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(Continued from page 17)
• A more consistent supply of trained workers will help Eagle Creek better prepare for growth if a customer suddenly needs to ramp up, Behrendt said.
• "If we're at a major health care organization and they ask us, 'Can you scale up 50 or 100 or 200 people?' that becomes the issue," he said. "What you need are trained individuals."
• Companies since the recession of 2007-2009 are investing more in technology and are looking to get closer to their customers, whether through mobile apps or social media. All of those efforts are underpinned with technology, so companies want their contract IT consultants to better understand their businesses, said Behrendt, who has a 25-year background in offshore services.
• That's difficult with faraway consultants, so a growing number of companies that are expanding are now demanding U.S.-based help.
• Behrendt said Eagle Creek's model has worked well in the Dakotas, so the company is committed to the two states.
• "The pendulum is swinging back, and it's creating a supply and demand issue in the United States," he said. "Our approach to it is South Dakota is as good as any place in the United States to provide these jobs."
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SD US Sen. Johnson will announce soon if he'll run
CHET BROKAW,Associated Press
• PIERRE, S.D. (AP) -- U.S. Sen. Tim Johnson of South Dakota said Wednesday he will announce by the end of March whether he will seek re-election next year.
• "I have not made up my mind entirely," Johnson told reporters in a phone call.
• Johnson, 66, did not disclose a date for an announcement on whether he will seek a fourth term, saying only that it will be "sometime this month."
• Former Gov. Mike Rounds announced in late December he is seeking the Republican nomination for the Senate seat now held by Johnson. The South Dakota race is expected to play a key role in the 2014 battle between Republicans and Democrats for control of the Senate.
• Lingering effects from a 2006 brain hemorrhage have intensified questions about whether Johnson will run, but he has said he is capable of enduring the rigors of a campaign and his health will not play a role in whether he seeks re-election. His speech remains slowed at times, and he sometimes uses a motorized scooter when he needs to get around quickly.
• Johnson said there's still plenty of time for him or another Democratic candidate to prepare for a Senate campaign.
• "There are some excellent candidates waiting in the wings if I would decide not," (Continued on page 19)
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