Former death camp in county named for a war criminal behind in payment

Brady Folkens died in state custody after a botched diagnosis at the former STAR Academy on December 21, 2013 then the State of South Dakota's Office of Risk Management helped to bury the evidence.

After a public outcry the death camp was shuttered and the sprawling property south of the town named for a war criminal sold at auction for the minimum bid of $2.34 million. The buyers were a group of investors represented at the sale by real estate agent and former mayor Jared Carson.

The company that purchased a former juvenile detention campus near Custer from state government is more than three months behind on a payment and could suffer repossession if it does not pay nearly $116,000 by 5 p.m. today. Jared Carson, of Custer, is president of SLIC-e Holdings and has spoken publicly for it in the past, but he said Wednesday that he and the company have parted ways, and his further involvement is only on paper until the company appoints a replacement for him. [Custer company behind on $116K payment to state]

An activist judge with deep ties to the South Dakota Republican Party is continuing the cover up of Brady Folkens' death at the hands of the state. Born without a chin and having lost his spine soon after joining the GOP Lawrence E. (Larry) Long was appointed to the Second Judicial Circuit by Governor Mike Rounds in 2009. Long has been a South Dakota Attorney General.

Retired Yankton surgeon Lars Aanning says, "We believe that besides Jeff Haier, the other participants in this cover-up include Denny Kaemingk, head of Corrections, and John Porter, CEO of Avera Health." Former Lt. Governor Matt Michels, an Avera lawyer, and the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation have also been implicated in a conspiracy to hide evidence in the Folkens case.

The state of South Dakota and Sioux Valley Hospital (now Avera) split the burden of a $1.25 Million settlement after the death of Gina Score.

STAR Academy's predecessors, South Dakota Tuberculosis Sanatorium and Custer State Hospital at Sanator have macabre histories of their own.