infrastructure

An apartment building under construction on June 13, 2023, in eastern Rapid City. (Seth Tupper/South Dakota Searchlight)

Seven housing projects get boost from long-delayed infrastructure program

BY: - September 12, 2023

A state board signed off Monday on the first grant dollars from a $200 million housing infrastructure program that had been mired in controversy through two state legislative sessions. Box Elder was the big winner at the September meeting of the South Dakota Housing Development Authority, at which seven applications for infrastructure grants were reviewed […]

Chamberlain City Administrator Clint Soulek, left, shakes hands with U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg on Sept. 11, 2023, at the Chamberlain Municipal Airport. (Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight)

Biden administration ‘making it happen’ on infrastructure, Buttigieg says in SD

BY: - September 11, 2023

CHAMBERLAIN — After the previous presidential administration talked about addressing the country’s infrastructure, “We’re actually making it happen,” said U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg on Monday in South Dakota. Buttigieg is on a two-day tour of the state to spotlight federal investments in infrastructure. His first stop was the Chamberlain Municipal Airport, which recently […]

The South Dakota Department of Transportation works on the Pfc. Frederick Farlee Memorial Bridge on U.S. Highway 212, 1 mile west of Lantry, on June 2, 2023. The bridge is state-owned, though it is located in Dewey County. (Photo courtesy of Steven Jacobs, SDDOT)

Higher taxes and fees fix hundreds of bridges, but some local governments don’t participate

BY: - August 18, 2023

In 2015, nearly 25% of locally owned bridges in South Dakota were in poor condition. Eight years later, more than $142 million in taxpayer funding has been spent on 500 local bridge improvement grants through a state program. As of 2022, the number of locally owned bridges in poor condition had decreased by 46 while […]

Construction workers smooth tar as they pave a road on Oct. 5, 2018, in San Francisco, California. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

$14 million headed to SD as White House awards $2.2B in transportation grants

BY: - June 28, 2023

The U.S. Department of Transportation will send more than $2.2 billion in grants to state, tribal and local governments under a grant program that was expanded under the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law. The $2.26 billion for 162 projects provides funds for each of the 50 states, two territories and the District of Columbia. It is […]

An apartment building under construction on June 13, 2023, in eastern Rapid City. (Seth Tupper/South Dakota Searchlight)

Tribes still face uphill slog for housing infrastructure funding after passage of rules

BY: - June 13, 2023

South Dakota’s tribes may lose out on a quarter of a $200 million pool of workforce housing infrastructure money before lawmakers can pass a bill giving them access to the funds. The Legislature’s Rules Review Committee voted 5-1 Tuesday to give final approval to the rules for the program. But a wrinkle in the law […]

Houses under construction. (Getty Images)

Housing cash one step closer for South Dakota builders

BY: - May 31, 2023

The rules for a $200 million infrastructure funding program are headed to lawmakers for a final sign-off. The board of the South Dakota Housing Development Authority voted unanimously to approve its rules for the program on Wednesday after about an hour of public comments from local economic development offices, attorneys, home builders and others. Commenters […]

Houses in a new development on Oct. 28, 2022, in Harrisburg. (John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight)

For-profit businesses in, tribes out in housing infrastructure rules update

BY: - May 30, 2023

For-profit entities might have a shot at some of the $200 million in housing infrastructure funding, the Housing Development Authority’s board members learned on Tuesday. Tribal entities, however, likely won’t be eligible unless the Legislature rewrites the law next year. Those two changes to the proposed rules of the long-delayed workforce housing incentive program came […]

Houses under construction. (Getty Images)

$200 million in housing infrastructure funding likely to lie dormant for a second year

BY: - April 20, 2023

A $200 million pool of housing infrastructure funding will likely go unspent for another construction season, despite efforts by lawmakers to push the money out in 2023. The interim director of the South Dakota Housing Development Authority broke that news to the Legislature’s Executive Board Thursday during its first meeting since the end of the […]

Workers with East Bay Municipal Utility District install new water pipe on April 22, 2021, in Oakland, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

White House launches new push to help states remove lead pipes that carry drinking water

BY: - January 27, 2023

WASHINGTON — The White House on Friday announced plans to speed up the use of infrastructure law funds to replace lead pipes in underserved communities, with a focus on Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin beginning this year. The four states, each led by Democratic governors, will be part of what’s called the Lead Service […]

Houses in a new development on Oct. 28, 2022, in Harrisburg. (John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight)

Infrastructure bill resists attempts to quash it in House of Representatives

BY: - January 23, 2023

PIERRE – The House of Representatives sent a $200 million infrastructure bill to Gov. Kristi Noem’s desk on Monday with a hard-won 54-16 vote. Senate Bill 41 is a fix to 2022 bill that sought to send infrastructure funds to developers to help fill gaps in workforce housing. The agency deemed responsible for dispersing the […]

Deadwood, SD. (Courtesy of Travel South Dakota)

Housing for small towns, reservation school teachers hit by infrastructure hold-up

BY: - January 18, 2023

Teachers in Pine Ridge, workers in Deadwood and students in Madison were among those waiting longer for a place to stay because of a hold-up in workforce housing money last year. “Our members are waiting for these funds,” Denise Hanzlik of the South Dakota Multi-Housing Association told lawmakers. “We’ve lost one construction season already.” The […]

Photo of the MIssouri River in Chamberlain South Dakota (John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight)

Western SD needs more water. Could a $2B Missouri River pipeline be a solution?

BY: - November 11, 2022

The western side of Pennington County doesn’t have enough water to last through an extended drought, according to a 2019 study by the South Dakota School of Mines. The region, which includes Rapid City, relies on ground and surface water to supply its city populations, commercial districts and agricultural needs. But given the increase in […]