The 105-year old facility is a National Historic Landmark and was deemed by the National Trust for Historic Preservation to be a National Treasure.
In December 2011, VA administrators proposed closure of the facility, but provided no factual basis to justify the several thousand rural and highly rural veterans that would be impacted by this closure, including 4,000 on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, the poorest reservation in the country.
Only after pressure did the VA present a fiscal analysis, which was discovered to have false figures to support the VA's position. The community had designed a cheaper, self-sustaining alternate proposal for improved use of the facility, but after it was presented and proven, was told the VA was no longer in a position to negotiate.