Parenting & Family Quote by Bill Janklow

The sentence lunges for a feel-good crescendo - “opportunity” stacked on “intern” stacked on “upward mobility” - the way politicians pile sandbags against criticism. Bill Janklow isn’t offering data or even a story; he’s offering a moral alibi. By insisting “If you knew...,” he frames skepticism as ignorance, inviting the listener to feel embarrassed for doubting what he won’t actually quantify. It’s a rhetorical feint that turns public debate into a test of faith.

Janklow’s repetition of “upward mobility” functions like a brand slogan: say it enough and it becomes the reality. The line also quietly recasts a company’s presence in South Dakota as a civic benefactor, not an employer with its own incentives. Internships, employment, and “move on” are presented as a ladder, but the subtext is about legitimacy: this company (unnamed here, tellingly) should be protected, subsidized, or forgiven because it allegedly manufactures futures for “South Dakota’s kids.”

The context matters because Janklow’s political persona traded heavily on development-and-jobs pragmatism, the classic small-state pitch: we may be remote, but we can deliver workforce success stories if outside capital comes in. The quote is less a celebration than a preemptive defense, a way to wrap corporate partnership in hometown sentiment. It’s boosterism with a parental overtone - “kids” - designed to make opposition sound not merely economic, but cruel.