By Dave Baumeister, county correspondent
SIOUX FALLS – With a new Minnehaha County budget approved for 2023, presentations from groups funded by that start over again, and this week, three groups talked with commissioners about what they had accomplished over the past year.
First and foremost, Scott Wick, the manager of the Sioux Empire Fair, gave a report on how the fair did last August.
He was happy to report that fair revenue came in at an almost half a million-dollar profit, which was an increase of just over $389,000 from the net profit of the 2021 fair.
Wick’s figures showed the overall fair expenses adding up to $1.3 million, with $673,763 being specifically for entertainment.
The way fair admissions have worked in the past several years under Wick’s direction, that entrance fee pays for most grandstand shows, although a few shows, like Old Dominion and Nelly, did require separate ticket fees.
Still, when adding the total revenue from admissions, camping, carnival fees and separate grandstand sales, the fair made almost all of their expenses back, meaning that revenue from food and beverage concessions, vendors and exhibitors, and other fair sponsors were almost pure profit, totaling $499,157.
“I tried and tried to hit that half million-mark but couldn’t come up with the extra money!” Wick joked.
The fair management and fair board will now be able to use that money for future improvements to the fairground.
As Wick explained, what goes on at the fairgrounds is not solely limited to the annual fair but encompasses various events and rentals during the entire year.
Other presentations came from Lifescape and Forward Sioux Falls on what their organizations have done during the year for the county.
Belly up, boys!
And at this meeting, commissioners approved 18 liquor licenses for establishments operating in Minnehaha County, outside the various incorporated towns.
Two establishments, the Monarch Lounge in Renner and the Safari Bar and Grill near Renner, had to have special hearings, as both had been caught selling to a minor during a sheriff’s department compliance check in November of 2021.
Commissioners voted unanimously to approve the license for the Safari, but Commissioner Jeff Barth voted “no” on the Monarch license, which still passed 4-1.
He later said he wasn’t voting “no” to stop the license, as it already had three in favor by the time he voted, but he wanted to make a point that the commission does take liquor sales and violations very seriously, and he wanted to make a point that “unanimity isn’t always going to rule on this type of a thing. We do take it seriously.”
As Tuesday, Nov. 8, was Election Day, and the commission meeting room was used for vote counting, the next meeting will be at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 15 in that third-floor meeting room at the Minnehaha County Administration Building at 6th and Minnesota in Sioux Falls.
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