With great pleasure, South Dakota hosted Tammye Trevino, USDA Rural Development’s Administrator for Housing and Community Facilities, as she began the Agency’s Homeownership Month tour in Sisseton, S.D. Her news about USDA’s initiatives and welcoming spirit of collaboration and forward-thinking were very encouraging and much appreciated by all!
Ms. Treviño’s began her trip with a visit with long-standing partners, Grow South Dakota, and recognition of a USDA-financed homebuyer, Robin Weinkauf. She continued with a tour of the Sisseton-Wahpeton Reservation seeing first-hand, the excellent progress and impact USDA-financed homes and projects are making in our area.
What was once a vision of Tribal leadership, the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate Administration Building, currently under construction, is becoming reality! With project completion expected in August 2013, the building will create efficiencies and provide economic stability by replacing 26 office sites into a single service center. Over time, this new facility is expected to pay for itself as a result of the energy efficiencies included in the project design.
While here, Administrator Treviño also addressed attendees at the Sisseton Whapeton Oyate Housing Fair and hosted a StrikeForce Roundtable for interested community members in support of USDA’s recent expansion of the StrikeForce initiative in South Dakota. The goal of StrikeForce is to increase partnerships with rural communities and leverage resources in targeted, persistent poverty areas. Topics of discussion included Federal regulatory guidelines preventing the Tribe from pursuing business practices related to the raising of buffalo on tribal property and how can a market for specialty and home grown crops be created.
June is National Homeownership Month. To find out more about how USDA programs can help you achieve your homeownership goal click here.
