MITCHELL - The McGovern Legacy Museum at Dakota Wesleyan University in Mitchell drew an estimated 25,000 visitors in its first year.

The museum, part of the George and Eleanor McGovern Library and Center for Leadership and Public Service, drew 9,220 of those visitors during an opening weekend celebration last October that included visits from former President Bill Clinton and former presidential hopeful Bob Dole.

Museum director Donald Simmons said he considers the first-year attendance a success.

"I knew that Sen. McGovern had a lot of friends around the country and world, but I was a little surprised," Simmons said. "Coming to Mitchell (to see the center) is a pilgrimage for some people."

The museum is free and open to the public, but it does not have turnstiles and does not keep regular visitor counts. The estimates are gleaned from various counts throughout the year.

Simmons said part of the credit goes to grant assistance from the South Dakota Department of Tourism and State Development.

The one-time $3,000 grant, part of a partnership between the South Dakota Arts Council and the South Dakota Humanities Council, helped pay for tourism cards available at visitor stops such as one on the edge of Mitchell along Interstate 90.

Pam Engelland, director of the Corn Palace Convention and Visitors Bureau, said her office also pushed the McGovern museum.

"One thing about the McGovern Legacy Museum that is interesting is that you don't have to be a Democrat and you don't have to like George McGovern's policies at all," Engelland said. "It's just a lesson about that time in our history."

Simmons said the museum was completed after most current tourism books were completed, so he hopes to draw even more visitors from future publications.

McGovern himself is one of the building's biggest boosters, Simmons said.

"He speaks all over the country and all over the world," he said. "Last week, he was in Kentucky and spoke about Mitchell and the McGovern Center."