With four USS South Dakota crew members looking on, Mitchell Mayor Jerry Toomey announced the 2019 Corn Palace mural theme: “A Salute to the Military.”
He says it came from a community member. “That maybe we ought to look at a salute to the military and I thought it was a great idea,” said Toomey. “And then it evolved into ‘hey we got the USS South Dakota being commissioned in 2018’…what a great timing and coincidence to have this salute to our military and to honor the USS South Dakota submarine.”
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A group of Dakota Wesleyan University art students is in charge of designing the murals. DWU president Amy Novak says it’s a great partnership. “It’s just a wonderful privilege to be able to give students the opportunity to think about the way the military has influenced the lives of all of us,” said Novak. “And to be able to honor that through this mural project.”
It’s the first time in more than 100 years the Corn Palace murals featured a military theme.
J.P. Skelly
