In the spring of 2022, South Dakota’s average gas price was $4.13. Some companies lent a hand to employees to help pay the bills. First Interstate Bank began a fuel stipend in April, paying employees who make $65,000 a year or less $65 every two weeks, or $130 a month. Scott Reiman, the bank’s Rapid City Market President, says he understood that people living in the Hills have to commute to get to their Rapid City offices, spending a good chunk of their pay on gas.
Reiman hoped the stipend helped lighten financial burdens so his staff could dedicate their hard-earned funds to essentials, like groceries. Reiman says that’s because, “our employees are our greatest asset that we have. When we do something like this, it’s to show our employees how much that we care about them. In turn, they enjoy doing things for other organizations in the community as well.”
