DPS SITUATION: RESIDENTS SPEAK OUT; STERN APOLOGIZES; BOARD TO MEET AGAIN SEPT. 23

There were a number of key takeaways from the Turner County Board of Adjustment’s Aug. 19 meeting in which board members reviewed the conditional use permit granted to Dakota Protein Solutions (DPS) on Sept, 14, 2021.

Three non-compliance issues have been presented to the board of adjustment by Daisy Johnson, who is the director of equalization with planning and zoning for Turner County: Lack of a road haul agreement with the Turner County Highway Department and the township in which DPS resides; failure to twice annually apply dust control on 440th Avenue between 280th and 279th streets; and evidence of animal carcasses stored on the ground or in trailers, which is contrary to the condition applied to the permit.

• Freeman residents are passionately upset about the odor coming from the rendering plant located a mile-and-a-half southeast of Freeman, as more than 40 crammed the small meeting quarters used while a new courthouse is being built. Ten addressed the board with their concerns.
• Scott Stern, a former Freeman resident, businessman and one of the DPS investors, addressed the board and acknowledged there have been problems since the processing of dead livestock began last September, and that DPS is actively taking steps to problem solve. Stern also publicly apologized to the community.
• The Turner County Board of Adjustment will again take up the issue at next month’s meeting scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 23 at 6:30 p.m. Specifically, it will determine if there is substantiated evidence of the stated violations and possibly take action on the conditional use permit. Turner County State’s Attorney Katelynn Hoffman told the board of adjustment at Tuesday’s meeting that that action could include revoking the permit, amending the permit, postponing action for a period of time to allow the permit holder to come into compliance, “or any other such action that you deem appropriate,” Hoffman said.
• The Sept. 23 meeting will be moved to a larger location to accommodate what is expected to be another large contingent of Freeman residents. The location has not yet been set.