Mitchell Tech celebrates a decade of Build Dakota Scholarship success with Mike Rowe visit

MITCHELL — Mike Rowe paused to grab some coffee in the student lounge Thursday afternoon during his tour of Mitchell Technical College.

The television star and longtime skilled trade advocate was on campus as part of a whirlwind tour of South Dakota’s four technical colleges to recognize and celebrate 10 years of the Build Dakota Scholarship program. He had just gotten a firsthand look at several of Mitchell Tech’s program departments.

And he liked what he saw.

The Build Dakota Scholarship Program was developed and implemented through the work of many South Dakota Hall of Fame Inductees.

Rowe praised state and local leadership for making the program a reality. State-level leaders like former Gov. Dennis Daugaard worked with the state legislature to match an initial $25 million investment in the idea from T. Denny Sanford to kick off the program.

Industry partners and local-level leaders, like Dick Muth, a Mitchell Tech grad and booster who founded Muth Electric, which has sponsored many Build Dakota scholars, and a member of the South Dakota Hall of Fame, have lent crucial support. Rowe said the program wouldn’t exist without their forward thinking.

Via The Mitchell Republic