LINTON - No bull manure went with Tuesday's sale of the old livestock yard at Linton.

It was all cleaned up and hauled away before the sale, but even a scraped down yard, a spiffed up facility and a no nonsense sale didn't raise the price past $85,000.

The buyer - a local heavy equipment owner and operator - was close-lipped about what he intended to do with the property, but from the buzz of talk afterward, it's clear local cattlemen aren't holding out much hope that the livestock sales ring will boom again with weekly sales.

There was some talk that it'll be used as an equipment yard instead.

The new owner is Mike Kramer of K&H Electric, with a big yard and equipment inventory along Highway 83 in Linton.

While Kramer said he didn't have plans yet for the livestock yard, he did say he thought the property was a better investment than earned interest now.

Cattle is big business down in Emmons County, but producers have been hauling theirs to sales down the road since the ring was shut down in June, under allegations of financial impropriety related to the yard's trust fund. The trust fund is required in an amount established by the state Agriculture Department to ensure sellers get paid on sale day, and problems were revealed in a federal audit.

The matter remains under investigation by state and county law enforcement.

The East River Livestock Inc. board met in mid-auction and decided the livestock facility would get a new owner Tuesday, even after bidding remained dispirited.

The auctioneer started bidding at $200,000, dropping quickly when no hands went up at top dollar.

He described the yard as a prime cut, running up to 40,000 head its last year of operation. At $8 a head commission, he encouraged a packed house to do the math.

One old gentleman, cane in hand, shouted out, "If I was any younger, I'd buy it myself!"

Over the years, the yard has served as a social hangout for local farmers and ranchers, who met there Fridays to check the markets, sell cows and swap bull, in some cases literally.

Donald "Doc" Janecek, of Linton, was the yard's veterinarian for nearly 40 years of its 60-year history. He's semi-retired now, but he misses hanging out with the buyers, sellers and producers he got to know as friends in all that time.

Janecek said he hoped the sale would mean the yard would reopen.

He said cattle prices don't vary much from sales ring to sales ring, just like the price of beer doesn't change much from bar to bar.

What matters, is how much folks like the sales ring owner, he said.

Joe Lauinger, also of Linton, shared the feeling.

"I hope someone buys it so I've got somewhere to go on Friday," he said.

Allan Burke, who runs the newspaper in Linton, said the closed sales ring has an impact in town.

"You can see it on Main Street," he said, especially Fridays, the old weekly sale day.

Don Volk, of Linton, said he sold some horses through the livestock yard over the years and also hoped it could remain open.

Besides bringing people to town, the livestock yard created a few jobs for people.

"There's a lot of cattle around here," he said.

With 355,000 head, the Bismarck region including Emmons County leads the state in cattle production.

About 20 people picked up auction bid cards, but only four engaged in bidding and only two stayed in toward the end.

Alan Senger is secretary of the board of the East River Livestock Inc., which had been operating the yard at the time it was closed.

Senger said the board was hoping for more money and while he couldn't be detailed, said there are lawsuits from vendors seeking to get paid.

"What would have made me happy is not losing it in the first place," he said. "There are a lot of legal questions we've got to answer."

(Reach reporter Lauren Donovan at 888-303-5511 or lauren@westriv.com.)