Practices of Citizen Group Backing Ellsworth under Scrutiny

RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) — A private organization that gets taxpayer money to support Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota is facing questions about its relevance and its fiscal transparency.

Former Rapid City Mayor Sam Kooiker earlier this year asked the Ellsworth Task Force to share more financial details, and he withheld funding when the group didn't comply. Kooiker lost his re-election bid in June, and new Mayor Steve Allender restored $75,000 to the task force.

Allender tells the Argus Leader newspaper that he still intends to determine whether the city is paying the task force for services that other groups also provide, and he says he'll push the task force to be more transparent about its finances.

Task Force Chairman Jeff Carsrud says the group is working to do that.

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