Open Valhalla as Public Landmark, Not Private Playground

The latest Madville Times poll finds a majority of you gentle readers agreeing with me on the use of Peter Norbeck's "Valhalla" cabin in the Black Hills. I asked you "Should Game Fish and Parks open the Peter Norbeck/"Valhalla" cabin for rental to the general public?" The results:

• Yes: 88 (66%)
• No: 46 (34%)

Norbeck's cabin is a remarkable public asset, built by a remarkable South Dakotan. Norbeck was our first Dakota-born governor. He won the federal funds—pork and stimulus!—that allowed Gutzon Borglum to carve four white guys on sacred Lakota ground and bring thousands of tourists to the Black Hills each year (pick your own value judgment; either way, Norbeck made history). Norbeck also pushed for the development of such South Dakota gems as the Needles Highway, Sylvan Lake, and the Custer, Badlands, and Wind Cave parks.

Much of Norbeck's life was dedicated to opening the Black Hills to more public use. That his cabin should become the private playground of "favored guests" of the ruling political regime flies in the face of Norbeck's values.

If we really want to get Norbeckian, we should be looking for ways to make as much money off the cabin as possible. Game Fish and Parks, which manages Valhalla, says the cabin generates maybe $4500 in revenue each year. Let's see... isolated cabin in the woods, six bedrooms, great hiking and biking and horseback riding, near several major attractions... would $100 a night be too low? At that rate, I think we could draw users for at least 180 days a year... $18,000 right there, quadruple the current revenue. And the sitting governor and his political friends could get in line to rent it right along with everyone else.

One of my good Democrat friends, Mr. Kurtz, says the governor needs a secure retreat, but I must differ. Every governor can use a vacation, sure, but can't he buy his own cabin at the lake like the rest of us? Let's not get too big for our britches: South Dakota's governor is not the President with the Secret Service and the nuclear football. Security is obviously not a concern in a state where the only things standing between citizens and the governor at work are a secretary and a wooden door. What's the point of a secure hidden location for the governor when he probably drives himself to Wal-Mart to pick up fishing tackle? The last thing we need to spend state money on is the crazy notion that our governor needs a secret compound to hide in.

The Peter Norbeck cabin in Custer State Park is a great public asset. We should make the most of it. Open it to the public. Rent it out to supplement the Sylvan Lake Lodge and other fancy lodging in our busiest state park.

New Poll: Should Governor Open Valhalla to Public Rental?

Democratic candidate for governor Scott Heidepriem has raised the issue of opening "Valhalla" to the public. No, we're not talking about lowering the number of Normans you have to axe to join your Viking brethren in paradise. We're talking about South Dakota Governor and Senator Peter Norbeck's Black Hills cabin, which the state Game Fish and Parks now tends within Custer State Park. (Learn more of the history in this excellent first-person essay by Kevin Woster.)

Valhalla, Custer State Park. CSP photo featured in Tom Domek, Custer State Park, Arcadia, 2005, p. 76. Click photo to enlarge

The Madville Times poll question: Should Game Fish and Parks open the Peter Norbeck "Valhalla" cabin for rental to the general public?

Heidepriem argues the Rounds Administration has turned Valhalla into a secret compound for the governor and his chosen friends. The citizens of South Dakota have paid for expensive upgrades to the cabin (over $225K in recent years), so citizens ought to be able to use the facility, says Heidepriem. The idea of a Black Hills summer retreat reserved for the governor's use is iconic, says Heidepriem, of the cronyism and secrecy that underlies many of the current administration's bad policies that Heidepriem wants to change. (Worth noting: Black Hills resident and erstwhile GOP almost-candidate for U.S. House Thad Wasson appears to agree!)

The Rapid City Journal has editorialized that the facility should be open to the public to honor Peter Norbeck. RCJ notes the cabin is on the National Register of Historic Places. The editors say Norbeck's historical significance as well as the unique architecture of the cabin justify sharing the site with all South Dakotans.

The state feels otherwise. Game Fish and Parks declines to provide a list of those permitted by Governor Rounds to use the cabin, saying state law exempts guest lists of GF&P facilities from open records laws. The cabin is gated, and a couple years ago GF&P removed road signage to better hide the location.

So what do you think? Should the Norbeck cabin serve more of a public function? Should GF&P rent the facility out to the public like any other camping cabin, open to anyone willing to pay, first come, first served? Or should the site remain restricted by the governor's discretion? Vote in the poll in the right-hand sidebar, then discuss the issue here in the comment section. Poll runs through Saturday breakfast time, so vote now!