(St. Paul, MN) On Monday, Senator Bill Weber (R-Luverne) presented legislation to establish a Southwestern Minnesota Workforce Development Scholarship.

“In the Southwest corner of the state, we run into a problem where we face a lack of craftsmen and students staying in the region,” Senator Weber said. “Unfortunately, our communities face stiff competition from our neighbors to the west who are recruiting more and more of our talent. We need to compete. In collaboration with mayors from our region, we are going to make an effort to end the talent drain and keep more hard-working Minnesotans in our state.”

South Dakota currently offers the “Build Dakota” scholarship program offering students in high h-demand programs to earn their degrees for free at South Dakota technical colleges.

In enacted, Senator Weber’s legislation would develop and fund the program for scholarships for students at Minnesota West Colleges in Canby, Granite Falls, Pipestone, Worthington, Jackson, Luverne, and Marshall.