State says bed and breakfast owner not entitled to COVID-19 funds because S.D. never shut down

Business owner initially approved for COVID-19 unemployment funds

Anastasia Chepinska / Unsplash.com

The state of South Dakota says its tourism promotion during a global pandemic casts doubt on whether a Black Hills bed and breakfast owner sustained financial losses in 2020.

Attorneys representing the South Dakota Department of Labor on Wednesday in front of the South Dakota Supreme Court argued that Darcy Bracken should not have been entitled to unemployment assistance supported with federal stimulus money because there’s no clear line between the COVID-19 pandemic and a drop in business at the White Tail Ridge Bed and Breakfast in Hermosa.

Following the state’s declaration of a public health emergency in January 2020, bookings at Bracken’s now-closed bed and breakfast canceled and new reservations stopped coming in, according to Bracken in a case summary document provided by the Court.

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