from Build Dakota and mikeroweWORKS. (Why construct an INDOOR home building lab? I’ll tell you why. Because outside this cozy auditorium, it was -7 degrees below zero, and studies show it’s damn near impossible to learn anything when it’s that cold!)
Also pictured here, are a few photos from The Transportation Program Showcase, where community leaders, business partners, and 
elected representatives experienced firsthand the innovation shaping South Dakota’s workforce. Students and faculty showed me their current projects, demonstrated their technical expertise, and bragged (modestly) about the impact of their various programs on local industry. I was inspired by the pride on display, and the enthusiasm for the skills in question. I think it’s important to share such things.
This is not the only way forward, but it is most certainly one of them. State by state, school by school, job by job. Every state has a Governor, and that Governor is either keenly focused on reinvigorating the skilled trades in his or her state, or they aren’t. Those who are, (the smart ones,) are reaching out to industry leaders in their state – leaders who understand the criticality of investing real money in expanding trade schools. Those same business leaders, (the smart ones,) also have the good sense to support independent foundations like 
mikeroweWORKS and can thereby call upon concerned citizens like me to join them at events like this, to better highlight success stories like this one with posts like the one you’re reading now. Posts that I hope you will share with everyone you know.
These public/private scholarships should be replicated all over the country. In my view, they 
must, if we are to close America’s ever widening skills gap. Big thanks to Allison Hawkins and Jason Rosenberg at Wells Fargo for showing up with the money, Governor Rhoden for his sensible and consistent support, and Cory Clasemann for running a great trade school filled with excellent instructors. Most of all, thanks to the next 
generation of skilled tradespeople learning a valuable trade at Southeast Tech and putting those skills to work. It might have been -7 outside, but you guys were on fire!