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South Dakota: Local Resources

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South Dakota Office of Emergency Management

The Office of Emergency Management protects residents and property from natural, man-made, and technological disasters across the full cycle of preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation.

Where to find it: South Dakota Department of Public Safety.

SDSU Extension: Master Gardener Volunteer Program

South Dakota State University Extension runs the same category of program as every other state covered on this site.

  • SDSU Extension Master Gardener Volunteer Program: develops gardening enthusiasts into research-based volunteer educators; maintaining certification requires 20 hours of service and 10 hours of continuing training annually.

Where to find it: extension.sdstate.edu.

CERT: Pennington County’s program covers Rapid City and several neighboring counties

Pennington County, home to Rapid City and the site of the 1972 Black Hills flood, runs one of South Dakota’s most established CERT programs: a 7-week course (6 weeks of instruction plus a week-7 simulated exercise), open to adults and teens 15+, twice yearly. Residents of neighboring Custer, Lawrence, Meade, and Fall River counties are also welcome to attend.

A regional hub, not full statewide coverage

Pennington County’s CERT program extends its reach to several neighboring counties, a genuinely regional model, but residents elsewhere in South Dakota should still check for a closer program rather than assuming Pennington County’s classes are the only option or cover the whole state.

Where to find it: pennco.org/cert.

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