STURGIS, S.D. (Press Release) – The city of Sturgis got an update Monday on a housing study conducted by Community Partners Research, Inc.

Sturgis City Manager Daniel Ainslie says the study showed Sturgis is growing tremendously – adding that more housing is desperately needed.

Ainslie says they need to get additional lots and more developers to step up.

The council on Monday also passed a new policy to begin charging lift-assistance calls.

Ainslie says the vast majority of these cases go to individuals who have several calls a week.

Ainslie says these are not billable calls because insurance won’t cover unless the individual is actually taken to the hospital for treatment.

So, the new policy will forgive the first lift assist in a calendar year, but the next lift-assist will cost the receiving patient $50 and then the third and every one thereafter will cost $100.

A lift-assistance situation is when a person has an inability to get up and receives a primary assessment by EMS staff.

Ainslie says neither staff nor ambulance staff will have the authority to waive a fee. Rather, a patient may formally request a fee waiver from the full City Council.