SIOUX FALLS, SD. — A lawsuit against Wholestone Farms and the construction of its proposed pork processing plant was rejected this week by a circuit court judge in South Dakota. 

Judge Sandra Hoglund Hanson dismissed a pending lawsuit filed by Smart Growth Sioux Falls without prejudice, according to a report from the Argus Leader.

During the November midterms, the city of Sioux Falls rejected an ordinance that would have prohibited the construction or permitting of new slaughterhouses within Sioux Falls, SD, by a margin of 52%-48%.

In the last year, Smart Growth Sioux Falls continued to fight against the facility, which included a civil complaint filed in September. 

Before the election, POET, a biofuel company in Sioux Falls, gave a $1,080,950 donation to the Smart Growth campaign, according to campaign finance disclosures available on the city website. POET’s headquarters is roughly a mile away from the proposed Wholestone site.

In 2021, Wholestone Farms announced plans to build a new facility in city limits. The project value was approximately $500 million.

The company previously stated that the plant would begin with a single shift of 1,000 employees after construction wrapped up in 2025, with the addition of a second shift in the future.

In October, Wholestone Farms announced it completed the construction of a butcher shop on part of the land where the plant was proposed.