Crews remove building near Corn Palace, positioning the city for future expansion

Sam Fosness, The Daily Republic, Mitchell, S.D.
·1 min read

Apr. 25—MITCHELL — A building near the Corn Palace that the city auctioned off for $1 has been removed.

On Tuesday, the building was removed from its 620 N. Lawler St. address and loaded onto a semi-trailer. The removal of the building required city crews to close off a portion of North Lawler Street throughout much of the afternoon.

The building was purchased by Ron Peterson in late January. The city held a public auction for the 5,544-square-foot building, and Peterson submitted the lone bid.

As part of the stipulations of the bid and building purchase, Peterson was responsible for having the building removed from the property by May 1.

The land the building sat on was not included in the auction. The city purchased the building and land in 2023.

City leaders said the real estate purchase was made to position the Corn Palace for future expansion toward the east.

While a future expansion of the Corn Palace has been a hot topic among city leaders and the Mitchell City Council, it's a project that isn't anticipated for the immediate future.

The pair of major expansion plans the council was presented with in 2022 came with estimated price tags ranging from $36 million to $42 million. Both plans would drastically expand the seating capacity and floor space to allow for more events inside the city-owned venue.