To the Editor:

Cooperative vs Corporation

When corporate America wouldn’t provide power to rural South Dakota because of low usage and large coverage area, electric cooperatives were formed. Cooperatives are owned by the members; the margin between receipts and expenditures are returned to the member/owners.  East River and Basin Electric were formed by the member/owner cooperatives including Dakota Energy (DE) who has a representative on the ER Board of Directors. So why is DE trying to break up something they created and participate in?

By definition in a cooperative the Board and Manager manages within the bylaws for the benefit of the consumer member/owners. The bylaws can be changed only by the vote of the membership. (DE would not let their member/owners vote.) Cooperatives have served the rural area of South Dakota very efficiently and benefited the local communities.  A cooperative does not have secret paragraphs in their contracts.  If the Manager and Board cannot follow the Bylaws and Articles of Incorporation, they should seek employment elsewhere (not in a cooperative.)  

A corporation is managed by the Manager and Board for the profit of the investors in the business not the consumers. Guzman profits would go to their investors.

The “summary minutes” DE publishes every month in the Cooperative Connections don’t tell the whole story.

Recorded minutes should be placed on DE’s website within a couple of days of the meeting for members to view. 

In order for member/owners to make informed decisions in open and free elections, there needs to be accountability as to what motions are made and who voted for or against.

If you are concerned with what is going on at DE and if you want reliable, low cost power, vote for Baruth, Nemec, and Raschke as directors at the DE annual meeting on June 14.

Twyla Folk
Huron