Supreme Court reverses judge who held city of Wall in contempt

Wall appealed contempt order and requirement to issue building permit

The South Dakota Supreme Court Friday reversed a circuit court judge who had found the city of Wall and its City Council in contempt for failing to address potential conflicts of interest.

Judge Heidi Linngren had also ordered the city of Wall to issue a building permit to Love’s Travel Stops and Country Store, which was seeking to build a travel stop in Wall on a 13-acre site. That plan, the Supreme Court noted, “garnered significant interest throughout the community.”

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The building permit and zoning change had to go through the Wall Planning and Zoning Commission and the City Council. Commission members included Stan Anderson and Rick Hustead, both of whom also sat on the City Council. Hustead, the owner of Wall Drug, “a popular rest stop and tourist attraction,” had expressed concern about what the Love’s would do to his business, which also included the Wall Auto Livery gas station and a convenience store.

City Councilors Mike Anderson and Kelly Welsh had other potential conflicts, with Anderson owning a Dairy Queen franchise and Welsh a motel.

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