Finishing up last week’s Mickelson story

Greetings! In last week’s article we ended with “to be continued.” I see the Hill City Prevailer didn’t pick that article, so let’s get caught up. The “S” in the late Gov. George S. Mickelson’s name stands for “Speaker.” His father, George Sr., was Speaker of the House of Representatives. The late George Jr., went on to also become Speaker of the House, as did his son G. Mark Mickelson. The “G” stands for “George” but he goes by Mark and he was Speaker of the House during my (and Sen. Howard’s) first two years in the legislature.

As to the incident where the gentleman was shooting across the Mickelson Trail, he wasn’t home and we didn’t have a search warrant, but did find out later that he took down the targets he was shooting into and became a law-abiding citizen after that. So, what’s next Tim? We know you’re leading up to something. Yes, I am. Here it goes. Sen. Taffy Howard prime-sponsored SB56 which states:

“An act to permit the operation of an electric bicycle on the Mickelson Trail” - An individual operating an electric bicycle, as defined in 32-20B-9 - Violation of this section is a class 2 misdemeanor.”

I was the prime sponsor in the House of Representatives and testified in both House and Senate hearings. I also entered the floor debate in the House. Same also for Sen. Howard in the Senate chamber.

What the heck? This bill could get us charged with a class 2 misdemeanor? Are you serious? Just for riding on the Mickelson Trail? The answer is yes, but let me explain.

Spending the entire day with the late Gov. Mickelson in the summer of 1992, I was clear about his intent for use of this wonderful bike trail. At the time, electric bikes weren’t invented, or if they were, they hadn’t hit the bike market, and wouldn’t for at least another 20 years or so. He did mention several times not allowing motorized vehicles like three-wheelers, dirt bikes and the like.

I should mention that after Gov. Mickelson’s tragic death, then Gov. Walter Dale Miller whole-heartedly supported the Mickelson Trail project, as did the next governor, Janklow.

In fact, Gov. Janklow followed through with the Department of Transporation, private contractors, and the National Guard to completion of the trail and was instrumental in making sure the trail was named after the late Gov. Mickelson. Gov. Janklow died tragically of brain cancer but deserves a big posthumous thank you for making sure the trail was named for Gov. Mickelson. 

That was a very classy thing that he insisted upon, as it could have been named after himself. I never saw Gov. Janklow on a bicycle but I did see him on a horse at 2:30 a.m. over at Fort Pierre. Something to do with riding it inside the Silver Spur. But I digress.

In closing, what Sen. Howard and I were trying to do was to make it legal to have electric bikes on the Mickelson Trail, as current rules prohibit any motorized vehicles, be it electric, combustible engine or whatever else there is out there. Senate Bill 56 made it legal for class one electric bikes. If you own a class two or three electric bike, it currently is illegal to ride on the trail.

Our intent for just allowing class one e-bikes was for public safety. Once the bikes get a throttle like class two or three, speed becomes a factor. Our intent was and is public safety while at the same time allowing class one e-bikes legal access.

There have already been too many cases of e-bikes running people off the trail going at a high rate of speed. Again, the intent of the Mickelson Trail originally was for no motorized vehicles at all. We feel this is a good compromise. Your feedback is welcome at taffy.howard@sdlegisla

ture.gov and/or Tim.good

win@sdlegislature.gov.