Reflections

Keyser said he still believes that Peters is not a state resident and that his home in Colorado is where he and his wife live.

“In his defense, Mr. Peters has attempted to look at all the facts and try to meet all these standards as best he can, but it still boils down to whether his domicile is in South Dakota or in Colorado, and it can only be one,” Keyser said. “I’m sure he argues that, ‘I live in South Dakota and I live in this small little house in small-town South Dakota and never mind that $700,000 house or whatever I have in Colorado, this is where I live.’”

Keyser said the investigation was initially driven by Geuke, but that eventually Steele became the key player in deciding what investigative options would be pursued.

Steele told News Watch that, in regard to the extent of the investigative effort, “that’s not my bailiwick. The Game, Fish & Parks Department runs its affairs and it decides what investigations are warranted.” He added: “We did not run the investigation; that was run by GFP.”

After the case, Steele took the unusual step of authoring a new set of residency guidelines called “Prosecution standards for part time residents seeking SD hunting licenses.”