RAPID CITY, SD — Larry Rhoden announced that he would be providing Western Dakota Tech with $4 million dollars from the gubernatorial Future Fund during a visit to Western Dakota Tech on Tuesday. This fund will go toward the purchase of the Colorado School Of Trades, a gunsmithing-focused trade school, whose curriculum and assets will be transferred to WDT.

“I think this is the perfect location for The gunsmithing school,” said Rhoden, who throughout remarks touted South Dakota’s support of the right to bare arms, “As other states have taken away second amendment rights, South Dakota said not here”.

The grant comes immediately following another donation last week toward the formation of the South Dakota Defense Institute, an organization formed in part with military industrial complex mainstay Northrop Grumman, and appears to be setting a trend painting Rhoden as a pro-military and pro-firearm governor. 

When asked about criticism levied primarily by opponents Toby Doeden and State Rep. John Hansen regarding his use of the future fund as a campaigning tool, Rhoden called the notion “Ridiculous” saying, “This is picture perfect for applying Future Funds. What are we doing? We’re investing in an industry that will enhance our vision for the entire state. I think this is a textbook picture perfect use for a future fund”.

So why does a Colorado-based school want to come to South Dakota? According to the Colorado Schools’ President, Ryan Lishner, it was mainly based in legislation differences between states. Lishner reported that in the past several years increasingly strict firearms regulations passed in Colorado were “starting to impede what firearms dealers and firearms manufacturers can do, and that’s getting to where it’s impacting our educational process”. Lishner is hopeful that South Dakota will be a more supportive environment for the industry.

The Colorado School Of Trades was founded in 1947 and is a 14-month program training tradespersons in firearm manufacturing and maintenance.