Big business doesn't need to be good or bad to generate some level of controversy. When today's story broke about Wal-Mart's Sam's Club and Cabela's building relatively close together out near Exit 61, we braced for a series of incoming on the Rapid Reply front.

So far, it hasn't happened. But that doesn't mean it won't. If not today, certainly the next time. Or the next time. Or the time after that.

Little sparks discussion as strong as that found on stories about new businesses that come to town and the conditions upon which they arrive.

Here are five of the most certain to stir the pot.

1. Horse and carriage, and Cabela's and controversy

For those who believe it's only Rapid City folk who balk at multi-million dollar agreements designed to attract a big league retailer such as Cabela's Outdoors, they need to spend a little more time on the Internet.

In the end, the $2 million in economic development funds, additional land and Tax Increment Financing was considered a fair deal by a significant majority of voters here.

But those multi-million dollars have been questioned at various Cabela's retail locations throughout the U.S.

That being said, the controversy doesn't end there for the highly successful and lucrative outdoor retail chain. In our neck of the woods, one of the more controversial aspects of their acquisitions and dealings has been Cabela's Trophy Properties recreational real estate listing business and how it may affect hunter access.

In Montana, where fishing and hunting were the kings of industry before Cabela's made it industry, the company's practice of selling off recreational property and further limiting public access on those lands for hunting and fishing has many an angler and sportsman, well, up in arms.

The Montana Wildlife Federation engaged in a war of words last fall with Cabela's, charging that ""The MWF Executive Board finds that Cabela's is trading on its trusted reputation as a merchant of sporting goods to engage in a real estate marketing activity that is calculated to subvert and destroy the very system of North American wildlife conservation that has provided Cabela's with the hunter-and-angler markets that gave your company life in the first place."

Cabela's responded that its Trophy Properties was simply a listing service, selling no land and putting no restrictions on what's done with properties.

And so the battle goes.

2. Wal-Mart, the controversial mother of them all

I have one fake word for Wal-Mart and its propensity for getting embroiled in controversies of varying levels: OMG!

I could list them all here, but I might break the Internet under the weight of accusations that range from the surreal to sublime. Real or imagined, the list of charges brought against the expanse of Wal-Mart stories is impressive. Ethics reporting retaliations, DVD packaging controversies, planning and zoning battles, contributions to gay and transgender programs (I know, that one caught me by surprise, as well), questionable hiring practices and even a fake blog controversy. And those barely scratch the surface.

Granted, the mega-company provides a significant target for the disenfranchised, public watchdogs and a sizable village of ax-bearing villagers looking for a home to grind.

But understand, too, that its enormous commercial appeal and profits unmatched by any retailer in the history of history provide ample armor to fend off dragons of all sizes and shapes.

In retrospect, examining what has seem like a drawn-out and sometimes complicated process to bring a second Wal-Mart to Rapid City barely qualifies as small potatoes in comparison to the brood of real controversy keeping Sam Walton's offspring on the phone with lawyers on a regular basis.

3. Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern railroad expansion

It's hard to know where to begin. Or more precisely, when to begin.

The DM&E and its multiple layers of controversies seem to have been dragging on for decades. Point man Kevin Schieffer, always a lightning rod for anti-sentiment, has steered a remarkable course simply to get to this point in time.

Less than a year after being promoted from company attorney to DM&E president, Schieffer announced a $1.2 billion plan in 1997 to build a new line into Wyoming coal fields from points east of the Black Hills and South Dakota.

Opponents of Schieffer long lambasted the plan, saying DM&E's dubious safety record and seemingly shaky financial footing made it too risky to get behind the plan to expand.

A deal that was eventually struck with Canadian Pacific Railway helped take away much of the financial angst.

And so did the intervention of high profile and powerful political forces that brought the best of controversies to fore. First, John Thune - who had worked as a lobbyist for DM&E and its efforts to expand while he was a former Representative and yet to be Senator - got legislation passed that eventually allowed his former employer to apply for a $2.5 billion federal loan.

But then, the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota lined up political heavyweights such as former Sen. Tom Daschle - whom Thune had ousted - and former Gov./Rep. Bill Janklow were just a few that enlisted to fight the expansion.

Then, earlier this year, the Mayo laid down their long held opposition to the project. Or did they? Supporters of a bill that legislators passed this year to expedite the eminent domain process in South Dakota claimed that it was their familiar Rochester foes that were interfering with the company's dealings with landowners in trying to buy up the needed rail land.

And then, just as opponents were relishing in submitting a petition with nearly 19,000 names to refer the bill to the voters, they were rebuffed in their efforts when it turned out many of them turned out to be invalid.

My only question at this point is: What's next? A Hollywood script writer couldn't create more conflict than this, and if this motion picture, it would be "Gone With The Wind," only who would be the Yankees and who would be the Rebs? And how could he keep the audience in their seats for a couple of decades?

4. Exxon, the universal enemy. Or not.

Much like Wal-Mart, of which it passed to become the world's wealthiest company, Exxon catches a lot of heat because it is the biggest of the big boys.

And then there's that $4 per gallon gasoline thing. And the record profits. Not to mention a past that includes the iconic environmental disaster of the Exxon-Valdez running ashore in Prince William Sound in 1989.

It would seem that Big Oil, of which Exxon is the leader of the pack, would be in for a blistering year. After defending itself in front of obviously agitated senators in May, the push continued to find a way to make Exxon pay for its record profits and subsequent shocking increase in prices at the pump. But the political tide, even with a growing consumer outcry, failed to capture the 60 percent it needed to proceed, largely because opponents were able to point out that it would simply increase gasoline prices.

So what does all this have to do with South Dakota? Did I mention $4 per gallon gasoline?

5. Jay Allen and Bear Butte

We should have known where this one was headed. When businessman Jay Allen proposed a biker bar at the foot of Bear Butte, he had no idea what kind of controversy would follow.

Early on, Allen even talked about an 80-foot statue of a Native American on the 600-acre site and proposed calling the enterprise Sacred Grounds. The problem, of course, was that it was indeed considered sacred ground by scores of tribes.

Allen changed the name but failed to escape controversy. A series of hearings eventually established Allen could have a liquor license, but it was later revoked by Meade County Commissioners after Allen had failed to pay off a series of bills.

That brings us to today, with Allen looking to sell the venue to a Boston-based firm and the county commission reversing its decision on granting the license.

Still, the controversy is likely to continue as long as the annual Sturgis rally continues and Natives continue to visit the spiritual site.