MITCHELL — For three decades, the Mitchell Area Friends of the National Rifle Association has been held together by its dedicated leaders who support the Second Amendment.

Those same leaders decided it was time to disband the Mitchell Area Friends of NRA chapter in 2023 and chart a new path forward.

After reaching the 30-year mark in 2023, the local Friends of NRA chapter dissolved.

Martin Christensen, a former leader of the Mitchell Area Friends of NRA, explained the costs of maintaining membership with the NRA and distribution of locally raised funds were key factors behind the decision to end the longtime Mitchell chapter.

“Keeping the funds more local instead of giving most of them to a national organization was a big reason we dissolved it,” Christensen said.

According to Christensen, the local chapter was required to raise $25,000 each year to hold the annual Mitchell Area Friends of NRA banquet at the Corn Palace. The funds went directly to the NRA — a national gun rights advocacy group that formed in 1871. Officials with the NRA would then determine how to distribute the funds throughout South Dakota, which stripped Mitchell’s chapter of allocating funds to support local youth shooting sports and clubs.

Over the past few years, many members have parted ways with the NRA.

According to statistics reported by The New York Times, the NRA has lost more than 1 million members from its peak of 6 million in 2018. Its revenue has also dropped by more than 40% since 2016.

A 2020 civil lawsuit filed by the New York attorney general’s office alleging NRA leaders “diverted millions of dollars” away from charitable missions has added more woes for the once thriving national organization.

Despite the financial troubles and declining memberships, there are many NRA-affiliated clubs still going strong. More than 10,000 clubs and organizations are affiliated with the NRA, according to its website.

Christensen said the dwindling membership paired with the allegations of NRA leaders improperly using funds for personal use were not reasons behind the decision to dissolve Mitchell’s chapter.

While the longtime Mitchell organization disbanded, it paved the way for a new group called South Dakota Shooting Sports Foundation. The new Mitchell organization was founded in July.

Christensen said the mission mirrors that of the former Mitchell Area Friends of NRA.

“It’s the same kind of mission, and that is supporting the Second Amendment and the right to bear arms. We are still all about teaching firearm safety and training for all to enjoy the sport safely,” Christensen said. “We will now be able to distribute funds to our high school shooting clubs, 4-H clubs and other groups.”

There are no shortages of shooting clubs and shooting sports enthusiasts in the Mitchell area for the new organization to support. From the Mitchell High School trapshooting team to the Davison Shooting Club, Christensen said the popularity of shooting sports in Mitchell adds more importance to maintaining an organization that provides financial support to the myriad of groups.

“It’s a fast-growing sport. We want to help keep growing it, and hopefully growing hunters as well,” Christensen said.

The tradition of hosting an annual banquet will live on under the new organization. Annual fundraising will also continue to support the new organization’s mission.

Many of the same people who led local Friends of NRA are leaders of the new organization. Christensen said there are a few new faces who have come into the mix with the formation of the South Dakota Shooting Sports Foundation.

The first annual South Dakota Shooting Sports Foundation banquet will be held Sept. 14 at the Corn Palace.

Sam Fosness joined the Mitchell Republic in May 2018. He was raised in Mitchell, S.D., and graduated from Mitchell High School. He continued his education at the University of South Dakota in Vermillion, where he graduated in 2020 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and a minor in English. During his time in college, Fosness worked as a news and sports reporter for The Volante newspaper.