A big move started when everything essentially stopped in the New York City area.

“During COVID, they basically sent everyone home, and there wasn’t much going on in Manhattan,” said Jessica Lattuga, a native of Staten Island, New York, who had spent her entire life there up until that point.

“Everybody stopped building.”

So with a career in the construction industry, Lattuga’s brother-in-law needed another option. With 19 years of union tenure, he wasn’t about to leave it.

“Tennessee and South Dakota were on the table, and South Dakota called first,” Lattuga said. “My sister said, ‘Hey, me and the kids are moving, and this is where we’re going.’”

Her parents, now retired, looked at her. She looked at them.

“And I said: ‘You know what? Let’s go,’” Lattuga said. “New York was getting quite hectic, it was getting ridiculous, and I said: ‘Let’s see. It can’t hurt.’”

That was in 2022. By the end of the year, the entire family had relocated west — and Lattuga moved to Sioux Falls without even visiting.

“I just wanted to jump in with both feet,” she said.

From her first landing at the Sioux Falls Regional Airport, it was clear she’d left New York far behind.

“It honestly was just different. Staten Island is small — it’s like suburbia — so I’m OK with a small-town feel, but at the same time, I worked in Manhattan and New Jersey, which are huge, and that in itself was a very big adjustment,” she said.

“But the people are incredibly nice. No matter where I’ve gone — a store, a doctor’s office, a hospital — everyone is incredibly helpful. In New York, that had changed over time as people had stopped interacting as much. Here, it’s a completely different feel and very nice.”

She has found a new role in Sioux Falls as a people generalist at Medvantx.

“I love it. I have great co-workers and am happy to come in every day,” she said. “I like the balance of working from home once a week, more if I need to, but I choose not to because I enjoy being in an office and always have.”

Her new neighborhood in south Sioux Falls “actually kind of reminds me of a few spots in north Jersey,” she said. “I very much like the neighborhood and just enjoying the downtime after things had gotten so hectic in New York.”

Her twin niece and nephew are thriving in the Sioux Falls School District, she said.

“They’re doing incredibly well,” Lattuga said. “My nephew is autistic but very high-functioning, and they mainstreamed him here, which they weren’t able to do in New York. Both kids are in the same class, and they’ve made friends and are both doing excellent.”

Her parents “are adjusting very well,” she said. “I think the slower pace of life is a good thing. The lack of traffic is something we’re all enjoying. I’ve sat in traffic three or more hours on a city bus. I’ve been in my car four hours on a workday. My parents are in their 60s, and the health care is amazing. There’s a huge difference here.”

The family’s experience shows the multifaceted advantages that life in Sioux Falls offers, said Denise Guzzetta, vice president of talent and workforce development for the Sioux Falls Development Foundation.

“It doesn’t matter what your life stage — from your early education to your midcareer growth to your retirement years — there are so many benefits to making a move here,” she said. “We’ve especially enjoyed getting to connect with Jessica in her HR role at Medvantx and look forward to helping her and her team grow their talent pool here by further engaging them in the main programs we offer to support their talent pipeline.”

Looking back on the move, “I have no regrets on the decision I made,” Lattuga said. “It’s not the easiest thing in a way, but my everyday has become significantly better. There’s a far better quality of life, and I would say the same for my sister and her family and my parents. When I look at the bigger picture, it was a good thing not just for myself but everybody involved.”

Would you like to learn more about how Sioux Falls can become your new place to grow a family and career? Email deniseg@siouxfalls.com to get connected with opportunities ideal for you.

In a matter of weeks, Owen Vincelli will be a Brandon Valley High School alumnus and the latest new hire at Journey Group Cos.

“I have a week off for graduation, and Monday after graduation I start,” said Vincelli, who worked another job in the construction field while still in high school.

Come August, he will begin classes at Lake Area Technical College in Watertown as he works toward a degree in building trades technology, a path that will set him up for construction management.

But he won’t leave his role at Journey behind. The company is Vincelli’s sponsor in the Build Dakota program, a full-ride scholarship that will keep him working at Journey through school and for at least three years after that.

“I got connected with Journey through my internship class,” he explained. “I knew I wanted to go somewhere in construction because I’ve always liked to build things. I just didn’t know if it would be a two-year or four-year program. I interviewed with them late last year, and they ended up offering me the Build Dakota Scholarship as my sponsor.”

He’ll start this summer as a general laborer. “I really like them as a company already,” Vincelli said. “I’ve heard good things from everyone I’ve told (about my plans) that Journey is such a good company.”

