National lab for So Dak?

http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/articles/2004/06/12/news/local/top/news01.txt

Team of scientists coming to area to discuss Homestake
By Doris Haugen, Associated Press Writer

SIOUX FALLS - A bit of history comes into play next week when a team of California scientists arrives in South Dakota for meetings on an underground laboratory proposed at the former Homestake gold mine.

The scientists are based at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory on the University of Berkeley campus - a lab founded by South Dakota native and pioneering physicist Ernest O. Lawrence.


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What do South Dakotans think about this?

Is it gonna be a National lab? Heck, what does "National Lab" even mean? (I'm seriously ignorant.)

What's the history and gossip regarding this? Isn't this a Bush Crime Family connected hole in the ground, via Barrick Gold?

Does the dude quoted in the story -- Dick Gowen of the South Dakota Science and Technology Authority -- wear a white hat or a black hat?

Just curious. My uneducated wish is that S.D. gets this lab.

It would be very nice to have an industry West River that didn't involve throwing dice or a deck of cards. It will boost our universities (especially School of Mines) and create some good jobs for people laid off by the mines in recent years.

Besides, we've already GOT a damn big hole in the ground, why not use it?

... for study of neutrinos, which need to be in an environment "shielded" from external forces. Homestake nearly had the deal closed, but then Tim Johnson beat John Thune (GW's hand picked guy to run against Johnson) in the 2002 Senate race and Barrick suddenly said "show me the whole amount we want or..." and they turned off the water pumps in the mines, allowing them to flood and making any further deal more expensive due to higher clean up costs. Don't forget, Poppy Bush is on the board of Barrick.

As to how much "industry" this lab would bring, that is very questionable. If anything, South Dakota and regional universities will reap the most, as internships and field trips to the facility become much easier to do.

Mr. Gowan is a South Dakota School of Mines and Technology(South Dakota Tech) professor, so the question pertaining to his integrity, you should be able to find yourself, look up the afore mentioned university.

The only thing I fear is the far right wing bent of the Rapid City area scaring off the Berkeley group.

it still takes quite a few people with technical skills to keep that mine habitable. And having people with degrees come IN to SoDak instead of OUT would be a welcome sight.

(of coure I'm a hypocrite who now lives in Chicago)

Thanks, I was able to find a summary of Gowan

http://www.departments.dsu.edu/dsuarchives/timeline/Main%20Links/Presidents/richard_gowen.htm

He was in the air force, got degrees from Rutgers and Iowa State. Sounds like he was involved in some interesting medical tests for NASA.

Daschle was also in the air force. I wonder if that helps the ole boys cut deals.

On edit:
Other sources say Gowen is no longer the president of the School of Mines. He retired in 2003.

Someone above mentioned that Johnson's defeat of Bushboy John Thune threw a monkeywrench into the deal. I wonder how much Janklow's legal problems added to the delay?

That said, I thought the following article was interesting, esp. the quote from Jank about speeding down the highway...

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=9938248&BRD=1300&PAG=461&dept_id=156925&rfi=8

SNIP
Janklow says liability no longer an issue, Rounds and Gowen pledge support for Lead

BY DONNA SMITH, Black Hills Pioneer August 01, 2003

LEAD -- After more than two years of up and down, stagnant and sometimes silent negotiations, Rep. Bill Janklow, R-S.D., said today that liability issues are no longer a problem for transfer of the Homestake Mine from the current owners to the state for use as the National Underground Science Laboratory.

AND SNIP

"Way back when we were dealing with Homestake, this thing was on the fast track. Then Barrick bought the mine and it was like locking the brakes while speeding down the highway," Janklow said this morning.

I don't know why I'm posting this shit, as I seem to be having a conversation with myself, and that makes me feel more crazed than I normally do.

Anyway, the Berkley dudes came and went. (I wonder if they saw the mountain lion that is roaming the streets of Rapid City?
http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/articles/2004/06/15/news/local/top/news01.txt

I think I will check the live-cam more often.)

It seems that the site in Lead is one of 7 vying for the lab. So. Dak doesn't have a "big name" scientist to lead the potential lab. Scientists are getting more like rock stars everyday. Nerds my ass.

Also, it seems the Bush Crime Family might have flooded the place, in order to scare off potential buyers. I wonder why? Probably just to squeeze more money out of the good people of South Dakota. It's just bidness, after all.

http://www.argusleader.com/update/Tuesdayarticle2.shtml

Homestake lab team looks for scientists
The Associated Press

published: 6/15/2004

RAPID CITY - Gov. Mike Rounds said he wants to build a new coalition of scientists to support converting the abandoned Homestake Mine in Lead into a national underground laboratory.

"We're moving in the right direction," Rounds told reporters Monday after meeting with five scientists from California's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

Later the scientists toured the Homestake property, one of at least seven sites vying to become the location for a proposed national underground laboratory. Scientists, especially physicists, use deep labs to shield sensitive experiments from cosmic radiation.