Saturday,  May 24, 2014 • Vol. 16--No. 310 • 16 of 29

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South Dakota has helped people with moderate income find housing and cover other needs, such as homelessness prevention, down payment assistance and rehabilitation of old properties.
• "It's a nice opportunity to address the housing issues that we've seen through the years," Polak said. "Since it's not federal funds, we do have more flexibility."
• WORKFORCE EDUCATION FUND
• South Dakota schools will use $2.1 million from Building South Dakota on programs for English language learners in this first year. Department of Education officials expect to use $2 million next year.
• Much of the money goes to schools in Sioux Falls and Aberdeen. The Huron School District has also seen an influx of students with limited English proficiency.
• Beginning in 2015, the department will likely expand the use of this bucket and begin distributing grants to career and technical education programs and send additional funds directly to schools.
• REDI FUND
• The Revolving Economic Development Initiative has been active since the 1980s. It receives a boost now of 5 percent from the Building South Dakota distribution for projects under $20 million. Board members award low-interest loans to startup companies and expanding businesses to promote job creation.
• LOCAL INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENT GRANT FUND
• Just over $1.1 million has gone to six local projects, according to public records from the Board of Economic Development. The fund is managed by the same board as REDI and economic development partnership funds.
• ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PARTNERSHIP FUND
• The fund is dedicated to local development corporations that often operate on volunteer power, said Travis Dovre, assistant finance director for the Governor's Office of Economic Development.
• The fund made about $630,000 in awards to 12 entities in its first year.
• Yankton Rep. Bernie Hunhoff, the Democrat Minority Leader said some of his constituents have been frustrated at how slowly this fund has developed, which Dovre acknowledged.
• "Nobody wanted to come out and define some hard and fast parameters before we saw the applications," he said.
• Though the Building South Dakota program is a "landmark" project, Hunhoff said he hopes to refigure the program's future funding before the first $30 million is distributed over the next three years.
• During the session, he and other Democrats said they want to ensure future funding with a simple formula, while Republicans developed a more complicated

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