SIOUX FALLS, SD – An owner of a South Dakota pheasant hunting operation has admitted to killing a golden eagle and about 20 hawks since 2008. He says he did it to protect his business. Authorities say Mike Solberg has agreed to plead guilty in federal court to misdemeanor charges of unlawfully taking a golden eagle and unlawfully taking migratory birds. Solberg runs the Grand Lodge in Highmore. Solberg agreed to pay $10,000 to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. Solberg told authorities he wanted to preserve the pheasant population.
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