2 Wis. tribes get HUD grants worth more than $1M

MADISON, Wis. (AP) – Two Wisconsin tribes are getting more than $1 million in federal grants to help them develop their rural communities.

One grant is going to the Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians. The Hayward tribe will receive $789,000 to encourage tourism by renovating a former school into a visitor’s center, museum, and gift shop.

The other grant will go to the Ho-Chunk Housing and Community Development Agency in Tomah. The group will get $300,000 to fix up 21 homes in Indian Mission community in Black River Falls. The homes will get new basement insulation and geothermal heat-pump systems to help decrease energy costs.

The grants were announced Tuesday by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.