For years veterans and their families who live on the east end of South Dakota have complained that there is no national veteran’s cemetery in proximity to them where they could consider burying their loved ones.  The only South Dakota national veteran’s cemeteries are in Sturgis and Hot Springs on the far west end of the state.  Other national cemeteries that would fit for those in the eastern area of the state including the Sioux Falls area – which is the fastest growing part of the state – would be in Omaha, Nebraska and Minneapolis, Minnesota.

The South Dakota veteran’s council has procured a tentative $6 million grant from the National Cemetery Administration to cover the bulk of the proposed cemetery’s cost, however, the state must first have land for the cemetery and an idea of where the funds for maintaining the cemetery would come from.  Even with those questions being unanswered, Rep. Larry Zikmund of Sioux Falls and Sen. Jim Stalzer, also of Sioux Falls say that they will carry a bill supporting the construction of the cemetery.

The South Dakota Veteran’s Council, made up of six separate veterans groups has indicated that the cemetery will be their only priority during the legislative session in South Dakota that began on Tuesday.  The group is poised to ask for a $600,000 planning grant from the state government.  Complicating that request, however, will be the fact that the State of South Dakota is expected to enter the legislative session with a $34 million budget deficit.  You can read an article about the issue here.

Funeral Director Daily take:  I live and have operated a funeral home in west central Minnesota about midpoint between Minneapolis and Fargo.  For years the only national cemetery available to veterans from my community was Fort Snelling in the metropolitan Minneapolis-St. Paul market, about 135 miles away.  Several years ago our state legislature was successful in developing a State Veteran’s Cemetery at a National Guard Camp, Camp Ripley, near my community.  It has turned out to be a great success for those who would rather be buried in a cemetery closer to home.

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