Our Two Cents

2024
2024
Agribusiness Business Common Cents on the Prairie™ Fraud Prevention
Giving Back Insuring Your Success Local Stories Mortgage
Our History Personal Banking Resources Tea With Teammates
Transportation Values & Culture Wealth Management Women in Business
The lobby of Minnehaha National Bank in the 20th century.

Becoming FIRST: The Reputation Chapter

Imagine it’s 1885 in Sioux Falls and you’re about to board a train for Chicago. The railway snakes hundreds of miles across the lonely prairie, and those miles set these cities worlds apart. How so? The money in your wallet...
Dolly Parton with Bill Baker and family in Sioux Falls in 2002.

Becoming FIRST: The Dolly Chapter

We give back to our communities in three primary ways: time, talent, and treasure. At First National Bank, we offer our collective time to help those who need it, talents to serve those who will benefit most, and treasure to...
First National Bank's downtown Sioux Falls location from 1929 to 1976.

Becoming FIRST: The Business Chapter

On December 7, 1941, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. One month later, on January 13, 1942, William Wiswall (W. W.) Baker formally stepped to the helm of First National Bank as the nation was thrust into war. For Americans, everything...
First National Bank's leadership team celebrating 100 years in business with a large cake.

Becoming FIRST: The Crisis Chapter

If 140 years of doing business have taught us anything, it’s that every generation is tested. And with every test, our FIRST Values have shone brightly through even our darkest hours. The COVID-19 pandemic certainly proved to be one of...
An old photo of an Advantage ATM outside a First National Bank branch.

Becoming FIRST: The Advantage Chapter

Innovation is the bedrock of positive evolution. Everything we do is engineered to improve our customer experience. So, a touchstone question we ask of every new program is, “Does this idea have a clear opportunity to grow?” That is, does...
An old, black and white photo of employees at The First National Bank in Sioux Falls.

Becoming FIRST: The Values Chapter

We live by our motto: “We build successful relationships.” The entire organization expands together, meaning we honor a commitment to growth where no one gets left behind. How do we do this? As a team who finds the right spot,...
Chris Ekstrum, Maggie Groteluschen, Bob Baker, and Bill Baker in front of First National Bank.

Lessons in family business learned from Spiderman, growing up with First National Bank

Much has been written about family businesses in America. They produce the majority of the U.S. GDP, employ more than half of U.S. workers, and are the lifeblood of building our great nation. At The First National Bank in Sioux...
Roxie Olsen and Tammy Garcia look into a fraud case at First National Bank.

Business owners can take away valuable lessons from recent fraud attempt

Our Operations team recently shut down a fraud attempt in the amount of more than $221,000 — a scheme hinging on a small business’s check that had been intercepted by the fraudsters. According to the Federal Trade Commission, bank transfers...
A tractor planting a field.

Committed to agriculture for nearly 140 years

In 1885, we got our start in ag banking. And to this day, we remain committed to agriculture and serving farmers. With branch locations in Sioux Falls, Baltic, Brandon, Dell Rapids, Flandreau, and Harrisburg, our roots run deep within farm...
George Kamel, bestselling author and co-host of The Ramsey Show.

Millionaire myth-busting with a Ramsey Show co-host

Common Cents on the Prairie™

He went from $40,000 in debt to becoming a net-worth millionaire in less than 10 years, all by his early 30s. So, what’s George Kamel’s secret? “In our millionaire study, we found that it was really boring habits that caused...
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