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- The South Dakota location of Mike Lindell's upcoming rally has seen a spike in interest.
- "We're certainly aware of some of the controversy," Corn Palace official Doug Greenway said.
- The day rate for the venue was $1,750, plus fees for light and sound.
- See more stories on Insider's business page.
In the days since Mike Lindell, chief executive of MyPillow, announced he'd be holding a rally at the Corn Palace in South Dakota, the venue's management has been fielding phone calls from about 30 people a day.
That's an "amazing" number of calls for the venue, director Doug Greenway told Insider via phone. The Palace is in Mitchell, a town with a population of about 15,000.
"No one has said: 'Oh, gosh, why are you having this person?' It's, like, 'How do we get in and when's it open?'" he said.
The event on Monday evening has been promoted as the "Frank Rally," taking its name from Lindell's voter-fraud website, Frank. Lindell is expected to speak for about 90 minutes during the event.
Lindell is being sued by Dominion Voting Systems for $1.3 billion, in a case accusing the pillow executive of spreading misinformation about the November 2020 presidential election. Lindell has repeatedly said the election was stolen from President Donald Trump.
On Saturday, Lindell said during an interview on "Real America's Voice" that Dominion's case was "coming apart at the seams."
Some of the callers who've connected to the Corn Palace in recent days have asked how early they should start lining up for the un-ticketed first-come-first-served event. One caller asked if Saturday afternoon was too early to get in line, Greenway said. Another was expecting to travel from Tennessee.
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As Insider spoke to Greenway, he was hustling around the 3,000-seat venue, preparing it for one of three graduation ceremonies it was holding that day.
"We're certainly aware of some of the controversy that surrounds Mike Lindell, but quite honestly it's just an event for us," he said.
He said he'd talked with the Corn Palace's administrators before agreeing to host Lindell.
"We do have the right to say this isn't a fit for us, but, honestly, he hasn't done anything that would prevent us," Greenway said. "It's no secret he's a born-again Christian and is a recovering addict, and those are all good things."
Lindell's bill for the event will be $1,750 for the venue, plus fees for add-ons like light, sound, and portable toilets. The rally will be held on a pro-sized basketball court, surrounded by 1,350 floor seats and 1,750 elevated ones. If too many people show up, there will be an overflow area outside.
COVID-19 pandemic safety measures ended in February in Mitchell.
Later in the week, the Corn Palace was set to host an event for the American Corn Hole Association, according to its calendar of events.