Work begins to make South Dakota health lab 'most sophisticated' in region

Department of Health employees to move under one roof with additional office space

State officials, DOH employees, and construction administrators take part in a groundbreaking ceremony at the current site of the state health lab. (Austin Goss/The Dakota Scout)

PIERRE — The South Dakota State Health Lab touches South Dakotans in a variety of ways, from microbiology and drug testing, to ensuring water quality standards.

Now, an $85 million expansion and modernization of the facility, along with new office space bringing the total square footage from 36,000 to 120,00 square feet, will allow the Department of Health to better meet its responsibilities, say officials.

That’s the belief they shared at a ceremony Tuesday to celebrate the groundbreaking for construction of DOH’s Workforce and Education Center, an expansion project that will renovate the state lab built in 1995, as well as put the department’s Pierre-based staff under one roof.

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