ABOUT SOUTH DAKOTA: COUNTY OF THE MONTH

Largest City: Britton

County Seat: Britton

Population: 4,576

Founded: 1885

About Marshall County:

Marshall County was founded in 1885, four years before South Dakota gained statehood. People arrived by train and used horses, wagons or even walked to the land that they wanted to settle.

Britton was picked as the temporary county seat because city promoters agreed to furnish free rooms to county officials for two years.

After a few elections, the Marshall County Courthouse was built and Britton became the official county seat.

Marshall County is known as the Gateway to the Glacial Lakes of Northeastern South Dakota. Several lakes in the county provide residents and visitors with the opportunity for fishing, boating, camping and swimming. The large population of turkey, deer and waterfowl make the county a popular destination for hunters.

Five cities and 25 townships make up Marshall County. Although Britton is the county seat, other communities incude: Eden, Lake City, Langford and Veblen.

Some of the places to visit in Marshall County are: Fort Sisseton State Park, Sica Hollow State Park, Nicollet Tower and Prairie Sky Guest & Game Ranch.

Tim's Work for Marshall County:

Britton Railroad Repair:

As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Tim is able to help secure funds for important projects throughout South Dakota. Tim helped to ensure that $650,000 was included in the 2003 Transportation Appropriations Bill to repair and upgrade the railroad line that runs between Aberdeen and Genesco, North Dakota, through Marshall County. This railroad line is extremely important to the transportation of grain in the region.

Funding for Local Fire Departments:

Tim is an ardent supporter of the Assistance to Firefighters Grant program that awards grants to small fire departments to help them serve their local communities. In recent years, the Sunset Fire Department and the North Marshall Fire Department, both in Britton, have received federal funding through this program, which is administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). In 2002, Tim helped the Sunset Fire Department get a $31,429 grant. The North Marshall Fire Department received an $88,862 grant in 2003, which followed a $2,895 grant in 2001 for protective equipment. Tim has worked in Congress to alleviate proposed cuts to the program.

Supporting Rural Education

Rural education has always been an important priority for Tim. In 2002, Tim announced that the Britton-Hecla School District was one of the 177 school districts in South Dakota that would share $1.53 million in grant funding under the Small Rural Schools Achievement Program.

In 2000, Tim announced a total of $1,787,375 in Health and Human Services (HHS) grants to Northeast South Dakota Head Start, whose service area includes Marshall County. Head Start programs are designed to provide all children with the opportunity to start their learning process before entering school. The programs provide educational services for young children, as well as resources, training and support for parents. Tim has long been a supporter of Head Start and believes that it can truly make a difference for the children and parents involved in the program.

Strengthening Infrastructure

Tim secured $1 million in the 2003 VA-HUD Appropriations Bill to expand BDM (Brown-Day-Marshall) Rural Water to the Sisseton-Wahpeton Sioux Tribe located in Roberts County. This funding followed a previous grant of $2.41 million and loan of $1.4 million to expand BDM Rural Water to other areas of Roberts County. Marshall County is an integral part of BDM Rural Water, which is headquartered in Britton. Rural water systems provide the necessary infrastructure to the economic development of a region