S.D. Attorney General Throws Decent Office Equipment in Dumpster

It appears the South Dakota Attorney General's office in Sioux Falls has gotten new office equipment on May 31, 2007. However, they have thrown out much of the old equipment, which sits in a large dumpster in the alley behind the 300 Building on N. Dakota Ave.

My law office is across the alley from the 300 Building. One of our other attorneys noticed a number of Department of Corrections prisoners hauling desks and filing cabinets out of the 300 Building and putting them in a dumpster. My colleague asked the prison guard what was going on and was told the AG's office was getting new office equipment.

Back when I worked at South Dakota Public TV in the 1980s and 90s, we couldn't get rid of anything of value. It had to go to surplus then the state would either sell it at auction or otherwise dispose of it.

From my poking around the dumpster, while the office equipment isn't great, it isn't bad either. I'm sure someone would buy it for a start up office or a home office. I'm also sure any number of charitable organizations could use the equipment.

Later that afternoon, another phenomena took over--dumpster divers.

The word got about the AG's office's Sioux Falls rummage (rubbish?) sale.

During the afternoon, the 300 Building's dumpster has been a busy place, with South Dakotans reclaiming some of the state's massive reserves one desk or filing cabinet at a time.

Maybe this is the State of South Dakota's new surplus equipment policy-put it in a dumpster and they will come.

It's just something else about South Dakota's quirky state government that makes you want to go "hmmm."