The ground breaking ceremony for the Dakota Events complex was moved indoors to the Nordby Exhibit hall on Thursday at the SD State Fair. Hunter Roberts, secretary of the DANR, spoke about the work to get ready to construct the DEX following the fire that destroyed the beef barn last year.
DANR secretary Hunter Roberts
The chairman of the fundraising committee for the DEX, former Senator Jim White took time to thank the many donors that helped to reach the fundraising goal.
One time money from the state in amount of 12 million dollars was approved by the 2021 state legislature to help fund construction. Many legislators were on hand at the event. Lt governor Larry Rhoden spoke about other ceremonies Thursday on the fairgrounds.
The DEX construction will begin sometime after the fair and is now scheduled to be available for the 2023 SD State Fair.