A group of lawyers from the Twin Cities has sued several small businesses around the state for violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Unfortunately, the Marshall bowling alley was the target of one of those lawsuits.

With the cost of that on top of assessments for street work outside, and an increase in minimum wage, the small business was unable to remain open.

This dealt a blow to the Southwest Minnesota State University bowling club who would get together there every Wednesday night to take a break from school and enjoy the company of their peers.

“One of my favorite parts of bowling club was getting together every week with people,” former treasurer Laura Garlow said, “and having that social time and that break from homework.”

Garlow enjoyed the bowling club because it offered her two hours a week where she could just enjoy herself along with her peers and not have to think about schoolwork.

Former president Aric Jensen said the owner of the bowling alley, Bruce Shover, had been trying to sell the bowling alley for some time, but had no luck finding a buyer.

“It’s just not the way he wanted to go out,” Jensen said. “He would rather have sold it and kept it going instead of just completely shutting it down.”    

Jensen, who also worked there, said that he was in disbelief when he learned of the lawsuit.

“One day at work he was looking at this huge packet and I asked what it was,” Jensen said, “and he was like, ‘Oh we got sued yesterday.’”

Jensen said that he laughed it off at first but soon realized that Shover was not kidding.

“I went home for the summer and he sent me a message on Facebook saying that the bowling alley was shut down,” Jensen said.

“A lot of our core people that came every week were disappointed that we couldn’t have bowling club anymore,” Garlow said.

Sophomore and club member Michelle Stoner had joined just last semester. She was looking forward to club this year, so she was disappointed when she learned that the bowling alley would no longer be open.

“With Marshall being so small, the bowling alley was one of the few things for students to do,” Stoner said, “and now there’s one less thing to do and that was disappointing.”    

Families and students alike now must trek elsewhere should they want to go bowling.

“I feel like it’s the whole community’s loss,” Garlow said.

Garlow and Jensen feel that most students would not be willing to drive to another town just to bowl, so the future of the SMSU bowling club looks dim.