Bear Butte beer license foes dealt setbacks

By Dan Daly
Rapid City Journal

Groups trying to stop the Sturgis motorcycle rally from moving closer to Bear Butte were dealt two setbacks Friday.

Fourth Circuit Judge Jerome Eckrich ruled late Friday that the Meade County Commission need not hold a county-wide referendum vote on a beer license it issued in April.

And Friday morning, commissioners approved two more beer licenses for rally-week campgrounds near Bear Butte.

Bear Butte, considered sacred to a number of American Indian tribes, has been the focus of intense pressure from Indian groups and some east Meade County ranchers who decry the Sturgis motorcycle rally's migration east from downtown Sturgis in recent years.

In April, commissioners approved a beer license for the new Broken Spoke Saloon and Sturgis County Line Campground, a new venue under construction two miles north of Bear Butte. Owner Jay Allen later bought a full liquor license, and the commissioners approved the transfer to the site north of Bear Butte.

In the meantime, opponents circulated petitions in Meade County to refer the Sturgis County Line beer license to a countywide vote. They submitted enough valid signatures by the filing deadline, but the commissioners rejected the petitions.

They ruled that the license issue was an administrative act, not a legislative act. Administrative acts are not subject to a vote, commissioners contended.

Opponents disagreed and filed suit seeking a writ of mandamus, or a court order to require the commission to hold the election.

Eckrich, in his decision Friday, refused to issue the writ. He cited a state Supreme Court ruling, which found that although legislative and administrative acts by local government can be referred to a vote, certain acts can't be put to a vote.

That's because the South Dakota Legislature has delegated to local governing bodies - not the electorate - the job of issuing beer licenses. In other words, county voters can't decide whether to approve a beer license, nor can they change the requirements, raise the fees or anything else established in state law.

Also, Eckrich ruled that it's too late to vote on the Sturgis County Line beer license because it expired June 30. It has been replaced by the liquor license.

Friday morning's Meade County Commission beer license hearing was a repeat of previous sessions: Commissioners heard extensive and emotional testimony from American Indians and others who oppose beer and liquor licenses near Bear Butte.

And the outcome of Friday's hearing was the same: Commissioners voted to approve two beer licenses for Sturgis rally campgrounds near Bear Butte.

However, Commissioner Curt Nupen voted against one of the licenses. The other commissioners - Robert Mallow, Dayle Hammock, Jim Schroeder and Dean Wink - voted in favor of both licenses.

Applicants were:

n Free Spirit Campground, a limited liability company that has bought the Lone Star Campground near the northwest base of the butte. Free Spirit is based in Gillette, Wyo., and the senior partner is listed as Ulysses Riley.

This was the license that Nupen voted against. He was not available for comment Friday, but he appeared to agree with opponents of the license that the site is too close to Bear Butte.

n The Ride & Rest Campground, a new venue operated by Thomas Fries of Gillette, Wyo. It's a new campground that is scheduled to open more than two miles south of Bear Butte. It will be north of Bear Butte Creek. Fries is listed as the owner.

These campgrounds do not have live music venues, which has been the focus of much of the controversy this spring.

Live music has become increasingly important to rally bikers, and big-name bands play nearly every night. But that kind of entertainment takes lots of land, and new venues are blooming on the prairies east of town.

Allen, owner of Sturgis County Line, plans to later add a concert stage. And the Glencoe CampResort, about three miles south of Bear Butte, has added a large concert venue called Rock'n The Rally.

Both were granted full liquor licenses earlier this year despite vocal opposition from groups such as the Bear Butte International Alliance to create a buffer zone around the butte.

Commissioners have agreed with the applicants that as law-abiding property owners, they have a right to locate drinking establishments on their property. In addition, the owners of Sturgis County Line and Rock'n The Rally noted that their venues are more than two miles away from the mountain - well outside the environs of Bear Butte.

Most of the opponents say the noise and rowdiness of the big motorcycle event disrupts the vision quests and other Indian religious rites that are practiced at Bear Butte.

Opponents have set up a summer-long encampment north of Bear Butte, and they plan to demonstrate during the rally, which begins in a month.