Home on the Range — a residential treatment program and working ranch that provides behavioral health and education services to youth — presented Thursday on the nonprofit’s Badlands Learning Center and requested county assistance to fund an addition to its on‑campus school.

Executive Director Laura Feldman told commissioners Badlands Learning Center opened June 3, 2024, to provide trauma‑informed education for youth ages 12–17 who reside on campus. The nonprofit said the program serves students with high adverse‑childhood‑experience (ACE) scores and a large proportion of youth who are victims of exploitation or trafficking; the center said it served 80 students and delivered nearly 200 classes in its first year.

Feldman described plans for an addition to separate boys’ and girls’ classrooms, add a learning commons and kitchenette for independent‑living instruction, and create a sensory room. The total project cost is $3.2 million; the nonprofit reported it has raised $1.3 million with another $100,000 pending and is asking counties that benefit from the program to consider contributions during their 2026 budget processes.

Commissioners thanked Feldman and asked for supporting materials and cost detail; the chair indicated the item would be considered as part of the county’s budget meeting on Sept. 16 (formal adoption dates are part of the budget schedule). No appropriation was made at the meeting. Commissioners and Feldman discussed Medicaid and other reimbursement sources, tuition arrangements with home school districts, and partnerships with other counties that have provided prior support (Dunn County and McKenzie County were cited as recent contributors). Feldman said program participants are typically Medicaid‑eligible and the program receives some Medicaid and other fee‑for‑service payments but also relies on fundraising for operations and capital.

Commissioners asked to be invited for a site tour and said they would review the nonprofit’s materials before the budget discussions.