The Foundation Upon Which We Were Built
Dakotaland Federal Credit Union came from humble beginnings, sparked by the vision and determination of 10 local Armour Packing Company employees who formed the credit union in Huron, South Dakota on February 23rd, 1935. Initially, all transactions were managed out of a single desk drawer. The Credit Union was approved to provide savings and loans to its meat packing members. At that time, the average annual salary was $1,500 dollars, the maximum credit union savings account was $500 dollars, and the maximum credit union loan was $25 dollars.
In 1967, the credit union purchased a used garage for $3,000 dollars and moved it inside the secure fence of the meat packing plant. With a little remodeling, the garage became the credit union office, which was fondly referred to as “The Shack”.
In 1983, the credit union's only sponsor group, Armour Meat Packing, closed the plant leaving 550 members wondering if they would lose their credit union permanently. The Board of Directors chose to expand the field of membership to include other employer groups in Huron, SD and changed the credit union's name to Dakotaland Federal Credit Union. In 1997, another plant closing (Dakota Pork), gave way to community charter approval for Dakotaland. With nearly 6,000 existing members, the credit union opened its doors and services to anyone who lived or worked in Beadle County.
The Main Branch, or otherwise known as the Operations Center, was the first Dakotaland Federal Credit Union established in Huron, SD in 1984. This facility sustained several additions over the next 15 years to reach its current size.
‘Branching Out’ for Dakotaland began in 1996 with the assumption of Volga Federal Credit Union, making Volga, SD the first branch location. In 2004, a new branch was established in Woonsocket, SD. The North Branch location in Huron was established in 2005, along with a merger with SDSU-Brookings Federal Credit Union adding a branch in Brookings, SD. 2011 proved to be a busy year as Interlakes Federal Credit Union of Madison, SD became a part of the family, a start-up location was established in DeSmet, SD, and Turtle Creek Federal Credit Union in Redfield, SD merged as well. Mitchell Area Federal Credit Union came on board in 2013 bringing the branch community count to 8 locations. In 2017, Consolidated Hub-Co Federal Credit Union in Aberdeen, SD joined the ranks. Both a start-up location in Watertown, SD and the Administrative Center, housing the South Branch in Huron, SD were erected in 2018.
Over the years, the credit union’s charter grew, but in 2010 a 27-county rural community charter expansion was obtained. It allowed Dakotaland to extend credit union services to anyone who lives, works, worships or attends school in the counties of Beadle, Jerauld, Sanborn, Kingsbury, Brookings, Moody, Lake, Miner, McCook, Hanson, Davison, Aurora, Brule, Buffalo, Hand, Hyde, Hughes, Sully, Faulk, Spink, Clark, Codington, Hamlin, Grant, Deuel, Brown and Day.
An additional charter expansion request was approved in 2024 bringing an additional 24 counties into the Dakotaland family. This expansion added the South Dakota counties of Bon Homme, Campbell, Charles Mix, Clay, Douglas, Edmunds, Haakon, Hutchinson, Jones, Lawrence, Lincoln, Lyman, Marshall, McPherson, Meade, Minnehaha, Pennington, Potter, Roberts, Stanley, Turner, Union, Walworth, and Yankton.
In addition, Dakotaland Federal Credit Union established two CUSO (Credit Union Service Organizations) to better serve its membership. Dakotaland Community Insurance was added in 2011, but later transitioned to DFS Insurance with offices in the five Dakotaland Federal Credit Union locations of Aberdeen, SD, Brookings, SD, DeSmet, SD, Huron, SD, and Watertown, SD. Dakotaland Financial Services opened its doors in 2015 and provides tax and bookkeeping services out of the Main Branch in Huron, SD.
Currently, the credit union has over 46,000 members, which can be found in every county in South Dakota. Moreover, our members take residence in nearly all 50 states, including the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Dakotaland has 12 branch locations, employs 178 staff and has made a significant impact on the financial landscape in South Dakota since inception.
The road was not always been an easy one. There are many decades of members, staff, board members, volunteers and business partners who have helped weather the storms and share in the successes. As we celebrate our 90th Anniversary, our humble beginnings are not forgotten. As a local lending leader and one of the strongest financial institutions in the country, we reflect on the hard work it took to get here. We also embrace our commitment to stand together strong with our membership, while providing the loans to build a better way of life, and the savings to protect it for generations to come.
