Shakopee Mdewakanton Offering $300,000 in Public Safety Grants

The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community (SMSC) announced today that it will make up to $300,000 in grants in 2015 to improve public safety in Minnesota. Agencies located anywhere in the state are invited to apply by March 23, 2015.

To be eligible, an applicant must be a governmental organization or agency in the state of Minnesota, a federally recognized Native American tribe in Minnesota, or a non-governmental organization that is a charitable organization under applicable federal and state laws and is applying in cooperation with an eligible governmental body.

Eligible projects must result in improvements in any of the following categories:

· Communications and/or radio equipment

· Training

· Construction

· Extrication

· Hazardous materials

· Medical aid and/or medical equipment

· Fire-related training and equipment

· Rescue

· Vehicle conversions

· Vehicle acquisitions

The SMSC has not set a minimum or maximum for grant requests within the $300,000 available, but applicants must be prepared to fulfill a required 20% match on each grant (either in cash or in kind). All funded projects must also be substantially complete by December 31, 2015.

Public safety as a priority

“As a Community, the SMSC understands how important safety and emergency response capabilities are to our residents and visitors,” said SMSC Chairman Charlie Vig. “We want to focus special attention this year on what we can to do to help other Minnesota communities be as ready as possible to respond to people in need.”

The SMSC’s full-time fire and ambulance department, Mdewakanton Public Safety, has a 30-member staff that serves Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community members and enterprises in a seven-square-mile area. It also responds to mutual aid calls from Prior Lake, Shakopee, and other neighboring communities.

Applications and timeline

The SMSC has opened the grant application process online at www.shakopeedakota.org, with a March 23 deadline. A committee and the SMSC Business Council will then review the applications. Grant recipients will be announced on April 20.