(Spirit Lake)– A battle royale is brewing between those who want the city of Spirit Lake to ban cage fighting and those who feel it should be allowed to continue.
The bell for the first round sounded at Tuesday’s city council meeting.
Ron Vincelli and Cathy Hanson were among those speaking in favor of a ban. Vincelli says cage fighting is having a negative impact on children who attend the events. He says they’re acting it out in school hallways and on playgrounds. And while they couldn’t say cage fighting is a direct result of it, they say they’re concerned over other possible connecting factors, such as domestic violence and street fighting.
On the other side of the issure is those who feel a ban on cage fighting in Spirit Lake wouldn’t address the concerns. They say kids that want to see it bad enough will still be able to do so–by traveling to venues in other towns or simply by watching in on television. Dan Lewis is owner/promoter of Tri-State Cage Fighting, the company that contracts with the Dickinson County Ag Society (Fair Board) to put on such shows at the Expo Building in Spirit Lake. That’s the message he had for the council.
Lewis added they’re in the midst of a contractual agreement with the Ag Society through the end of 2009.
Vincelli says while he realizes it’s impossible to totally do away with the sport, that if the city has any chance at all to atleast minimize exposure to such activity, it should jump on it.
The council took no action on the matter Tuesday evening. It was referred to the Public Safety Committee for a recommendation.
