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A map, camera, magnifying glass, and toy airplane laid out on a table.

Travel Checklist: Keep your money safe while you're away

Before you board that plane, hit the beach, or check in to your hotel, it’s important to make sure you keep your money safe while you’re away. Our travel checklist includes a few tips to ensure worrying about finances doesn’t...
Two brothers doing estate planning for joint ownership of assets.

Understanding types of joint ownership to simplify your estate plan

First National Wealth Management

With a shared passion for the outdoors and a love for hunting, brothers John and Joe pool their resources to purchase a plot of hunting land in the vast expanse of central South Dakota. The memories they envisioned creating on...
Nancy Savage, owner of Child's Play Toys, holding a stuffed cat amidst racks of girls' clothing.

Get to know Sioux Falls toy store Child’s Play Toys

Women in Business

She’s exactly what you’d imagine a toy store owner to be. Like a character straight out of a movie about a magic toy shop. Except Nancy Savage is the magic of Child’s Play Toys. Brimming with energy and radiating joy...
Headshot of Britt Strum, Mortgage Banker at The First National Bank in Sioux Falls.

New home construction: What to know before building, according to Mortgage Banker Britt Strum

New home construction is an intricate process that, according to Mortgage Banker Britt Strum, will test even the most patient of homebuyers. But those who are up to the challenge can look forward to moving into a brand new home...
Erin Rallis hangs wedding dresses in the window of Sioux Falls bridal shop Marie and Marie Bridal.

Get to know Sioux Falls bridal shop Marie and Marie Bridal

Women in Business

Some people claim they can read their sibling’s mind. For sisters Erin Rallis and Kayla Thompson, that sentiment just might be more than hyperbole. “Marie and Marie Bridal feels like one of those things that was meant to be,” said...
Michael Bender, Adam Cox, and Jean Bender posing for a group photo.

Michael and Jean Bender discuss Bender Companies, money story at our live podcast event

Common Cents on the Prairie™

If Michael and Jean Bender were to sum up their money story, it would be that opposites attract. He was raised to be a spender, while she was raised to be so frugal that a fried shrimp basket felt like...
Phil DeGroot standing in front of a picture of a farm, holding a First National Bank mug.

Tea With Teammates

Phil DeGroot

Want to know our teammates’ deepest, darkest secrets? We asked Phil DeGroot to spill the tea about being named 2024 Agribusiness Citizen of the Year.
Three high school seniors filling out a scholarship application at a coffee shop.

Meet our 2024 scholarship winners

Since 2005, we’ve awarded $89,000 to local high school seniors through our scholarship program. We believe in the importance of lifting up our local communities by supporting the students who will one day lead them, which is why we’re excited...
Headshot of female founder Stacy Havener.

Female founder Stacy Havener shares journey from underdog to success story

Common Cents on the Prairie™

“In a world full of men who love numbers, there was a place for a girl who loved words.” Long before she was a successful entrepreneur, Stacy Havener came from humble beginnings: a latchkey kid, with divorced parents, in a...
A construction crew moving First National Bank's eagle statue off the top of their building.

Becoming FIRST: The surprising history of The First National Bank in Sioux Falls

In 1976, a construction crew stood, hands on hips and squinting into the sun, wondering how on earth they were going to lower the 10,000-pound limestone eagle to the ground. The regal statue had been perched above Phillips Avenue in...
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