Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.


Lawyer and “practical prophet” Russ Voorhees designed Heritage Farms 2000 as a refuge from the anarchy he believes will result from the Year 2000 computer bug. According to its Web site, Heritage Farms offers its sanctuary for only the nominal deposit of $1,000 on a five-year, $10,000 lease to begin on Jan. 1, 1999 (assuming the dollar is still worth anything then). Where is this paranoid’s paradise? Not in Sully County, South Dakota. Though originally deemed the “perfect” site by its planners, the county planning commission rejected the application to develop this “model village for the new millennium.”

“They didn’t really have their ducks in a row,” says Karen Wilcox, Sully’s planning and zoning administrator. “The whole thing seemed kind of shaky…. People were concerned.” In fact, she adds, “We filled the courtroom that night.”

Concerned, but not, it seems, paranoid. According to Wilcox, Voorhees could point only to “lots of interest” in the project, not to any lots leased–in fact, he didn’t even own the land.

The Heritage Farms 2000 Web site calls the rejection of a permit a “snag,” and claims that the residential site will be “ready for move-in by the summer of 1999.” For her part, Wilcox is unconcerned about the glitch that may end civilization. “I mean, I’m not going to lose any sleep over it.”

Fact:

Mother Jones was founded as a nonprofit in 1976 because we knew corporations and billionaires wouldn't fund the type of hard-hitting journalism we set out to do.

Today, reader support makes up about two-thirds of our budget, allows us to dig deep on stories that matter, and lets us keep our reporting free for everyone. If you value what you get from Mother Jones, please join us with a tax-deductible donation today so we can keep on doing the type of journalism 2022 demands.

payment methods

Fact:

Today, reader support makes up about two-thirds of our budget, allows us to dig deep on stories that matter, and lets us keep our reporting free for everyone. If you value what you get from Mother Jones, please join us with a tax-deductible donation today so we can keep on doing the type of journalism 2022 demands.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate