Minnehaha County seeks legal action to remove restrictions on fairgrounds property
Nov. 7, 2023
By Jonathan Ellis, The Dakota Scout
Minnehaha County will pursue a civil action to determine whether there is legal authority to remove deed restrictions on land that was donated for the William H. Lyon Fair Grounds.
In a 4-0 vote Tuesday, the County Commission authorized county legal officials to seek the civil action. It was one of the main recommendations of a 15-member task force that studied the fair from May 2022 to May 2023, when the task force issued its final report.
Minnehaha County acquired the land for the fairgrounds between 1938 and 1942 through donations from Winona Axtell to honor her late husband, William H. Lyon. But the donations came with strings: The county is required to hold a fair on the site, and if a fair isn’t held for five years there, the land reverts back to the Lyon descendants.
The task force report called the restrictions a “major hindrance” to evaluating the fairgrounds and its economic viability. Meanwhile, neighboring Knife River Corp. wants the land to expand its mining operation and has offered to purchase the land with money that could be used to then open a new fairgrounds in another part of the county.
Tyler Klatt, the commission’s assistant administrative officer, called the civil action “the logical next step as we move forward with this process.”
A briefing memo prepared by Klatt for the commission addressed the sensitive nature of moving forward with legal action.
“The county is sincerely appreciative of this unique gift that the Lyon family has left Minnehaha County and by seeking these clarifications, can begin to understand what may be done to honor the Lyon family gift while also providing a quality public service and experience to our community and its visitors,” the memo said.
Besides hosting the annual Sioux Empire Fair, the William H. Lyon Fair Grounds, which is commonly referred to as the W.H. Lyon Fairgrounds, is the site of 4-H Achievement Days, the Sioux Empire Livestock Show, horse and other animal shows, rodeos and community events.
Eric Bogue, the chief civil deputy state’s attorney, told the commission that the Legislature in 2005 passed a law that allows governments to divest land that came with deed restrictions if it becomes “impossible or impractical” to continue to hold the land. Bogue, who served as the Senate majority leader when the bill passed, said the restrictions currently make it impractical and could, in the future, make it impossible to use the land for its stated purpose.
Commissioner Gerald Beninga, who has served on the fair board for years, said a civil action “gives us at least the possibility of clean title.”
Commissioner Dean Karsky noted that the county has abided with some deed restrictions while disregarding others at the fairgrounds. Pursuing legal action would allow the county to take ownership “and do what’s right for the community.”
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