A South Dakota board approved a total of $481,199 in state loans and grants Wednesday for businesses in Rapid City and De Smet.
The Board of Economic Development approved a $300,000 loan for Chemistry Distilling, a Rapid City company founded in 2024. The money will help the company purchase and renovate an industrial facility to manufacture and store high-purity ethanol.
The company’s Sam Papendick said in a statement to South Dakota Searchlight that Chemistry Distilling is taking existing ethanol and putting it through an additional purification process to “remove trace impurities and water to produce very high-purity, 200-proof ethanol that can meet specifications for higher-value markets.”
Papendick said those markets include pharmaceutical and laboratory applications, food and flavor processing, personal care products, extraction and other specialty chemical uses.
“We also have a beverage side of the business, where high-purity neutral spirits can become the base for products like vodka and other distilled beverages,” he said in the statement.
The loan comes from the SD Works Program, which provides low-interest financing for eligible business projects. The Governor’s Office of Economic Development said the project is expected to create seven full-time jobs over five years.
Dakota Evergreen received a $90,000 loan from the same program to purchase a chiropractic clinic in De Smet. The loan is expected to help retain four full-time jobs and keep the clinic operating. A press release from the Governor’s Office of Economic Development said it is the only chiropractic provider in a 35-mile radius.
“These projects strengthen local communities, support good-paying jobs, and build a strong, diverse economy that is ‘Open for Opportunity,’” said Gov. Larry Rhoden in the release.
The board also approved a grant of up to $91,199 through the South Dakota Jobs Program for Innovative Materials & Processes to expand its Rapid City operation with a new building and manufacturing and warehouse equipment. The jobs program provides grants tied to qualifying business investments and job creation.
The defense contractor and research firm was founded in 1999, and researches and manufactures explosives, pyrotechnics and more for the U.S. Army and Navy. The state release said the expansion is expected to create 18 to 24 jobs.
Originally published on southdakotasearchlight.com, part of the BLOX Digital Content Exchange.
Please disable your ad blocker, whitelist our site, or purchase a subscription
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.