At Brandon Valley High School, the Sioux Falls Development Foundation’s Career Connections program coordinates weekly programming in Matt Christensen’s English class.

“When you don’t know what you don’t know, it’s a challenge to find your strengths, and we want to help them find where their loves meet their interest and what the world needs,” Christensen said. “We’ve taken tours to places like Southeast Tech, public safety departments and water treatment facilities, and the exposure is priceless. It’s really expanding the classroom as best we can.”

It’s been a valuable relationship, said Denise Guzzetta, vice president of talent and workforce development for the Sioux Falls Development Foundation.

“This year, we were in 14 classrooms such as this one, bringing in guest speakers to introduce students to different professions and connecting them with everything from employment tours to internships,” she said. “When you see success stories like Owen’s, you realize the difference that kind of intentional approach can make.”

For Vincelli, the program brought a lot of value.

“We had a lot of speakers, and it opened my eyes to all the opportunities everywhere,” he said. “We had POET come in and were able to look at their job list and all their plants. There’s so many opportunities you don’t even think of for construction management.”

At Brandon Valley, there’s an intentional effort to connect students pursuing tech education with Build Dakota Scholarships, principal Mark Schlekeway said.

“We have a number of students Career Connections has assisted in that process, along with the explosion of our internship program,” he said. “We’re trying to build a community of future leaders, and I really view this as bridging the gap to connect students with potential careers in the community where they live. That’s where Career Connections has done a nice job opening students’ eyes to what you can do here without moving to a bigger area.”

At Journey, the team provided a clear sense of a career path early on for Vincelli.

“For two summers, I’ll do internships, and after school, I’ll be here three years, and they explained how they step me up within project management, or there are other pathways I can look at within Journey Group if I’m interested in different areas of the company. I can work my way around and figure out what I’d like to do.”

At Journey Group, “there are organized career paths for new hires like Owen,” said Brandy Nielsen, workforce development director. “They do certain tasks to get to one level and complete additional tasks to get to the next, so there’s no question what you have to do to advance, and we’ll coach you where you need development to advance in your career path.”

Even in high school, students can job-shadow to get a better sense for the opportunities, she said. Journey offered three Build Dakota sponsorships this year and had two that started last year.

“It’s worked really well for us,” said Jared Gusso, who leads the SFC Civil Constructors division. “We’re trying to keep our in-state kids here, and having that ability to jump-start their career without a bunch of student loans is really a win-win.”

A student who aspires to be a superintendent will be coached early, he said. That includes being part of phone calls with subcontractors, included in weekly meetings and given tasks that involve calling vendors.

“They get to experience things first-hand while going to school, and it gives them an advantage when they come out of school,” Gusso said.

One former Build Dakota scholar now is the project manager on work SFC Civil Constructors is doing for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at Gavins Point Dam, he said.

“He’s really doing awesome, and because of the approach we take while they’re still in school, they graduate and have a jump-start. They know what the expectations are, they know the people, and hopefully it gives them a little more confidence and the ability to really go.”

Journey’s approach is a model for others, Guzzetta said.

“This is how you tackle workforce needs: investing early and committing to development at every stage of the employee’s career,” she said. “We can help introduce young people to opportunities in our community, but it’s exemplary employers like this that set them up for success.”

To connect with the Sioux Falls Development Foundation’s Career Connections program, email deniseg@siouxfalls.com.

He was born in upstate New York and grew up in Silicon Valley.

She’s originally from Wisconsin and graduated high school in the Twin Cities.

They met in North Dakota when their professional paths crossed.

But when it came time to make their life together official, Dayna and Will Cromarty chose their new home in Sioux Falls for the site of their 2024 wedding at Blue Haven Barn and Gardens.

“Instead of having our wedding in the Twin Cities or California where our families are, we chose Sioux Falls because we wanted everyone who hadn’t had a chance to visit to experience Sioux Falls and see why we love living here,” Dayna said.

Guests came from both coasts, surrounding states and as far away as Switzerland.

“Many of our guests were surprised at how much Sioux Falls had to offer and how beautiful it was,” she continued. “Some had an idea of what Sioux Falls is, but some came here thinking it’s a smaller town with not a lot to do. They loved Sioux Falls, and we had some people try nearly all our recommendations, from downtown boutiques to breweries.”

Since moving here — Danya in 2022 and Will in 2023 — the Cromartys have found their new home filled with reasons they’re glad they made the move.

It started when Dayna was offered a job at Paulsen, a marketing agency where she could put her background in communications, marketing and social media to work in an ag industry she had come to love.

