The stanley r mickelsen safeguard complex in north dakota 10 miles from the canadian border was built in 1973 as the last line of defence against a. Jim and anna cleveland are selling their home a remodelled cold war era nuclear missile base where they have been living with their 13 children since 2015 for a tidy sum of 1 25 million. The silo is now part of the minuteman missile national.
The missile stands in delta 09 which is the only missile silo remaining from 150 that were formerly spread across western south dakota. And yet to an observant eye remnants of the former missile field still remain on the landscape. Following the 1991 start treaty these facilities along with others in missouri and north dakota were dismantled.
For a generation the south dakota landscape was dotted by 150 nuclear missile silos and 15 launch control facilities. Visiting delta 01 inside the security of a high fence the delta 01 facility housed ten air force personnel and directly controlled ten missiles. The delta 09 missile silo allows a rare opportunity to view a nuclear missile once on constant alert during the cold war.
Today all of the missiles have been removed and the silos have been either repurposed or left abandoned except for here. The state of north dakota once held enough nuclear power in hidden underground silos to be considered one of the most powerful places in the world. In november 1962 the 455th strategic missile wing was the fourth united states air force lgm 30 minuteman icbm wing the third with the lgm 30b minuteman i in 1962 and 1963 150 missiles were deployed to silos controlled by three squadrons of 455th in north dakota.
