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Rounds: South Dakota Veterans Cemetery One Step Closer to Becoming Reality

Press Release

Date: Oct. 1, 2018
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Veterans

U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), a member of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, today announced that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has signed off on the South Dakota state cemetery grant application. During a phone call with VA Undersecretary Randy Reeves last week, Reeves told Rounds that this puts the South Dakota state cemetery application on the priority list for grant funding. A grant could be awarded as early as next year.

"The announcement that the VA has signed off on a South Dakota state cemetery grant application is great news for our veterans and their families," said Rounds. "As a member of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, this project has been a priority of mine, and I am happy to see it move forward. Once completed, this cemetery will not only serve as a final resting place for those who fought for our country, but it will be a place for all Americans to honor those who served. I thank the South Dakota Veterans Council, the South Dakota Department of Veterans Affairs and our local VSO chapters for their hard work on this important project."

South Dakota Veterans Cemetery: Background:

Efforts have been ongoing for years to construct a veterans cemetery in the Eastern part of South Dakota.
The estimated total cost is $6 million, with the federal government paying for most of the cost.
The state would pay approximately $600,000.
There are more than 40,000 veterans in Eastern South Dakota, with the only open national cemetery for veterans being in Sturgis.
Though military veterans can be buried anywhere they want, to get full benefits from the government their grave must be in a state or national cemetery.
This year, Governor Dennis Daugaard signed legislation to allow the state to apply to the National Cemetery Administration to construct a state veterans cemetery on land donated by the city of Sioux Falls.
It would also set up an endowment fund to help pay the upfront costs of construction and maintain the cemetery.


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