Red Lake Band gets $21M to build new tribal college

The Red Lake Band of Ojibwe in northern Minnesota will receive more than $21 million in loans from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Development program.

Red Lake will use some of the money to build a new, 42,000-square-foot tribal college to replace an older building that has limited classroom space and create room for technology equipment.

The tribe also plans to construct a tribal government center, said USDA spokesman Adam Czech.

"The tribe currently works out of two older buildings that have all kinds of issues with health concerns. There's some mold and there's some other issues with the buildings," Czech said. "This new government center, it's going to allow the tribe to consolidate their operations into just one building so they can run more efficiently, more effectively."

The construction is expected to create jobs on the reservation. The tribe will pay back the low interest loans over 40 years.