shop online at www.missourivalleyshopper.com August 29, 2017 • Page 9 USDA Invests In Rural Electric Infrastructure WASHINGTON – Assistant to the Secretary for Rural Development Anne Hazlett has announced that USDA is providing loans to help cooperatives and utilities in 10 states improve and expand rural electric infrastructure. “Investing in electric infrastructure is critical to the success of businesses, residents and farmers in our small towns and rural areas,” Hazlett said. “These loans will help provide reliable electricity to rural areas in more efficient and sustainable ways than ever before.” The loans are being provided through USDA Rural Development’s Electric Program. They will support the construction and improvement of nearly 1,200 miles of transmission and distribution line in rural parts of Idaho, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Virginia and Wyoming. Electric Program loans can make a significant difference in rural areas. In 2015, for example, the Jackson Electric Membership Corporation in Jefferson, Georgia, used a $140 million loan to facilitate the expansion of the Kubota Manufacturing Plant of America’s facility in Gainesville, Georgia. The improve- ments that USDA financed for Jackson’s Hagan Creek substation brought 650 jobs to Hall County. Kubota makes lawn and garden mowers and tractors, and tractor implements such as backhoes and front loaders. In 2014, North Carolina’s Roanoke Electric Membership Corporation used a $6 million loan to help its customers make energy efficiency improvements. The customers reduced their energy usage by 20 percent on average. USDA is providing more than $200 million in infrastructure loans in today’s announcement. This includes $12 million for smart grid technologies. Smart grid increases the reliability and efficiency of electric power by helping utilities better manage power needs and supply and improve operational efficiencies. It includes metering, substation automation, computer applications, two-way communications, geospatial information systems and other improvements. The loan recipients in South Dakota are: • Butte Electric Cooperative – $12 million to build and improve 154 miles of line and make other system improvements. The loan includes $83,719 for smart grid projects. • Oahe Electric Cooperative – $5.9 million to build and improve 47 miles of line and make other system improvements. The loan includes $128,046 for smart grid projects. • H-D Electric Cooperative – $3.6 million to build a new headquarters facility, including an office and warehouse to better serve members in South Dakota and Minnesota. USDA’s Electric Program is the successor to the Rural Electrification Administration. It makes loans and loan guarantees to nonprofit and cooperative associations, public bodies and other utilities to help finance the construction of electric distribution and generation facilities in rural areas. USDA Rural Development provides loans and grants to help expand economic opportunities and create jobs in rural areas. This assistance supports infrastructure improvements; business development; homeownership; community services such as schools, public safety and health care; and highspeed internet access in rural areas. For more information, visit www. rd.usda.gov. State Treasurer To Return to State Fair The State Treasurer’s Unclaimed Property Division will set up a booth at State Fair to return unclaimed property to the rightful owners. They will be located in the Expo Building on the fairgrounds from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Aug. 31 through Sept. 3, and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 4. Unclaimed property refers to accounts in financial institutions, businesses and government agencies that have had no activity for three years or longer. Currently, the Unclaimed Property Division is holding over $379 million in unclaimed funds. This year alone we have already given back over $27 million. The state holds the money in a custodial capacity until the money can be returned to the rightful owners. “Our goal is to put money back into the hands of South Dakotans,” Treasurer Rich Sattgast said. “That money ultimately makes its way into our economy which is good for our state.” To check for unclaimed property, visit www.sdtreasurer. gov or call the unclaimed property hotline at 1-866-357-2547 to talk to an unclaimed property representative directly. YOUR VOICE WILL BE HEARD MV Shopper MV Shopper M I S S O U R I VA L L E Y Beacom College At DSU A Step Forward For South Dakota By Gov. Dennis Daugaard South Dakota is full of “hidden gems.” One secret we’ve kept too well is Dakota State University. DSU is one of the nation’s leading schools for cybersecurity, and it is rising to a new level of excellence. Earlier this month, I went to Madison for a ribbon cutting for the Beacom Institute of Technology. This new facility at Dakota State was built through the generosity of Miles and Lisa Beacom and T. Denny Sanford, and it will house several of DSU’s cutting-edge programs. The day brought another surprise, however: a second gift from Sanford and the Beacoms. Their surprise $30 million pledge will newly name the Beacom College of Computer and Cyber Sciences. The state will contribute an additional $10 million, and DSU has agreed to leverage the gift for $20 million in federal support. All told, this will create a $60 million impact on DSU. The Beacom College will build on Dakota State’s record of excellence. DSU already holds four prestigious Center of Excellence designations from the National Security Agency and the Department of Homeland Security, including the most technical (for Cyber Operations) and the most prestigious (as a Cyber Defense Consultative Regional Resource Center). Dakota State is one of only four universities in the nation to have this latter distinction – and one of only two universities in the country with four or more designations. Now Beacom College at DSU will rise to a new level. With this new gift, the university will break ground next spring on “MadLabs,” a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility that allows students and faculty to work upon confidential and proprietary information without leaving campus. This significant gift will also fund student scholarships and support for additional faculty and staff. South Dakota’s young people, and their parents, need to know that they do not need to leave our state to receive a world-class education in the high-need, high-tech fields of computer and cyber sciences. U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds, who is the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, played an important role in planning for last Sunday’s surprise. As he explained that day, cybersecurity is perhaps the most significant national security issue facing our nation, and these skills are in high demand in government and in the private sector. The Beacom College will create new opportunities for our young people, and new employers will be attracted to hire employees with old-fashioned South Dakota work ethic combined with world-class cybersecurity training. It was over 30 years ago that Gov. Bill Janklow proposed converting Dakota State from a normal school to a “computer school.” It was a visionary change to make in 1984. Now, the Beacom College of Computer and Cyber Sciences is taking another huge step forward, thanks to the vision of Denny Sanford, Miles and Lisa Beacom, Dakota State President José-Marie Griffiths, and many other South Dakota leaders. It’s time we set aside our South Dakota humility, and express our pride about this “hidden gem.” Buy • Sell • Trade Quality... 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