Graduate Shuns Big City Lights for Life in a Community of Opportunity

Over the past decade, the continuing exodus of young professionals from the bright lights of big cities has saturated news headlines from the likes of Business Insider and Time Magazine, and perplexed city slickers. But for Faulkton Area Economic Development Corporation board member Jesse Warren, leaving his hometown in pursuit of bigger and better made him appreciate what he was missing.  

“When I graduated high school, I wanted to move away and see other places, but I realized that I like the small town atmosphere of Faulkton more and more,” he said.

Rural by Choice

When Faulkton High School handed Warren a degree in 2008, he registered at Southeast Tech in Sioux Falls for a semester before realizing Landscape Design wasn’t his thing. So he transferred to Northern State University in pursuit of a degree in Business Management. During his senior year, he had to create a business plan as part of a class project, which got his wheels turning.

“The plan was to start a gravel hauling and dirt work business. I called others that were already in the industry and spoke with them about rates, realistic job opportunities and what they did to create work and opportunities,” he said. “I brought my plan and numbers to a bank and within three days was approved to buy a truck and side dump (gravel) trailer. I found a truck in Greeley, Colorado and my roommate and I drove there in my $400 car over spring break to pick it up. Then I found a trailer in North Dakota and JW Enterprise was in business,” he said.

With connections he made cold calling and through previous employers he was able to start trucking grain with rented trailers upon graduation from college in spring 2013.  “When I was slow with the trucking, I would shingle houses. My employer from Aberdeen would give me some of his roofing jobs that he wasn't able to do and I hired a couple friends. This helped continue my cash flow while I was building a name in the trucking business.”

He also started thinking about his roots. “I was drawn back to Faulkton because of the number of opportunities here,” he said. But there was something else, too. “I had also gained more of an appreciation of a smaller community like my hometown.” 

“We've had so many of our grads come back either because of family and/or opportunity,” said FAEDC’s Gloria Bode. “In a survey conducted a few years ago of our high school students, 80% said they would come back if there was a place for them. In the 2010 census, Faulkton's population was at 736 but by 2020 it increased to 826.”

A Great Place to Live

It’s been a huge benefit for Warren to run his business in Faulkton. “Most people are happy and excited to have more younger people moving back to the community and creating jobs. This also translates into more people wanting to support your business,” he said.

It also inspired him to join the FAEDC board. “I see it as a chance to have the opportunity to be involved in the community in a proactive and positive way. It’s a great way to better understand the challenges we face and help solve those issues,” he said. “My vision for the future of Faulkton is a place that draws people in. Somewhere that many businesses can thrive. A place to buy a home and start a family. I want to see people continue to be excited about the town and want new businesses, attractions, events, etc. If we can keep interest in growing the community then it will continue to be a great place to live.”

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