Wednesday, August 31, 2011PIERRE, S.D. – Starting in September, Gov. Dennis Daugaard and Lt. Gov. Matt Michels are going on the road to learn what the state can do to help South Dakota businesses grow. Over the next several months, the Governor and Lieutenant Governor will travel across the state to visit nearly 40 of South Dakota’s largest employers as part of a major business retention and expansion campaign. “Our homegrown businesses are very important to the state’s economic future,” Gov. Daugaard said. “More than 70 percent of business expansions tracked each year by the Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) come from established companies in South Dakota. Through the coming visits, we hope to better understand the challenges those companies are facing and connect them with the resources they need to continue prospering.” The visits by the Governor and Lieutenant Governor are part of a larger business retention and expansion initiative involving GOED staffers, who will conduct an additional 400 business visits. “GOED’s business expansion and recruitment efforts are always two-fold,” said J. Pat Costello, Commissioner of the Governor’s Office of Economic Development. “We work with out-of-state leads to encourage them to invest in South Dakota, and we assist in-state companies to help them expand.” Commissioner Costello said the retention and expansion visits will cover employers from a wide array of industries. The meetings with company officials will focus on state regulations, financing programs, workforce development and training needs. For additional information about GOED and services it provides, visit sdreadytowork.com -30-