Former Sioux Falls councilor chairs pro-Wholestone ballot question committee

Trevor J. Mitchell, Sioux Falls Argus Leader
·2 min read
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A rendering of the Wholestone Farms pork processing plant planned for Sioux Falls.
A rendering of the Wholestone Farms pork processing plant planned for Sioux Falls.

A former city councilor is chairing a ballot question committee aimed at opposing the vote that could ban the construction and operation of new slaughterhouses within Sioux Falls city limits.

“Sioux Falls Open for Business” filed their statement of organization on Tuesday morning. The committee is chaired by Christine Erickson, who began began leading the South Dakota Trucking Association earlier this year, shortly before the end of her eight-year term as a city councilor. The committee’s treasurer is Lorin Pankratz, a Pierre-based private investigator and lobbyist.

The statement says the committee’s purpose is to “oppose the November ballot measure to ban future slaughterhouse facilities in Sioux Falls.”

More: Head of SD Trucking Association says Wholestone opposition sets 'damning' precedent

Outgoing city councilor Christine Erickson gives farewell remarks at her final city council meeting on Tuesday, May 10, 2022, at Carnegie Town Hall.
Outgoing city councilor Christine Erickson gives farewell remarks at her final city council meeting on Tuesday, May 10, 2022, at Carnegie Town Hall.

Erickson has criticized the opposition to Wholestone’s plan to build a $500 million pork processing plant in northeastern Sioux Falls, which she says followed all the rules and would be a benefit to the city as well as local farmers.

More: Noem says fight over Wholestone is driving business out of South Dakota

"That precedent that's being set is really, really damning," she said. "If somebody doesn't like your industry, somebody can just put it on the ballot."

She's been joined in that criticism by both Gov. Kristi Noem and the Greater Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce in recent months.

The opposition has come from Smart Growth Sioux Falls, another ballot question committee that has successfully petitioned to place the slaughterhouse ban on the November ballot in Sioux Falls, specifically in opposition to the Wholestone project.

More: Greater Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce urges members to vote against slaughterhouse ban

Construction has begun at Wholestone's "custom slaughterhouse," where customers will be able to choose a farmer to provide a hog for butchering. It will be at the proposed site of the $500 million plant, which is near Benson Road and I-229.
Construction has begun at Wholestone's "custom slaughterhouse," where customers will be able to choose a farmer to provide a hog for butchering. It will be at the proposed site of the $500 million plant, which is near Benson Road and I-229.

That opposition has been based around claims that the new plant would negatively affect water and air quality in the city, while also adding to the city’s housing challenges. The committee’s funding comes from a handful of local companies, including POET and JDS Industries.

“Desperately rallying interest groups at the eleventh hour proves that Wholestone’s backers know their butcher shop scheme won’t work," said Robert Peterson, the treasurer for Smart Growth Sioux Falls, in a statement. "More than 10,000 residents signed our petition, and they’re not going to be fooled into letting new slaughterhouses stink up our community, contaminate our water, or drive down property values.”

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Ballot committee backing slaughterhouse chaired by ex-councilor