{
  "id": 3800220,
  "title": "How donors in De Smet are bringing big projects to little town on the prairie",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/27/how-donors-in-de-smet-are-bringing-big-projects-to-little-town-on-the-3800220",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-27T18:53:01.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Associated Press",
    "slug": "associated-press",
    "url": "https://apnews.com/article/de-smet-economic-growth-laura-ingalls-wilder-eba445f34d6f4db96d94e1a4510ddae8"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In De Smet, South Dakota, a community center once on the brink of collapse due to funding issues has now become a symbol of local resilience and generosity. Over a decade ago, Rita Anderson, then the director of the De Smet Economic Development Corp., found herself facing a significant setback as her fundraising efforts fell short by just $17,000. Despite this, the center, which includes a senior center, theater, kitchen, workout room, meeting spaces, and a high school football field, was ultimately approved with the last-minute contributions of $10,000 from Warne's Appliance store and $7,000 from local cattle rancher Todd Wilkinson. This successful outcome is not an isolated incident but part of a broader pattern of community support. Over the past 15 years, residents and business owners have raised more than $15 million through private donations for various projects in De Smet, a town of just 1,100 people.",
  "summary": "Even though it happened more than a decade ago, Rita Anderson can still recall the worry she felt as all her hard work, planning and fundraising to build a community and event center in De Smet appeared to be fizzling out at the very…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Winnipeg Free Press",
        "title": "How donors in De Smet are bringing big projects to little town on the prairie",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/27/how-donors-in-de-smet-are-bringing-big-projects-to-little-town-on-the",
        "published": "2026-08-27T18:26:39.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}