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Apparently ignoring Gov. Krist Noems dictum that socialism destroys lives, GOP Sen. Al Novstrup tried unsuccessfully to push a bill through the legislature that would have allowed the City of Aberdeen to expand a municipal campground that just happens to share space in the same city park with Novstrups amusement park Thunder Road.

Trouble with the plan, from Novstrups perspective, is that existing law requires approval from nearby private campgrounds before municipalities can build or add on to existing publicly-owned facilities. In this case, a local campground owner balked at the plan, so it had to be scrapped.

Novstrup, according to a piece on the subject in the Rapid City Journal, said - yes, he did - the bill doesnt center on personal gain.

No, the fact that the campground sits in Aberdeens Wylie Park just a short walk from Novstrups amusement park (seen above in an image from eventective.com) is not the issue here. This is all about principle. Apparently, in this case, the principle being boldly advanced by Novstrup is that an elected official should be allowed to call for public money to be used as a means of upgrading and adding camping sites that would directly benefit his business.

Novstrup put it in a much nicer way, of course. The Journal article reports that Novstrup claims existing law stymies campground development. According to the piece, Novstrup said "anybody can move to town, buy a piece of land, pay $50 and go through a one-page form that I can fill out in five minutes and now tell the citizens of Wylie Park that they cannot expand, you can't make it better, you have to stop. That's a terrible situation."

Definitely its a terrible situation for Novstrup, and he wants that situation reversed so that taxpayer money can be used to develop campgrounds without local private operators being able to say boo about the matter.

The bill passed the Senate 30-5, but the House committee looking at it didnt much cotton to the idea of the public sector socialistically stepping into the campground business and sent the bill into the 41st legislative day, pretty much killing it, on a 10-3 vote.

Republican socialists took it on the chin this time, but dont worry, theyll be back.

John Tsitrian is a businessman and writer from the Black Hills. He was a weekly columnist for the Rapid City Journal for twenty years. His articles and commentary have also appeared in The Los Angeles Times, The Denver Post and The Omaha World-Herald. Tsitrian served in the Marines for three years (1966-69), including a 13-month tour of duty as a radioman in Vietnam.

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Sen. Al Novstrup (R-Aberdeen) is the Republican socialist of the week. He wants city help for his amusement park The South Dakota Standard - The...