“My parents are from farming backgrounds, so I’ve always been surrounded by ag and had a great appreciation for our farmers, and in Grand Forks I worked at a media and events company that focused on renewable fuels — ethanol, biodiesel and biomass, and drones, which is how Will and I met,” she said.

Will’s professional path took him from an undergraduate major in Middle Eastern and Islamic studies to a role with the CIA, where he specialized in undercover work related to Russian aerospace and satellite systems.

“I had always planned on getting into intelligence-related work,” he said. “I had a passion for it and saw it as a way to combine my skill set with a way to do good in the world and do something for the United States.”

Inspired to go into national security work after living through Sept. 11, 2001, as a native New Yorker, he supported the NYPD Manhattan North Homicide Squad, assisting with intelligence gathering while in college at New York University. He joined the CIA right before he turned 23 and served five years undercover before working in business development for aerospace and defense contractors.

That’s how he ended up in North Dakota, speaking at an event in the aerospace industry and meeting Dayna, a conference organizer.

“Then, I made the move full time for a great opportunity with an aerospace company, helping them expand in the Dakotas,” he said.

He founded his own business, Kirkwall, in late 2022 “because I used to spend a lot of time briefing bad news to policymakers about how Russia and China are catching up to us and posing threats,” he said. “I decided to pull together a team and quit saying someone should really fix this and instead start fixing it ourselves.”

He describes Kirkwall as “like the check engine light from your car, but for critical infrastructure,” he said. “Our No. 1 job is preventing downtime on really, really expensive machinery and critical infrastructure — we’re giving you advanced alerts that something hasn’t failed yet but will in the near future.”

Kirkwall’s six-person team sells to U.S. government agencies, ag tech and biotech industries. The company’s software defends industrial systems from critical failure. Its algorithm enables cyberattack detection, diagnostic monitoring and preventative maintenance for Internet of Things-enabled ag tech, robotics and industrial systems.

Dayna made the Sioux Falls move first after visiting with her family in 2022 and interviewing at Paulsen.

“I loved that it didn’t feel like a huge town, but it’s definitely bigger than Grand Forks,” she said.

“Having gone to school in Minneapolis and lived near Madison, Wisconsin, there were bits and pieces of those bigger cities I missed. Downtown Sioux Falls is beautiful — there are so many fun things we’ve gotten a chance to do.”

She loves live music and has discovered the free downtown concerts at Levitt at the Falls. She’s a regular at the weekly Falls Park Farmers Market, which combines her love of agriculture with supporting local.

“And being able to live in a town that doesn’t feel too big, yet where you occasionally bump into people you know, was definitely appealing to me,” she added.

When Dayna moved, Will began spending more time in Sioux Falls. He made the move himself in 2023 after he proposed.

“I discovered it was an amazing environment for business and startups,” he said. “I give a lot of credit to Startup Sioux Falls — Brienne Maner is amazing and a real advocate for small businesses — and a lot of the programs from the Governor’s Office of Economic Development were really attractive for the stage we’re in. Plus, it’s an excellent environment for angel investors and venture capital, and multiple universities here offer top-tier talent, so we were able to build out an internship program with lots of great candidates.”

Kirkwall’s team is split between Fargo and Sioux Falls, and “our intention is, once the DSU Applied Research building is ready in 2026, to be tenants there,” he said.

In 2024, his company even won the Governor’s Giant Vision Competition, taking home a $20,000 prize.

“The entrepreneurial ecosystem led me to making a lot of good, personal friends here even though I moved here knowing hardly anyone,” Will added.

Dayna also has found that her job connected her to a broader community.

“I only knew one person in Sioux Falls, but now I feel like moving here was probably one of the best decisions that I have made,” she said.

“I was able to start fresh and meet new people. I’m in a bowling league, which I never thought I would do, and I play kickball with a team that plays through Paulsen, so I’m really grateful for the community of friends I’ve built. And Paulsen has been a fantastic place to work. I absolutely love my co-workers, and it’s awesome to work with a team that’s so passionate about what they do.”

Will loves putting his skills to friendly competition in an area pinball league, and they both have made a powerful connection at Embrace Church.

“We love it,” Will said. “I’ve lived all over the U.S. and internationally, and we definitely made the decision Sioux Falls is where we want to settle down and raise a family.”

After renting a townhouse with their St. Bernard, Boris, while they learned more about the area, they’re now house hunters planning to further put down roots here.

“We’re absolutely thrilled Sioux Falls has been such a good fit, personally and professionally, for Dayna and Will,” said Denise Guzzetta, vice president of talent and workforce development for the Sioux Falls Development Foundation.

