‘Dirty Jobs’ Host Mike Rowe Coming Back to South Dakota

For the past ten years, you've watched Mike Rowe tackle some of the most unusual and sometimes downright disgusting occupations out there as part of his show Dirty Jobs on Discovery Channel.

Along the way, Rowe has also struck up an ongoing relationship with South Dakota.

It began in 2018 when he visited the state to share his message of the importance of skilled labor, making stops at Lake Area Tech in Watertown, Southeast Tech, and the Career and Technical Education Academy in Sioux Falls before ending the days as the keynote speaker at the Junior Achievement 50th Anniversary banquet in Sioux Falls.

That trip to the Mount Rushmore State-inspired Rowe to launch his Finish Strong Scholarship in 2019, which was open to students entering their second year at one of South Dakota’s four technical institutes to help earn technical degrees and move into the state’s workforce with less debt. The scholarship program was funded by the mikeroweWORKS Foundation and matched by the state of South Dakota Future Fund for a total of $50,000 in scholarships.

Three years later, in 2022, Rowe was back in the state in his capacity as a TV host, recording an episode of Dirty Jobs at Crazy Horse Memorial in the Black Hills.

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Now Rowe is heading back to South Dakota.

The Build Dakota Scholarship Program says he will visit the state at the end of September to celebrate the program’s 10th anniversary.

The Build Dakota scholarship fund began in 2014 with a $25 million gift from philanthropist T. Denny Sanford, which was matched by a $25 million future funds grant from then-Governor Dennis Daugaard.

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The fund was established to provide full-ride scholarships to students entering high-need fields in South Dakota. The program aims to fill the state’s workforce needs by supporting students in their educational pursuits and helping them achieve their career goals.

Over the past decade, the program has awarded nearly 4,000 scholarships, collaborated with over 500 industry partners, and provided more than $21 million in matching scholarships.

There has been no official announcement on the specifics of Rowe's visit to South Dakota.

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