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Daugaard Opens Valhalla

How's that for a Viking headline of mythical proportions?

Governor Daugaard, I'm still mad about your ax-murderer budget. I'm going to stay mad, especially if I end up on the school board having to deal with the mess you and Senator Olson made.

But I'll give you props for turning your executive broad-axe to government secrecy. Your decision to open the Peter Norbeck cabin, also known as Valhalla, to public visits and rental is an excellent management decision:

First up in Daugaard's new Valhalla management plan will be free public tours of the place during the annual open-house weekend in South Dakota state parks May 20-22.

...Daugaard also will make the cabin, which was built in the late 1920s by U.S. Sen. Peter Norbeck and his wife, Lydia, available each Monday through Thursday for day rental as a meeting or retreat site. The fee will be $200 per day, with reservations to be made at least 30 days in advance. Details are being worked out on the registration process.

...Daugaard also will keep a list of the guests who stay at Valhalla and make that list available upon request. That's another change from the way the cabin was managed under Rounds [Kevin Woster, "Daugaard to Open Valhalla to Public Tours," Rapid City Journal, 2011.03.31].

$200 for a day-long meeting space in the Black Hills? Sign me up! That's a heck of a deal!

Governor Daugaard, you're doing the right thing. You're responding to popular sentiment on the proper use of public property. You're also giving the public the chance to use a great building and appreciate our history more directly. This decision reeks of openness, fairness, and accountability. I like that reek.

3 Comments

  1. Nick Nemec 2011.03.31

    That is a great deal. I think it should be rented for market rates. How many does it sleep? I'll bet $200/day is a fraction of what hotel rooms would cost.

  2. mike 2011.03.31

    Daugaard is a really good guy! I can't help but like him.

  3. Douglas Wiken 2011.03.31

    This piddling bit of public relations does not make up for campaign lies, support for rapist rights, slashing education funds, slashing public broadcasting, and failing to get beyond the kind of thinking that is promoted by Koch Industries and other self-righteous purveyors of GOP mythology.

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