SEED FOUNDATION
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South Dakota Partner Town

Keystone

Population ~300 · Pennington County

Gateway to America's most iconic monument. Keystone's entire identity is Mount Rushmore tourism — souvenir shops, ice cream parlors, and themed restaurants. 3 million visitors annually but only 300 year-round residents.

~300

Population

$30,000-$35,000

Median Income

$200,000-$250,000

Median Home Price

Mount Rushmore tourism (100% seasonal)

Key Industry

The Challenge

Keystone is the most seasonal economy in the Black Hills. From October through April, the town essentially closes. Most businesses board up. Workers leave. It is a place that 3 million people visit annually but almost nobody lives in.

~300

Population

$30,000-$35,000

Median Income

~15-20%

Poverty Rate

BHC's Role in Keystone

How Seed Foundation and the Black Hills Consortium are investing in Keystone's future.

1

Micro-coworking space — 2-4 desks for remote workers near Rushmore

2

THE OP pop-up or satellite — year-round coffee/food option

3

Off-season event programming — winter speaker series, film screenings

4

Settle the West — targeting outdoors-focused remote workers

5

Trail/recreation infrastructure — four-season trail development

Projected Impact by Year 5

Conservative projections based on the Tulsa Remote model and BHC's base case financials.

3-5

BHC Jobs

50-60

Relocations

$2.1M

Economic Impact (5yr)

18-23

New Students

What makes Keystone unique

Highest proportional impact in the network. Adding 50 households to a town of 300 is a 15-20% population increase — potentially transformational.

School District

Hill City School District 51-2

Current enrollment: ~20-30 Keystone students

Projected new students by Year 5: 18-23

South Dakota funds ~$6,200 per student.

Housing

Median home price: $200,000-$250,000

South Dakota has 0% state income tax. Combined with affordable housing, relocators build wealth dramatically faster than in coastal cities.

Three million people visit your town every year, and almost none of them live here. Even 50 new year-round households would increase your population by 15-20%.

— The pitch to Keystone

Move to Keystone

Apply to Settle the West and start your new life in the Black Hills.