The Shakopee Mdewakanton Dakota Community has announced a grant for $1 million to the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians for construction of a health clinic. Its previous clinic was destroyed by an electrical fire in July 2006.

The Bad River Band is located in northern Wisconsin on the shores of Lake Superior. With a total membership of over 7,000, approximately 2,300 live on or near the reservation. Nearly 22 percent of the reservation population is below the poverty level, and according to the 2000 U.S. Census, Bad River has the fourth-highest poverty level in the state of Wisconsin.

For many tribal families, health insurance is an impossibility and the Bad River Health Clinic is the main medical provider. At the time of the fire, the clinic had a patient registry of 4,193, offering services including direct patient care, a laboratory, and pharmacy.