Earlier this week (Sept. 11, 2023), United States Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg visited South Dakota where he joined local and Tribal leaders to highlight recent federal investments in rural aviation, truck parking, Tribal infrastructure and highway safety.
Buttigieg says the projects were made possible by President Joe Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
Buttigieg started at Chamberlain where he met local and state officials at the Chamberlain Municipal Airport to see the progress on the construction progress of a new terminal funded by an $855,000 federal grant. He says Chamberlain’s airport serves as a location for things such as lifesaving Medivac operations, crop dusting and hunters coming to the area.
Buttigieg says transportation infrastructure is crucial regardless of community size.
Buttigieg says the Infrastructure Law is one area where Washington, DC, democrats and republicans are working together.
Buttigieg also met with leaders from the nine Sioux Tribes of South Dakota, along with leaders from the Great Plains Tribal Association, about the unique infrastructure challenges Tribal communities face. The U.S. Department of Transportation recently awarded the Standing Rock, Pine Ridge, Rosebud and Cheyenne River Sioux Tribes over $58 million through the RAISE and Rural discretionary grant programs to make needed roadway repairs and improvements.
Buttigieg says the Biden-Harris Administration is the first-ever Administration to fund truck parking projects.
The mobile home currently serves as the Chamberlain Airport’s main aviation terminal. This airport is crucial for the community as it allows for lifesaving Medivac operations, as well as activities that are crucial for the local economy like crop dusting and pheasant hunting.
Courtesy photo.
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