-Dave Baumeister, Minnehaha Correspondent
SIOUX FALLS – While there was a short meeting in the Minnehaha County Commission chambers on May 29, some people were already looking ahead to what would be coming at the commission’s June 12 session.
Some commissioners are anticipating public comment at next Tuesday’s meeting regarding the future of Badlands Motor Speedway (formerly Huset’s Speedway) located south of Brandon.
While that land has housed a racetrack since long before Minnehaha County had zoning ordinances, the track had “grandfathered” status that allowed it to skirt noise and other issues that came to be part of the zoning ordinance.
However, Commissioner Jeff Barth views the grandfathered clause to be contingent that at least one race is run there on a yearly basis.
“According to the grandfathered statute,” Barth said, “at least one race per year had to be run on that track to maintain their status.”
The last race event was held there on May 13, 2017, according to a post on the speedway’s official website.
The website also notes that Badlands officially ceased operations three days later on May 16, 2017, thus leading to the one-year-plus lapse in racing at that venue.
This seemingly negates the one-year requirement for the grandfathered status, leaving the issue up for debate as to whether the property will be able to be sold as a racetrack or not. (Continued on Page 2)
