SperlingViews - Winner, South_dakota

Winner is a small community with a very high cost of living. Our electricity rates have almost doubled in the last couple of years and rent is about what you would expect to pay in some place 3 times a big with a lot more jobs. We are lucky to make just over minimum wage here and $300-$600 a month rent is very hard to make with a light bill of $250-$300 a month. There are no jobs here except chain style fast food i.e. Mcdonald's, Subway, Dairy Queen and Pizza Hut. This town is dying instead of growing and the city council is refusing to see that. The school is now a joke because of losing a lawsuit that involved lots of money which is causing the school to cut back just to pay it. So instead of making the school better it has now gone downhill very bad with the teachers and administration being afraid to punish the children who need it. There is a lot of theft here with the police telling people that if they hear anything about the thefts to let them know because they can't do anything about it. More like won't do anything even if you tell them exactly who is the thief and what they stole. It used to be a good place to live, but not now. [read more...]

Like most small towns in South Dakota, Winner has seen its "better" years. The sad fact is that there are literally NO jobs here. At one time, agriculture was alive and well in the surrounding rural areas, but recent years have seen decreases in the amount of small farms/ranches because it's just not that profitable for most families anymore. Major employers like Cendant have come and gone, and the most jobs in town now are literally in fast food or retail. And when I say fast food, I mean "fast food." If you want to eat out here in town, you will have to settle for a chain restaurant or what I like to call "bar food." With the exception of a couple of cafes operating at odd hours, of course. Education? Winner's public school district is currently suffering from a major lawsuit for racist policies against Native American students. The lawsuit, combined with a dwindling population (and therefore student funds), has left the district completely BROKE. Staff to student ratios at the elementary school are hardly the 1:12 listed on this site; some classrooms have had over double that in recent years. But overcrowding/understaffing shouldn't be a problem for long; many of Winner's student population has begun open enrolling in nearby Colome. All this with severely limited access to goods and services, 2 hours to the nearest small city, freezing cold winters and blazing hot summers. Forget it! I have lived here long enough and can't wait to leave![read more...]