The Big Idea

Sep 22, 2015

Onward Yankton announced the winner of the community's “Big Idea” contest on Monday. Photos by Bernie Hunhoff.

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Heidi Marsh of South Dakota Magazine welcomed the crowd at the foot of the old Meridian Bridge.
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Beth Rye of the Yankton Daily Press & Dakotan, one of the Onward volunteers, said the winner is ...
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Jacob Fokken! Jacob is a Yankton native and 2015 Mount Marty College grad who is now teaching fifth grade in Sioux Falls.
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Fokken explained that his idea came from visiting with many community members. His plan, embraced by Onward Yankton, is to make the city a Capitol of Entrepreneurship.
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The crowd cheered for the idea of embracing entrepreneurship with a Creative District in the city’s historic downtown district.
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R.J. Rieger, a local banker, said entrepreneurship is generally associated with business startups. “We want it to be that and more,” he said, explaining that any individual, company, church, non-profit or organization with a creative plan to make the community better will fit under Onward Yankton’s definition of entrepreneurship.
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Rieger said steps are already being taken to develop an action plan to make Fokken’s idea a reality.
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Citizens of all ages came to learn what the “big idea” might be.
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Fokken received an unusual plaque and a $10,000 cash prize that he says he’ll invest back in the community.