MADISON, S.D. (KELO) – Madison broke ground on a much-needed child care center on Tuesday. Once completed, the center will offer 140 child care spots to Madison parents.
The Madison Early Learning Center is a $4.5 million project and is expected to be completed by October 2025.
“Our families deserve this,” said Brooke Rollag, executive director of the Lake Area Improvement Corporation. “Ninety-two percent of households have both mom and dad working in Lake County. Our families deserve to have options for their children while they’re at work.”
The 15,000-square-foot center will have seven classrooms and an elementary size activity center. It will accommodate children ages zero to five.
Currently, there are over 300 open child care spots in Madison, Rollag said. The center will help provide options for parents and relief for in-home day care providers. Aside from a small head start program with Inter-Lakes Community Action Partnership and a few preschools at various churches, Madison has no full-time child care facility.
“We here in Madison rely solely on our in-home providers and they’ve done a phenomenal job for our community, but there just simply are not enough slots for a growing community and there’s many that are retiring and looking towards retirement,” Rollag said.
Madison Mayor Roy Lindsay added that Madison has been growing lately with Dakota State University and new housing developments on the northeast end of town.
“When you have some moving into town and they’re looking at Madison, either the first or the second question is, what’s available for child care,” he said.
The $4.5 million needed to complete the project was composed of gifts, grants and pledges from local businesses. They received a $1.5 million grant from the State of South Dakota and the Governor’s Office of Economic Development, as well as $1 million gifted by T. Denny Sanford.
“It’s been an incredible journey,” Rollag said. “I know child care is a buzzword and I know it’s something a lot of communities are focusing on. So I commend everyone that’s putting their best foot forward. It’s not, it’s just not easy.”
The Lake Area Improvement Corporation partnered with EmBe to provide the care for children and work with families while the LAIC provides the infrastructure support. The new center will be located at the corner of Highland Avenue and Center Street on the west side of town.
