South Dakota Counties Receive Communications Grants

The South Dakota Office of Homeland Security recently announced it's distributing more than $4.8 million to 49 counties throughout the state. The counties will use the grant dollars to purchase interoperable radio communication equipment.

"The equipment provides first-responders from different agencies and jurisdictions the ability to communicate with each other statewide," said John Berheim, South Dakota Office of Homeland Security director.

"This might not sound like a big deal. However, during any incident, the ability to communicate with all involved is the key to an efficient and successful response."

The Office of Homeland Security will reimburse the participating counties for 80% of the equipment purchased. The counties are responsible for the remaining 20%.

The counties participating in this grant program are Aurora, Beadle, Bon Homme, Brule, Buffalo, Butte, Campbell, Charles Mix, Clark, Clay, Codington, Corson, Custer, Deuel, Dewey, Douglas, Edmunds, Faulk, Grant, Haakon, Hand, Hanson, Harding, Hughes, Hutchinson, Jones, Kingsbury, Lake, Lawrence, Lyman, McCook, McPherson, Meade, Miner, Minnehaha, Moody, Pennington, Perkins, Potter, Roberts, Spink, Stanley, Sully Tripp, Turner, Union, Walworth, Yankton, and Ziebach.