“We can’t wait to see how Will’s business thrives here, how Dayna continues to grow her career and how they both build their life together, becoming an even greater part of our community.”

Are you ready to put the Sioux Falls advantage to work for you? Email deniseg@siouxfalls.com to learn more about the opportunities that are waiting for you.

Jessica Williams was part of a community theater production when someone said something that made her change her own life script.

“She said, ‘I don’t want the next time I see my family to be at a funeral.’ And it struck a chord with me.”

At the time, Williams and her husband, Travis, were living in Alaska, almost 3,000 miles from her family in Iowa City and only slightly closer to his in South Dakota.

“I wasn’t really happy about where I was at working in benefits administration, we’d both suffered family losses in 2019, and our son was about to start sixth grade,” she said. “We had family we never saw, and I just said, ‘Where are we going to go?’”

Her husband’s aunt, Janet Ryan, a longtime leader and new co-owner at Breadsmith in Sioux Falls, helped answer the question.

“She knew of an opening at Augustana and pointed me there,” Williams said. “We’d stayed at some hotels in town before visiting her, but I knew nothing about Sioux Falls whatsoever.”

Travis grew up in Interior and still has family on a ranch in western South Dakota. Williams grew up in a military family and moved multiple times growing up. They met in Chicago, and married life meant military life once more because Travis served in the Coast Guard.

“We had four different stations we were at. The first was in Alaska, and after we left, we kept wanting to go back and did in 2018,” she said.

“Travis never thought he’d live East River, but here we are in South Dakota.”

In July 2024, their change of address became official when Williams was hired as a compensation and benefits specialist in human resources at Augustana University.

“I don’t have a university background — I spent more of my career working in medical offices or hospital administration — but they said they like that I see things through a different lens and bring a different perspective,” she said. “To my boss’s credit, she was excited about that and encourages new ideas. The day I interviewed, I left just feeling like I’d left my family because it felt like ‘When can I start?’ I didn’t want to leave. You just know when it’s the right fit.”

Since moving to Sioux Falls, Travis also easily found a job. He began helping his aunt at Breadsmith but then moved into campus security at Augustana.

“The difference in affordability here is just, oh my goodness,” Williams said. “Our gas price went down by $2 per gallon. Our rent stayed about the same, but so many nickel-and-dime things are so much more affordable. There are so many grocery stores and so many options that it makes it so much cheaper comparatively to live here.”

They were able to find a home to rent close enough so their son can walk home from Memorial Middle School.

“We’re in a comfortable neighborhood with a garage, and hopefully someday we’ll be able to find a home,” Williams said. “That’s ultimately our goal now is to find that area we want to be in.”

She also has been able to connect her love of theater through The Premiere Playhouse — she just was named to the cast of “9 to 5” coming up later this year — and through shows at the Washington Pavilion.

“And I took my son to SiouxperCon, which was fantastic,” she said.

“There’s so much here for a family who has such a diverse set of interests and something for all of us. Ultimately, we came here to provide new opportunities to our son. Sioux Falls has exceeded our expectations, from the water park to the arcades, the excellent school district and the events that take place in Sioux Falls. We’ve also been able to take advantage of the proximity to Minneapolis for sporting and other gaming events.”

Her son “loves video games, and we’re so pumped they have esports in the schools,” Williams said.

“He took first place at SiouxperCon and did the SoDak Circuit esports event last year, and we’re excited for it to come back this year. It was so much fun. And the schools have been great. I could not be happier, and the way the arts are encouraged in the school system is incredibly valuable to me. I’m so happy my child can live in an area where he gets to do that.”

At Augustana, “I don’t think I’ve ever worked anywhere where I felt like I was making this much of a difference,” Williams added.

“I feel like my opinion is being heard and I matter. That’s amazing for an employer.”

In Sioux Falls, “I am overwhelmed by the kindness that I’ve seen and the politeness,” she said. “You see such generosity, even within the community.”

The Williams family’s experience shows that no matter how far you move from to get here, you’ll easily be able to connect to the Sioux Falls community, said Denise Guzzetta, vice president of talent and workforce development for the Sioux Falls Development Foundation.

“It’s been wonderful to meet Jessica and work with her in her capacity with HR but also hear how her own career and family’s life has been enhanced through moving to Sioux Falls,” she said. “This truly is a place where you’ll feel like you’re making a difference at work and love your experience outside of work.”

To learn more about putting the Sioux Falls Advantage to work for you and your family, contact Denise Guzzetta at deniseg@siouxfalls.com or visit siouxfalls.com.