Dacotah Bank Expands Scholarships, Investing in Local Students Futures
Dacotah Bank announced it will award one $10,000 top scholarship and 29 additional $2,000 scholarships across its market area, a move aimed at supporting recent high school graduates who plan to attend post secondary institutions in South Dakota, North Dakota or Minnesota. The program matters to Stutsman County residents because it can reduce financial barriers to higher education, support local workforce development, and influence long term community health and equity.
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Dacotah Bank announced on November 12, 2025 that it will offer a suite of scholarships this year including one top award of ten thousand dollars and twenty nine additional awards of two thousand dollars each across its market area. Eligibility requires that the student or an immediate family member maintain an account at Dacotah Bank, and that the student plan to attend an eligible post secondary institution in South Dakota, North Dakota or Minnesota. The bank highlighted scholarship details and a link to the application on dacotahbank.com, and positioned the program as part of its ongoing community investment and workforce development efforts. The announcement was reported by the Jamestown Sun on November 12, 2025.
For Stutsman County students, the program represents both opportunity and a reminder of persistent barriers. The scholarships could ease direct costs of tuition and fees for local graduates, potentially increasing college enrollment for students headed to institutions in the tri state region. The pool of awards totals sixty eight thousand dollars, money that can make a meaningful difference for families juggling education costs with living expenses in rural communities.
At the same time the account requirement may limit access for families who are unbanked or underbanked. National and regional patterns show that households without traditional banking relationships are disproportionately low income and include higher shares of people of color and those in precarious employment. In Stutsman County these systemic financial access issues intersect with education and health outcomes, because economic strain is a social determinant of health that affects ability to pursue and complete higher education.
The bank framed the scholarships as workforce development, and that lens is important locally. Scholarships that enable students to attend nearby colleges and technical programs can help sustain the local pipeline of teachers, nurses, allied health workers and other professionals that rural communities need. Retaining graduates or supporting them to return after completing training is a long term challenge that requires partnerships between banks, educational institutions, health systems and local government.
Community leaders and school counselors can use the announcement to identify eligible students and to advocate for complementary supports such as help opening accounts where needed, application assistance, and guidance about eligible institutions. Broader policy conversations remain vital, including expanding need based aid, supporting wraparound services for rural students, and addressing barriers to financial inclusion.
Interested students and families in Stutsman County can find the application and full program details on dacotahbank.com as noted in the bank announcement and reported by the Jamestown Sun on November 12, 2025.
