Rapid City's Grand Gateway Hotel issues court-ordered apology for racist comments in long-running controversy [View all]
The Grand Gateway Hotel in Rapid City, enmeshed in a racially tinged controversy for nearly two years, has issued an apology as part of consent agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice.
Former co-owner Connie Uhre has been prohibited from serving as an officer or director of the Retsel Corporation, which owns the hotel and the Cheers Sports Lounge. An apology letter was sent to South Dakota tribal organizations and area media:
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The legal trouble also got personal for Connie Uhre.
Immediately after her email and social media post were made public, NDN Collective, a Rapid City-based Indigenous rights organization, organized a protest march on March 23, 2022, and set up pickets outside the hotel for several weeks. On May 27, 2022, Uhre was arrested and charged with three counts of simple assault after she sprayed Pledge cleaning solution on three picketers.
On Oct. 13, 2023, Uhre, 76, was found guilty on two of the counts by a Pennington County jury. Uhre, who claimed earlier this year she could not get a fair trial in Rapid City, faces up to one year in jail and a $2,000 fine for each count.
Read more: https://www.sdstandardnow.com/home/grand-gateway-hotel-issues-court-ordered-apology-for-racist-comments-at-heart-of-long-running-controversy-at-rc-business
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