A Forward-Thinking Community
When you’ve found something valuable, the saying goes, exclaim “eureka!” When the German-Russian immigrants settled in this wide expanse of prairie in the 1880s, they changed the original St. Petersburg name to Eureka, befitting the agricultural powerhouse and prosperous community that it had become as the largest wheat growing region in the world from 1887 to 1902.
Today, it’s the quality of life in this town, with a population hovering around 1,100, that residents value. It’s a place where the air is clean, churches full and neighbors neighborly. Like many small communities, Eureka faces the challenge of keeping positively focused on the future. With an aging population, a shortage of living-wage jobs, and higher than average poverty rates, the community has ardently been seeking opportunities to strengthen the economy and improve the quality of life for its most vulnerable residents.
In the early 1990s, the community embarked on a series of infrastructure and economic development endeavors. These endeavors resulted in filled storefronts in the business district, a community beautification initiative, a resurfaced airfield runway, a new visitors center, and, added in 2000, a track and field and football complex adjacent to a city park and the rippling, pristine waters of Lake Eureka. When offered a chance to participate in a program that would further strengthen their leadership systems, the community jumped on board. They saw this program, provided through the Northwest Area Foundation, as an opportunity to help them develop additional strategies to reverse economic and population decline.
As part of this program, 350 citizens took part in a community visioning session, 125 of which were students. Using computer technology, young and old sat down together to imagine the future. Eighty-five year olds had teenagers at their elbows, helping them to keyboard in their ideas and priorities. Through working together, residents agreed on a need for cell phone coverage, moderate-income housing and a community swimming pool.
Before stepping forward, Eureka first looked back. Like people everywhere, Eureka residents had their share of negative attitudes and past misunderstandings among themselves. Demonstrating a penchant for creativity, the community decided to put to rest all those things that might stall future hopes and dreams. Led by a local minister, the community “buried the past” in a light-hearted, symbolic funeral attended by young and old. The event, which was transformational for the community, also made the pages of America’s most read newspaper, USA Today. The eulogy was given by Eureka native, Al Neuharth, founder of USA Today, and serves as a testament to the values and educational foundation he received in his youth in Eureka.
Once the past was buried, residents wholeheartedly moved on with their plans. Joining forces with other communities throughout the state, Eureka campaigned for a new cell tower to be erected near town. The tower will provide cell phone service to many in town as well as meet the needs of truck drivers who often make pickups or deliveries at local manufacturing plants. The Eureka Community Development Corporation raised over $100,000 in grants to initiate and develop plans to construct a needed retail mall, anchored by a new hardware store. Plans for new housing and a community swimming pool are on the docket for a group of community members known as the Eureka Go-Getters to take on in the near future.
The swimming pool is particularly of interest to Eureka’s youth, the town’s most precious asset. In the past five years, three Eureka high school students have received Discover Card Tribute Award Scholarships, a national scholarship given to only 10 students in the country annually. Realizing the value of their youth, residents are finding fun and meaningful ways to engage them in community activities. Now, besides athletics and school-related activities, young people can join community-wide events — organized by the Eureka Go-Getters — that include caroling, bingo and a scavenger hunt that gathers usable items for donation to the local thrift shop and to support a women’s shelter in a nearby community.
Reaching out to community members, regardless of age or income level, spawned the development and printing of 2,000 copies of the Eureka Resource Directory. This directory lists all of the services available in the community and is sent to new and existing residents. The directory provides valuable information that is not compiled elsewhere. It not only is helpful to those needing goods and services, it also builds connections between neighbors as people learn what others in their community have to offer.
Eureka is a place rich in culture and natural beauty, and finding ways to preserve these attributes while putting them to work for the community is a goal that residents strive for. In the late 1990s, community members had a “eureka” moment when they set out to preserve a taste of the area’s ethnic food culture, kuchen — a German-Russian sweet-dough pastry topped with creamy custard and filling. After community mobilizing and trips to the state legislature, Eureka’s favorite dessert became the official dessert of South Dakota.
Today, three bakeries supply never-ending supplies of kuchen. Two bakeries, both launched after the state adoption of the official dessert, have diversified their offerings of other German-Russian specialties and expanded their services into catering. But there is plenty more opportunity for new business development or for existing business owners to pass ownership onto the next generation of entrepreneurs.
Eureka further capitalizes on its culture with a two-day German Schmeckfest, held every September. This event celebrates the community’s rich German-Russian heritage and offers a glimpse into what pioneering life was like when the immigrants first settled 150 years ago. The annual event, featuring German food, crafts and a songfest, draws 500 visitors and returning residents each year.
Others are making their way to town in search of the big catch in the lake or to hunt on the prairie. Here Eureka not only showcases its plentiful natural resources, but also the community’s welcoming hospitality. To help with the overflow of hunter tourist traffic, dozens of Eureka residents annually open their doors during pheasant season and rent out rooms in their homes to hunters.
Eureka joins the many towns that know the importance of staying connected to their culture and the past. Yet, the community isn’t satisfied with being a stop on the tourist circuit. As a key player in jump-starting the cellular revolution in South Dakota, Eureka continues to lead forward into the future, looking for its next big idea.