DORGAN SECURES FUNDING FOR NASA, INDIAN LAW PROGRAMS AT UND

Thursday, June 19, 2008

CONTACT: Justin Kitsch
or  Brenden Timpe
PHONE: 202-224-2551

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) --- U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) announced Thursday he has secured $3.3 million in federal funding for projects at the University of North Dakota that will help expand educational opportunities and boost the Red River Valley Research Corridor.

Dorgan included $3 million in the Commerce, Justice and Science Appropriations bill to support research and educational programs at the Upper Midwest Aerospace Consortium (UMAC). The program uses data and research from NASA’s satellites and space program and makes it available to citizens in the Northern Great Plains for practical applications such as precision agriculture, land and soil management, and drought and flood mitigation.

The program has made about 800 aircraft and satellite images available for public use, and resulted in the production of the AgCam, which will be launched on a space shuttle for installation on the international space station.

“The work that is being done at UMAC is a textbook example of the ways we can use the Research Corridor to benefit our students and our economy in North Dakota,” Dorgan said. “It benefits not only our students and research industry in Grand Forks, but also our family farmers and ranchers around the state. This funding will help us continue this critically important project.”

Dorgan also secured $300,000 to support UND’s Native Americans Into Law program. A lack of Native Americans trained in law hampers the delivery of justice to a significant segment of American society.

The bill was approved today by the Senate Appropriations Committee. Dorgan is a member of the committee. A list of North Dakota projects in the bill is below.

Upper Midwest Aerospace Consortium
$3 million
This funding will be used for research and educational programs at the Upper Midwest Aerospace Consortium (UMAC). The program uses data and research from NASA’s satellites and space program and makes it available to citizens in the Northern Great Plains for practical applications such as precision agriculture, land and soil management, and drought and flood mitigation. About 800 satellite and aircraft images are publicly available to help provide a basis for management decisions.

Rural Methamphetamine Education Project at Minot State University
$500,000
This funding will be used by Minot State University (MSU) to help expand the reach of its successful methamphetamine research and educational training and awareness program by making its research and presentations available through the Internet and multimedia productions. In addition, MSU will continue its outreach to tribal communities and its research on the environmental effects of former meth lab sites.

Williston Radar
The bill also directs the Administration to maintain operation of the Williston Radar Station, a vital information link providing needed weather warnings that can save the lives of both people and livestock in northwestern North Dakota and northeastern Montana. Dorgan has worked to ensure the radar site keeps running until he receives assurances that the nearest station, an FAA site that is more than 40 miles away, can provide coverage for low-altitude snowstorms that may not show up on some radar.

Native Americans into Law
$300,000
This funding will be used by University of North Dakota’s Native Americans into Law program to recruit and retain American Indian law students. A lack of Native Americans trained in law hampers the delivery of justice to a significant segment of American society. The program has supported 23 students from 13 tribes across the country.

Standing Rock Juvenile Detention Center
$1.2 million
This funding will be used for equipment, staffing and operation of a new 18-bed youth detention facility on the Standing Rock Reservation in North Dakota and South Dakota. Currently, adjudicated juveniles are transported to detention facilities off the reservation, resulting in the diversion of limited resources to transport and house these juveniles at other facilities.

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