[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Page 15451]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              MAYOR MARK ZEIGLER OF STURGIS, SOUTH DAKOTA

 Mr. JOHNSON. Mr. President, today I to pay tribute to the work 
of a distinguished public official in my home State of South Dakota. On 
September 4, Mark Zeigler will step aside as mayor of Sturgis to become 
the president of Northwestern Health Science University in Bloomington, 
MN.
  Mark and his wife Gae, an elementary school teacher, arrived in 
Sturgis on the last day of the 1980 Sturgis motorcycle rally. Mark 
quickly established his chiropractic practice. Later he began his 
political career by completing the term of Maurice LaRue on the Sturgis 
City Council.
  For the next 14 years, Mark served on the Sturgis City Council. He 
left the council in 1997 and was elected mayor in 2001. During the past 
5 years as mayor, and his nearly 20 years of community service to the 
residents of Sturgis, Mark has worked to make the community a better 
place to work, live, and raise a family.
  During Mayor Zeigler's tenure, the city developed a state-of-the-art 
library and city hall complex that will serve the community and area 
residents for many years into the future. He also worked towards the 
construction of a new fire hall that will provide expanded services to 
the Sturgis community and area.
  Mayor Zeigler has been especially successful in promoting economic 
development. Not so many years ago, it appeared the city lacked the 
means to expand its industrial base. But Mayor Zeigler succeeded in 
working with city officials to design and expand the city's industrial 
park complex. Through his leadership, Sturgis has developed a niche 
among gun and ammunition manufacturers. In addition, he has made 
Sturgis a more attractive place to live and work by expanding and 
beautifying the city's greenway and bike path areas.
  During his years of community service and as mayor of Sturgis, the 
annual Sturgis Motorcycle Classic has grown and expanded in popularity. 
Sturgis is a community of roughly 6,000 citizens that hosts this annual 
event that brings up to a million visitors each year. Hosting an event 
of this magnitude takes considerable effort and skill, which Mayor 
Zeigler and his team of local partners have shown in abundance. In 
addition, they have hosted other established and expanding events such 
as Cavalry Days, the national Sheep Dog trials and competition, and the 
Meade County Gas and Threshing Bee.
  I have had the privilege of working with Mayor Zeigler during his 
terms as mayor. His dedication and commitment to his community and its 
citizens are to be applauded, and I congratulate and commend him on his 
years of service, his leadership, vision, and work ethic. Mark and Gae 
will be greatly missed by the residents of Sturgis, and I want to wish 
them all the best as they open a new chapter in their lives. The 
mayor's accomplishments in Sturgis will long be remembered fondly by 
the city's residents and by those of us who had the pleasure of working 
with him.

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