South Dakotans are feeling the financial squeeze from all angles this spring.
The cost of groceries is higher, diesel fuel prices today are at an all-time high, and input costs for farmers, like seed, chemicals, and fertilizer, far exceed what they were paying a year ago.
Governor Kristi Noem says she’s hearing about it as she talks with folks around the state.
And now it’s going to cost even more for people to borrow money. The Federal Reserve announced Wednesday that its benchmark short-term interest rate increased by a half-percentage point–the sharpest rate hike since 2000.