Get to Know 2019 Rural Dakota Pride Honoree, Rich Bakeberg, Frederick

When the Cenex station in Frederick closed, the closest fueling option was 12 miles away in Ellendale, N.D. So, members of the Frederick Development Corporation began searching for other options.

The plan they finally went with was a creative one. The Development Corporation built a self-service fuel station and lease the facility to Agtegra. The local cooperative takes care of everything else.

“After going without a local gas station for quite a while, this was a big success for us and our community,” explains Rich Bakeberg, volunteer chair of the Development Corporation and a 2019 recipient of South Dakota Farmers Union Rural Dakota Pride honor.

A longtime resident of Frederick, Rich donates his time to projects that help make Frederick a community welcoming to young families. Like he and his wife, Gayle, were when they moved to town to raise their family 44 years ago.

“Our focus is to keep Frederick thriving and growing – any opportunities we can create to get new families to the community we will work to do,” explains Rich, who retired four years ago, and then went back to work part-time when Frederick needed a part-time Maintenance manager.

For more than four decades he has served as a volunteer firefighter and spent 25 years with the volunteer ambulance service. For years he kept score for high school basketball games, and when the school needed a bus driver for away games, Rich passed the test so he could do the job.

“I figured, I have three sons and this way I get to watch every game courtside. I was blessed, we got to watch eight Class B State Tournaments while I was volunteer score keeper,” Rich, a veteran, shares. “Frederick is a good place to live and it was a good place to raise my family, and our school system is terrific. We have smaller class size, so students don’t get lost in the crowd.”

In fact, the Frederick Area School has such a good reputation, students from 30 miles away in Aberdeen choose to open enroll. To make it an easy decision for families, the school funds a bus to pick up and drop off students.

“We hope that some of the students’ families will be impressed enough with Frederick that they want to move here,” he says.

In fact, some student’s families have inquired about moving to Frederick, but housing availability was an obstacle. Fortunately, increasing housing options is another project the Development Corporation has undertaken since Rich joined the board more than two decades ago. Currently the organization manages eight apartments, and this summer they will fund the building of a four-bedroom home.

“I get to work with a lot of great people,” Bakeberg explains. “In small towns, we all need to volunteer and help out wherever we can. For me, Frederick is my number one priority.”

More about Rural Dakota Pride

Rich is one of five volunteers recognized for their selfless contributions to South Dakota rural communities by South Dakota Farmers Union (SDFU) with the 2019 Rural Dakota Pride Honor August 31, during the 2019 South Dakota State Fair.

“Community is created and maintained through the efforts of volunteers,” explains Karla Hofhenke, SDFU Executive Director.

The other 2019 Rural Dakota Pride honorees include: Angie Mueller, Ethan; Jeannie Hofer, Huron; Jim Lane, Groton and Franklin Olson, Pierpont.

As an organization which serves South Dakota’s family farmers and ranchers, Doug Sombke, SDFU President, says Farmers Union recognizes the important role strong rural communities play in supporting agriculture producers and their families.

“South Dakota’s agriculture producers and their communities are closely connected. In good economic times they both prosper. When the economy is down, like today with the trade war, low commodity prices and extreme weather conditions, they both feel the pain,” Sombke said. “The Rural Dakota Pride honor is one of many ways SDFU works to show our support for both.”