Residents of the Hideaway Hills subdivision in South Dakota, once a peaceful community near the Black Hills, are grappling with a nightmare as sinkholes continue to threaten their homes. Stuart and Tonya Junker, along with about 150 of their neighbors, are suing the state for $45 million in damages, holding it responsible for selling land over an old mine that has led to severe ground collapses.
The couple’s tranquil life turned upside down when the earth began to sink, leaving them uncertain about their future. “It’s changed our lives,” said Tonya Junker, highlighting the constant worry and sleepless nights. The neighborhood, built between 2002 and 2004, rests on land where gypsum was mined by a state-owned cement plant, and since 2020, large sinkholes have opened up, including one that appeared while a resident was mowing his lawn.
According to the resident’s attorney, Kathy Barrow, the state retained subsurface rights when it sold the land but failed to disclose the unstable underground conditions. A 40-foot-deep mine, improperly sealed, now jeopardizes the homes of 158 families.
Despite the ongoing lawsuit, the state argues that responsibility lies with the developers and homebuilders who, it claims, knowingly built over the abandoned mine. Residents, however, are stuck, unable to leave due to the plummeting value of their homes and the ongoing danger.
For the Junkers, who have lived in the community for 15 years and remodeled their house, the lawsuit is their last hope. “It’s just kind of disappointing that the state won’t take care of us,” said Stuart Junker, as the couple braces for what might come next in their fight to reclaim their safety and home value.
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