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The Den Herder Construction business of brothers Jim and Cal Den Herder is now operating as the father-son business of Cal and Colby Den Herder.
As of Jan. 1, Jim Den Herder, 66, sold his share of the 35-year-old family business to his nephew and is phasing into retirement.
“I’m still getting used to the fact that I’m no longer in charge,” he said about semi-retirement. “But I’m learning.”
Cal, 63, is currently a partner, but retirement may be around the corner.
“It’s definitely a change as we take the business from one generation to the next,” he said.
For Colby, 25, it’s an opportunity to carry on a family tradition of independent business ownership.
“I never thought I would end up back in Luverne owning a business with my dad,” he said. “But since the opportunity was presented, I’ve been excited to learn more and grow into an ownership role.”
He and his wife, Makenna, were married in November 2020 and moved back to Luverne from Volga, South Dakota, in February 2021 to be closer to family.
“Three years ago, I graduated from SDSU with a completely different mindset on where I was going to go and what I was going to do in life,” Colby said.
“I went to school for wildlife and fisheries sciences, and I spent every summer in college working for the game, fish and parks and networking through them.”
Colby started working full time with Den Herder Construction when they got to Luverne, and Makenna, who has a sociology degree, worked as a mental health case worker in Sioux Falls.
In October of 2021, they found out they were expecting Emmett, around the time Den Herders began talking about an ownership change.
Entrepreneurial spirit
At 12 years old, Colby operated Den Herder Lawn Care with his 11-year-old brother, Cayd. They bought the business from their older brothers, Tyler and Trevor Den Herder.
“We had a lawn mowing trailer hooked to a riding lawn mower,” he recalled. “Doing the bookwork was actually my favorite thing. I got mad at my brother when I couldn’t read the invoices … his handwriting was so bad.”
Today Colby is building on past experiences to start a new career with his dad and wife.
“We are extremely excited about this new chapter in our lives and thank God for every twist and turn that brought us here,” he said. “This is without a doubt what was meant to happen for our family.”
Nearly 50 years of pounding nails
Den Herder Construction has roots in Luverne dating back to 1973 when Jim worked for local contractor John DeGroot.
“I was a sophomore in high school,” he recalled, doing the math. “I’ve been pounding nails for almost 50 years.”
Cal also started pounding nails when he was 16 going to work for Case Feikema, who also hired Jim around 1976.
Cal started on his own in 1985, and by 1988 the brothers joined forces on Den Herder Construction.
They said the construction market has changed dramatically since those early years.
“Back then, if someone called about rotten boards under a toilet, I’d tell them I could probably be there in two hours,” Cal said.
“Now if I get a call like that, I can probably make it in the year 2025. That’s a big difference. There’s a shortage of trades people.”
Jim said, “It’s important to find kids when they’re young and train them in trades.”
They both said there is job security in construction.
“There’s always a need for housing; that doesn’t go away,” Cal said. “Whether it’s low end or high end. Whether it’s new or remodel. People will always need shelter.”
Good workers, good customers
Den Herder Construction has seven full- and part-time employees counting Jim, Cal, Colby and Makenna. The crew grows to more than a dozen in the busy summer months.
Among the longtime employees are Aaron Van Dyken, Conner Redman, Wayne Ahrens, Kenny Clark and Marv Hoogland.
“We’ve had a lot of good help through the years who have helped us build the business,” Deb said.
“We’re very thankful for all the customers we’ve had in the past and friendships that have been made through working with people.”
Jim and Cal said they’re grateful for community support. “We’ve been blessed with good customers,” Jim said. “We’ve done a lot of work in the area and Luverne’s been good to us.”
Next chapter
Jim said he goes home at the end of the day and no longer works on paperwork and phone calls, but that doesn’t make it easy to let go.
“It’s bittersweet,” he said. “We raised this baby for 35 years and all of a sudden, we’re letting it go.”
Deb said, “But we’re letting it go to good people. We feel that Colby and Makenna and Cal will keep the quality of the business very high.”
The young couple now look to keep the business strong for the next generation of Den Herders.
“We are thrilled to have acquired a business that has been built up with many years of hard work and a strong reputation of excellence,” Makenna said.
Colby said, “We aim to continue serving our amazing employees, customers, and community moving forward as the new co-owners of Den Herder Construction Inc.”
The company can be reached at denherderconstruction@gmail.com.