Ribbon Cutting Ceremony at Harmony Hill: Minnwest Bank Expands Its Commitment to Local Communities
- Steve Jurrens
- 3 days ago
- 3 min read
Northeast Radio SD News – Watertown, SD - Under much clearer skies than the “muddy mess” that marked its 2021 groundbreaking, the Village of Harmony Hill celebrated a milestone on Monday afternoon. The community gathered for a dual celebration: a formal ribbon cutting welcoming Minnwest Bank into the local fold and a substantial check presentation to the Challenger Learning Center of South Dakota.
The event, held at the Village of Harmony Hill, served as a testament to the rapid development of the campus, which has grown from a visionary plan by the Sisters of Mother of God Monastery in 2020 to a thriving multi-use hub for education and senior living.
A Commitment to Local Roots
Andrea Spilde, Senior Cash Management Sales Officer for Minnwest Bank, opened the presentation by highlighting the bank’s commitment to the region. Though Spilde is a newcomer to Watertown, the bank’s history is deeply rooted in the soil of the Midwest.
“The history of Minnwest is that we started in 1987 out of Redwood Falls, Minnesota, during the farm crisis,” Spilde noted. “Our family owners, the McVays, purchased it as a realization that you can’t continue small-town living if you don’t have financial institutions that support agriculture. You’re going to lose small towns if you don’t have that.”
While Minnwest’s physical branch is located 20 miles away in Florence, the bank staff emphasized that distance is no barrier to community involvement. Jessie Tesch, an Ag/Business Banker who grew up on a dairy farm just a stone’s throw from the Harmony Hill campus, reflected on the personal connection she feels to the land’s transformation.
“Our dairy is actually just a little ways away from this building,” Tesch said. “We used to graze cattle on where all the development is going on, so we have a close-to-home feel for this area.”
Investing in the Future: The Challenger Center
The highlight of the afternoon was a check presentation to the Challenger Learning Center of South Dakota. Spilde announced an $8,750 donation, made possible through a partnership with the Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB) of Des Moines Member Impact Fund.
Michael Klatt, representing the Challenger Center and Harmony Hill, outlined the ambitious vision for the facility. The center will be the only one of its kind in South Dakota, North Dakota, or Minnesota to offer NASA-affiliated STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) experiences.
“We want to see kids, especially fifth and sixth-grade students, really exposed to STEM,” Klatt explained. “We want to have them involved in everything from precision ag to healthcare to cyber technology. If we can get to those early students, we can inspire them... and long-term, because of South Dakota’s growth trends, we need more people than ever to stay in South Dakota.”
Klatt noted that the center is part of a broader “continuum of care” and campus education, which includes independent senior living, workforce housing, and “Startup Watertown,” an incubator space for new businesses.
A Multiplied Impact
The $8,750 grant is part of a larger $183,750 initiative by Minnwest Bank to support 21 different non-profit organizations across South Dakota. Under the Member Impact Fund, FHLB Des Moines provides a nearly $3-to-$1 match for every dollar donated by member banks like Minnwest.
“Minnwest Bank fosters a culture of volunteerism and altruism across its 3-branch footprint,” stated Ivan Van Essen, President of Minnwest Bank, in a recent release. “We are proud to donate to so many positive organizations to make an impact across the communities we serve.”
The afternoon concluded with refreshments and tours of the facility, leaving the Watertown community with a sense of momentum. As Klatt put it, the goal is simple but profound: to create a culture of economic development where the next generation doesn’t just learn about the future—they build it here.
