Scholarship to honor Plankinton native

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The family and friends of Curt Hohn have established the Curtis Marvin Hohn Legacy Scholarship to memorialize his work and leadership in water policy and rural water development in South Dakota.

The scholarship is for seniors graduating from a South Dakota high school and attending an in-state college, university or technical school, and is funded by the Curtis Marvin Hohn Endowment Fund with the South Dakota Community Foundation. Curt Hohn died Nov. 13, 2010.

Hohn, one of a family of 12 children, was raised on a farm near Plankinton. He worked with United Family Farmers organizing farms and rural residents around the issue of the Oahe irrigation project and the WEB rural water project. During his service with the Oahe Conservancy Sub-District and WEB in the 1970s and 1980s, Hohn managed the negotiations with the federal government to settle the Oahe project issue, and transition to the WEB project. The trade was a major turning point in water policy in South Dakota. Rural water systems drawing water from the Missouri River gained federal support and flourished across the state.

Hohn served the state throughout his lifetime. Following his graduation from Northern State College in 1972, he served on the staff of Sen. George McGovern from 1974 to 1976 and was himself a candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives in 2000. Always guarding the integrity of the WEB water system, Hohn brought statewide attention of the potential impact of the Keystone crude oil pipeline on rural water systems.

Information on the Curtis Marvin Hohn Legacy Scholarship can be obtained from the South Dakota Community Foundation or high school counselors. Gifts to the endowment fund are qualified as tax deductible contributions.

For information, contact George Piper at 352-9580, e-mail gpiper512@msn.com, or contact Roger Schuller at 294-5882.

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