Danielle Ferguson

dbferguson@argusleader.com

A billboard featuring a message from a Sioux Falls atheism organization was found to be torn along the center, an act Dale Hemming considers to be vandalism.

“People are afraid when something attacks their worldview," Hemming, who founded the Sioux Falls Atheists, said Friday night. "If people hear any statements that don’t agree with their worldview, they tend to strike back."

Hemming was driving down Minnesota Avenue on his way to look at the venue for the next Sioux Falls Atheists meeting when he saw the billboard, which stated that 98 million Americans are non-religious. The sign, which is stationed above the Juice Stop, was torn in an almost straight line along the center.

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He called the company that owns the billboards, Lamar Advertising, which investigated the sign and found it to be vandalized, Hemming said. Lamar notified police, Hemming said, and he said he hasn’t heard back.

“This is a nice, clean cut straight across the entire canvas,” Hemming said. “There’s no way the wind did that.”

Sioux Falls Police as of Friday night couldn't say whether the incident was a vandalism.

The billboard is part of a set found along Minnesota Avenue that state different facts about atheism and religion in South Dakota and the U.S., such as there are 196,000 people in South Dakota and 37,000 in Sioux Falls who are not religious.

A billboard that sits across the street remained untouched.

The set of billboards on Minnesota Avenue has been up for four weeks and is set to be taken down Monday. Hemming said he told Lamar to not repair the approximate 10 by 20-foot sign.

Hemming said this was the first time any of the billboards have been vandalized, but he said he wouldn’t be surprised if it happens again.