City Council votes to dismiss over 90 complaints against Laura Armstrong

RAPID CITY – Rapid City council unanimously voted on Monday, February 1, to dismiss over 90 complaints which were filed against City Council President Laura Armstrong.

The complaints, some of which called for her removal from the council, were in response to ‘Caring Businesses of Rapid City’, a Facebook page that she helped create. The Facebook page supplied information on businesses in Rapid City that enforced CDC guidelines and other COVID-19 resources. Many of the complainants were business owners who claimed that Armstrong was supporting a boycott of their businesses because of a lack of safety measures for citizens.

The City Council has heard hundreds of public comments on the topic since the issue arose. Many online comments supported Armstrong and her efforts to inform citizens and many in-person comments that claimed her actions were detrimental to their livelihoods.

Among the public speakers at Monday’s council meeting was Sioux Falls attorney R. Shawn Tornow who stated that litigation would hopefully be avoided.

“We submitted a formal notice of potential claim as is required by statute and quite honestly my office represents a number of businesses in Rapid City and individuals who have been directly harmed by actions taken by certain council members,” said Tornow.

Another speaker was Natalie LaFrance Slack, a co-creator of the Caring Businesses of Rapid City Facebook page, and insisted that the intentions of the page were never malicious and did not mean to have a negative impact.

After over 4 hours of Common Council meeting, the council entered into executive session to address the complaints. Upon resuming, Lance Lehmann, Common Council Vice President and Ward 4 alderman, motioned to dismiss all complaints against Armstrong based on no evidence supporting them. The council dismisses all complaint unanimously.

The Caring Businesses of Rapid City Facebook page is still active and is public. The page has over 1,200 followers.

The next City Council meeting has been moved to February 16 based on the Federal observance of President’s Day.

(Contact Travis at travisldewes@gmail.com)

The post City Council votes to dismiss over 90 complaints against Laura Armstrong first appeared on Native Sun News Today.

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