South Dakota
Nearly all grant money from state’s $200M housing fund is awarded; loan money remains • South Dakota Searchlight
A state board has awarded nearly all of the grant funding for the state’s Housing Infrastructure Financing Program, while much of the program’s loan money remains available.
The program uses a mix of state and federal money to ease the burden of high inflation for homebuilders and address a need for workforce housing. Lawmakers created the program in 2023, after legal wrangling held up the funds the previous year. It covers up to one-third of the cost of a development’s roads, sewer lines, street lights and other costs associated with building new neighborhoods.
The funding pool included $50 million in federal COVID relief funding for grants, $50 million in state funding for grants, and $100 million in state funding for loans.
There are just over $1 million in remaining grant funds designated for Sioux Falls and Rapid City projects, but that’s due to interest income rather than the original allotted amount of funding, said Chas Olson, executive director of the state Housing Development Authority. Two applications for projects in those cities are on the waiting list for the remaining funds, one of which will be considered at the next board meeting.
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The authority’s board awarded other returned and remaining grant funds to three projects at its Oct. 17 meeting.
“We’ve had a couple projects on the waiting list in the event that additional funds become available,” Amy Eldridge, director of rental housing development, told board members.
The board approved additional grant funding for Alpha Omega Subdivision in Box Elder, which was approved in September 2023 for over $3 million in grant funding. Due to an increase of $3.5 million in construction project costs, the project was awarded an additional $520,873 in grant funding.
Another $107,340 in grant funds were awarded to a housing project planned by the Pierre Economic Development Corporation, since its original project increased in costs by $322,000.
The remainder of the grant funding was awarded to a new project: River Park in Brandon, to develop infrastructure for 174 units of multi-family housing and 265 single-family homes. The board approved grant funding of $3 million, and $3.6 million in loan funding for the project.
If any other grant funding is returned from other projects, River Park could receive that funding for its $19 million project.
That’s because the authority has to spend all of its federal funds, allocated from the American Rescue Plan Act, by the end of 2026 or return them to the federal government, Eldridge told board members.
The board also approved $96,613 in loan funding for the Huron Cul-De-Sac, which was approved for $269,667 in grant funding in November 2023. Project costs increased by $289,836 since then.
About $87 million in loan funds remains available, with around $29.3 million earmarked for Sioux Falls and Rapid City and the remaining balance flagged for the rest of the state. The board has awarded about $18 million in loans to 12 projects so far. The loan funds have grown with interest earned since they were established.
With 70 infrastructure projects in motion due to program funding – an estimated 12,000 new housing units statewide – developers and contractors are less interested in loan funds right now, Olson said. There is also anticipation that lower interest rates will come along from banks.
“As a result, contractors are occupied, and developers without ongoing projects might be waiting to see how quickly these new units are absorbed,” Olson said.
Projects that returned funding to the board
Seven projects that were awarded grant and loan funds returned some amount of funding to the board, totaling $1.65 million in grants and $2.17 million in loans. All of the returned grant funding was re-allocated at the Oct. 17 meeting.
Projects stalled and not proceeding:
- City Springs – Vanocker Heights (Sturgis): $2,140,000 loan funds returned
- Stanley Township (Fort Pierre): $705,000 ARPA grant funds returned
- Rustler Lot (Miller): $178,790 general grant funds returned
- Stardust Subdivision (Mitchell): $567,568 ARPA grant funds returned
Projects that came in under budget:
- Freedom Estates (Box Elder): $184,799 general grant funds returned
- Kangas West Addition (Lake Norden): $14,513 general grant funds returned
- Liberty Park Phase 4 (Box Elder): $29,124 loan funds returned
RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) – Students at South Dakota Mines heard Wednesday from retired four-star general Maryanne Miller about her journey to the highest ranks of the U.S. military.
Miller is a retired four-star U.S. Air Force general. She is the only member of the Air Force Reserve ever to be promoted to this level.
She spoke about finding greatness and living a life of fulfillment. Her stories came from her time in the Air Force and as a volunteer for Saint Teresa of Calcutta’s Missionaries of Charity.
“We so much get focused on what is our next step in life, what’s the next career move, how do we make ourselves better in our career, and we forget about how do we make ourselves better as a human being,” Miller said. “Because they have to go tandem. If it’s not tandem, you’re going to get off track.”
Miller was commissioned in 1981 and rose through the ranks before becoming a four-star general in 2018. She was the only woman serving as a four-star officer in the military at the time. She retired in 2020 after serving for almost 40 years.
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Copyright 2026 KOTA. All rights reserved.
South Dakota
USDA to offer distaster assistance to South Dakota agriculture producers impacted by winter storms
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) – The U.S. Department of Agriculture is offering financial and technical assistance to South Dakota farmers and livestock producers who may have been impacted by the recent winter storms.
“I encourage impacted producers to contact their local USDA Service Center to report losses and learn more about program options available to assist in their recovery from crop, land, infrastructure, and livestock losses and damages.” said Richard Fordyce, Production and Conservation Under Secretary.
FSA’s Emergency Conservation Program and Emergency Forest Restoration Program can assist landowners with financial assistance to restore damaged land and conservation structures or forests.
“Our staff will work one-on-one with landowners to make assessments of the damages and develop methods that focus on effective recovery of the land.” said Jessica Michalski, Acting NRCS State Conservationist in South Dakota.
For more information about the disaster assistance program, click here.
Copyright 2026 Dakota News Now. All rights reserved.
South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden, left, and Lt. Gov. Tony Venhuizen unveil a plaque for retired U.S. Navy Capt. E. Royce Williams in the Hall of Honor at the Capitol in Pierre on March 25, 2026. (Photo by Meghan O’Brien/South Dakota Searchlight)
PIERRE, S.D. (South Dakota Searchlight) — There’s a new name in the South Dakota Hall of Honor at the state Capitol building.
One-hundred-year-old South Dakota native and retired U.S. Navy Capt. E. Royce Williams was celebrated at a Wednesday ceremony where a plaque honoring him was unveiled, although Williams did not attend.
“In spite of being outnumbered and facing incredible danger, Captain Williams engaged the enemy with courage and skill,” said Republican Gov. Larry Rhoden. “Our state has always had a strong tradition of service, and Captain Williams is the very best of that tradition.”
President Donald Trump awarded Williams the Medal of Honor, the country’s highest military honor, at the State of the Union address earlier this year. The medal honors actions by Williams that had been classified for decades.
“His story was secret for over 50 years, he didn’t even want to tell his wife, but the legend grew and grew,” Trump said during the speech in February. “But tonight, at 100 years old, this brave Navy captain is finally getting the recognition he deserves.”
On Nov. 18, 1952, over Korean coastal waters during the Korean War, then-Lt. Williams, from Wilmot, South Dakota, led three F9F Panthers against seven Soviet MiG-15s. He disabled three enemy jets and damaged a fourth.
The Soviet jets, according to the U.S. Naval Institute, were “superior to the F9F in almost every fashion.” The mission was the only direct overwater combat between U.S. Navy fighters and Soviet fighters during the Cold War.
Williams, one of 11 Medal of Honor recipients from South Dakota, now lives in California. The Hall of Honor at the South Dakota Capitol is located in the hallway that visitors enter immediately after going through security.
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