MANDAN, N.D. – The owners of a Mandan bar say they’re prepared to take legal action to fight the city’s demands that they paint over their Western-themed mural.
The Mandan City Commission ordered the Lonesome Dove last month to remove its mural of a horseman against brown hills at sunset. City officials argue that the business doesn’t have a permit for the outdoor artwork.
The bar first received a citation for the mural in October.
Co-owner Brian Berube says the owners didn’t apply for a permit because they weren’t aware of the requirement.
The bar’s owners are working with a libertarian legal group, the Institute for Justice, to defend the mural.
Berube says he hopes to avoid a lawsuit, but he refuses to paint over the art.