# Adam Vinatieri South Dakota residency under review



## R y a n (Apr 4, 2005)

Vinatieri residency under review
Published Wednesday, February 28, 2007

http://www.in-forum.com/articles/index.cfm?id=158033

RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) - Officials are checking if Super Bowl champion Adam Vinatieri qualifies as a state resident in applying for big-game hunting licenses that are issued only to South Dakotans.

Vinatieri, 34, grew up in Rapid City and graduated from Rapid City Central High School and South Dakota State University before joining the NFL as an All-Pro kicker with Super Bowl champions New England and now Indianapolis.

The Indianapolis team's Web site says Vinatieri lives in Orlando, Fla., with his wife and children.

GF&P in its licensing rules requires someone to live in South Dakota for 90 days to be considered a resident. Nonresidents can be charged with a misdemeanor for fraudulently obtaining or applying for resident-only licenses for big game such as elk and bighorn sheep.

Emmett Keyser, an assistant director for the Department of Game, Fish and Parks in Pierre, said Tuesday that someone contacted the GF&P.

"He maintains that he is a resident of the state," Keyser said. "We've asked him to provide some additional documentation. I can't tell you whether he is or isn't a resident. I think people have suggested that he's not."

Vinatieri is currently on a hunting trip in Argentina. Paul Vinatieri, of Rapid City, declined to speak for his son but told the Rapid City Journal that his son owns a house in Rapid City, licenses his vehicles here, maintains a South Dakota drivers license and considers himself a South Dakota resident.

Keyser said that even if Vinatieri has a residence and spends most of his time outside the state, that doesn't necessarily disqualify him for resident status in South Dakota.

"I assume his position is that he maintains his home here, lives here for a period of time during the year and, yes, plays football for a team out East," Keyser said. "I think he says he has done the best he can to maintain his residency, and that if he hasn't done something right, for us to let him know."

GF&P licensing records show he applied as a resident in 2005 and 2006 for preference points for Black Hills bighorn sheep, mountain goat and elk; prairie elk; Custer State Park antlerless elk; and Custer State Park firearms elk.

It can take many years to get one of those high-demand licenses that are issued in a drawing. Residents who apply get preference points that increase their chances to be selected in future drawings.

Vinatieri's job overlaps the fall hunting seasons. Keyser said he might be accumulating preference points in preparation for his retirement from the NFL.


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## Triple B (Mar 9, 2004)

the guy can kick the hell out of a pigskin, gotta give him that :beer:


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## drjongy (Oct 13, 2003)

R y a n said:


> "I assume his position is that he maintains his home here, lives here for a period of time during the year and, yes, plays football for a team out East," Keyser said. "I think he says he has done the best he can to maintain his residency, and that if he hasn't done something right, for us to let him know."


Sounds reasonable to me.

Our own state representatives in Washington live outside North Dakota most of the time...they all have big houses in other parts of the country.


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## R y a n (Apr 4, 2005)

drjongy said:


> R y a n said:
> 
> 
> > "I assume his position is that he maintains his home here, lives here for a period of time during the year and, yes, plays football for a team out East," Keyser said. "I think he says he has done the best he can to maintain his residency, and that if he hasn't done something right, for us to let him know."
> ...


Hmmm interesting logic.. allow me to play devil's advocate for a moment if you'll indulge me...

So if I agree to maintain a home in North Dakota, (let's say that the home I decide to maintain is a $200/month apartment in Carrington), maintain a ND driver's license, register my vehicles in ND, pay ND income tax, and spend 90 days a year worth of time in ND, I can qualify as a North Dakota resident? The rest of the year I'll live out here in Seattle/Bellevue/Redmond, WA while earning a living....

Sign me up if that's all I need to do!

:beer:

I think the issue here is the classic case of trying to decide where a person's home residency is...

The question is how do we determine where your residency is? What if Adam V or I or any other current NR decide to maintain multiple homes? Many wealthy NR's already do own a hunting cabin somewhere within ND. This is a slippery dangerous slope to allow someone to claim residency based on that kind of criteria...

Ryan

.


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## drjongy (Oct 13, 2003)

If that's all the law says you need to do to maintain residency there is not much else to debate.

I just thought is sounded reasonable that he advised the SD Game & Fish to let him know if he was doing everything correctly to maintain residency.


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## Triple B (Mar 9, 2004)

i'm not sure how it works, but i think there is a certain number of days that you have to actually reside at that place to maintain residency, i'm not 100% sure, maybe someone can do some diggin


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## g/o (Jul 13, 2004)

RYAN, Yep that's all you have to do but beware of state taxes etc. I have a client who resides in Florida because of tax reasons owns home yacht etc. in Florida. Also has a home yacht etc. on Lake Minnetonka every year he hunts here before the first of Nov. gets on a plane and heads for Fl. he can only be in Mn for x amount of days or else the tax collector comes to the door. I also know of several former Mn residents who are now ND residents. Just remember that once you do that you will be a N/R in Washington.


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## TheSwamper (Apr 25, 2004)

You guys can have him! :lol:


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## MOB (Mar 10, 2005)

Adam Vinatieri sure is playing his cards right. By maintaining his residency in South Dakota, he is building preference points for coveted tags that take many years to get and he's saving a lot of money by not having to pay any state income tax. That's fine by me.
South Dakota did have another residency issue a few years ago and I never did hear how that turned out. One of Tom Daschle's aides in Washington DC who was originally from Colorado applied for a resident antlerless elk tag in the Black Hills. Amazingly, he drew a tag his first year! I guess if you apply with John Cooper (Head of SDGF&P) your odds for success increase dramatically! This makes Adam Vinatieri's case look like nothing.


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## Old Hunter (Mar 8, 2002)

North Dakotas residency qualifications were posted on this site a while back . I cant find them. They are pretty strict. I think it was more than owning a house and paying taxes. Does anyone know where to find that information?


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## fargodawg (Sep 20, 2005)

Didnt Phil Hanson keep his residency during his whole NFL career somehow?

at least Adam remebers that he IS from SD unlike mutts like Tom Lameman who is introduced as "from Scottdale AZ" on the first tee box at golf tournies rather than be "proud" of the fact that he is from ALexandria.


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## *Dustin* (Aug 31, 2006)

ND Residency Requirements


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## Old Hunter (Mar 8, 2002)

I do know that the Minn guys that change their residency to ND for hunting purposes can pay a heavy price. First they loose the Minnesota homestead benifit on their home or lake cottage. If they die and their residency is ND and their widow has to sell the house the proceeds will be taxed at a very high rate, She will have to pay Minnesota income tax on the profits. In the end it can cost them a bundle.


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## scott (Oct 11, 2002)

I think in the end it costs all of us a bundle


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## swift (Jun 4, 2004)

I would venture to guess that an NFL player spends more time in their home state than in their working state. Figure for 8-10 weeks of the season are spent on the road. Off week spent at home. Off season spent at home. only about 14 weeks are actually spent at the teams home area. I don't know but this probably would qualify as a displaced worker. Just a thought.


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