South Dakota's new governor is making an active pitch regarding economic opportunities for the state. The renewable-energy sector said it continues to build a strong case, including manufacturing jobs.

Gov. Larry Rhoden spent much of March crisscrossing South Dakota on his "Open for Opportunity" tour to hear about promising development, workforce needs and trade issues. It has not received a visit yet but officials with the Marmen Energy plant in Brandon said they are keeping busy. Nearly 300 people there construct towers to hold turbines for wind energy.

Dan Lueders, plant manager for Marmen Energy, called it the very definition of "American-made" products.

"It's fully American made with American steel," Lueders explained. "We're contributing to the American independence on energy and also providing good-paying manufacturing jobs."

The Clean Grid Alliance said the plant produces roughly 1,000 tower sections each year for shipment throughout the upper Midwest. Lueders noted with data centers and other factors driving up electricity demand, he sees more opportunities for his operation. Nationally, enthusiasm has been somewhat dampened by the Trump administration's push to roll back renewable-energy funding, with a stated desire to focus more on fossil fuels.

But utilities are increasingly turning to renewables to diversify their output as demand spikes.

Waylon Brown, president of Rushmore State Renewables and regional policy manager for Clean Grid Alliance, said if South Dakota keeps the welcome mat out for wind and solar development, other industries will want to set up shop here.

"They're looking for nearby energy generation when deciding what states to do business in," Brown pointed out.

In addition to the manufacturing upside, the Energy Information Administration said South Dakota ranks second nationally for wind energy generation. Brown said, for example, having a healthy power supply could be attractive to the health care sector, noting advancement in medical technology is one of the many other things requiring more energy use.

In Colorado, 83 workers were killed on the job in 2023, according to the AFL-CIO's latest "Death on the Job" report.

The report comes after the Trump administration eliminated the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, the nation's only worker safety research agency. The agency worked with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to protect workers from asbestos, lead, black lung and more.

Jason Wardrip, business manager for the Colorado Building and Construction Trades Council, said OSHA regulations have saved more than 700,000 lives.

"These things are written in blood," Wardrip stressed. "Every regulation in OSHA is because somebody has been injured or perished. Because this has happened -- somewhere, somehow -- in the world."

Nationally, more than 5,200 workers were killed on the job and more than 135,000 died from work-related diseases in 2023.

Colorado's relationship with organized labor, which has historically advocated for worker safety over profits, has been mixed. Lawmakers strengthened child labor protections in 2023 but Gov. Jared Polis plans to veto a measure which would remove barriers blocking workers from joining a union.

Workers of color continue to be most at risk of injury or death. Latino workers are 26% more likely to die on the job. In 2023, 659 Black workers died, up from 653 two years earlier.

Shane Wittstruck, communications specialist for the Colorado AFL-CIO, said OSHA is not well-funded enough to protect those workers.

"It would take 185 years to inspect every single workplace once," Wittstruck pointed out. "Right now their current budget only amounts to less than $4 to protect each worker."

Wardrip is especially displeased that cuts to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health were made by billionaire Elon Musk.

"Somebody that has never had to work with their hands, ever, has decided to start stripping hardworking people's ability to stay safe, and have regulations governing their safety on the job site," Wardrip asserted. "That's really gross."


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Solving North Dakota's child-care crisis is taking another turn, with adoption of a new tax credit.

The incentive is geared for employers who make contributions toward their employee's child-care costs.

Gov. Kelly Armstrong has signed a bill that allows employers to claim a tax credit of 50%, for child-care stipends they might offer as part of a benefits package.

Bill supporters say it might convince more businesses to meet the needs of staff members with young kids.

Bill Bauman, CEO of the Missouri Valley Family YMCA in Bismarck, said he hopes it'll be effective in removing stress on the child-care system by keeping parents in the workforce.

"It's so vital to our economy," said Bauman, "our community, our workforce and our families."

The YMCAs are collectively the largest provider of child-care services in North Dakota, and Bauman said they've seen progress in closing gaps based on 2023 investments from the state.

Other organizations such as the Chamber of Commerce agree that previous steps have helped.

But officials note some solutions have limitations, pointing to age and income eligibility levels under the Working Parents Child Care Relief Program.

Bauman credited policymakers for continuing to monitor how these efforts are playing out, and whether they need to try something new.

He suggested it's going to take additional time to measure the effectiveness of new programs and incentives.

"Some are highly utilized and others maybe not as utilized," said Bauman, "so you have to be able to adjust."

According to a 2024 North Dakota business survey from the Chamber of Commerce, 69% of respondents indicated that child care was an issue for their organization.

A similar percentage indicated support for this type of incentive to help recruit and retain workers.



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Thousands are expected to rally in Harrisburg on Monday for a "Raise the Wage and Immigrant Rights Day of Action."

More than 47,000 Pennsylvania workers earn the minimum wage of $7.25 an hour or less.

Jarrett Smith, legislative director for the Service Employees International Union, said Pennsylvania hasn't raised its minimum wage in more than 15 years, while more than 30 other states and Washington, D.C., have all moved toward $15 an hour.

Smith said this makes it harder for the state to stay competitive.

"We are demanding that we raise the wage in Pennsylvania to $15 an hour," he said, and "that we include a cost-of-living adjustment so that we don't have to keep coming back, year after year."

Smith said the coalition Pennsylvania Stands Up is leading the protest, backed by labor and community groups and some lawmakers.

Two years ago, the House passed a bill to raise the state minimum wage to $15 by 2026, but the Senate hasn't acted. Smith said Gov. Josh Shapiro has pointed out it could bring in up to $60 million a year in tax revenue.

Smith said it's key to distinguish low-wage from minimum-wage workers. Nearly 1.2 million Pennsylvanians earn wages less than $15 an hour, and many are single moms. He added that these workers often support families, pushing the state to cover gaps with programs such as SNAP and Medicaid.

"When we talk about how do we actually lift workers out of poverty," he said, "one of the things that you can do is raise that floor and give families the financial independence to actually earn a wage that's going to allow them to not have to make decisions between paying a grocery bill or getting health care."

Smith noted that Pennsylvania is losing workers to neighboring states with higher minimum wages, making it hard to keep a strong workforce.

"We are one of the fastest-shrinking states in the Northeast," he said. "New Jersey, across the border, they have a $15 minimum wage to start, and they're already increasing it for certain workforces, like health care and education."

He added that SEIU represents around 80,000 service workers in the state, across industries such as government, health care and food service. The union is also negotiating its first national Starbucks contract.


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