Megan Raposa

mraposa@argusleader.com

The day after the Brennan Rock & Roll Academy announced its closure, a Sioux Falls businesswoman shared plans to take over the music education program.

Teri Katzenberger, owner of a local fitness club, said she wanted to make sure the nonprofit academy continued in its work of providing free music lessons for children.

The academy's board cited a recently passed ballot measure to eliminate short-term lending as the reason for closing the academy. Brennan, the academy's founder and primary donor in recent years, is also founder of Dollar Loan Center, which is among the payday lending companies affected by new voter-backed law.

The week prior, Brennan announced Badlands Motor Speedway is for sale.

Volunteer on academy closing: 'For some of kids, this was their life'

Katzenberger said she "wanted to throw up" when she heard the academy was closing. She'd been a long-time supporter of the academy, and she said after a night of prayer and reflection, she knew what she had to do.

"By 4:30 a.m. Friday morning, I knew I was the one to take it over," Katzenberger said.

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Katzenberger said she spoke with Brennan and was encouraged by the conversation. Brennan declined to discuss the details of the transition but confirmed that he and Katzenberger have spoken. He added that they have been friends a long time and that her fundraising efforts are legitimate.

Katzenberger said she is working this week to find "investors" to help her purchase the academy's current building on West 11th Street. She is also soliciting donations on her website to support the academy. She hopes to re-open within a month after it closes Dec. 23.

"I would like to see it happen very quickly," she said.