South DaCola – Editorial Cartoonist from South Dakota

1st Amendment Elections Open Government Open Meetings SF City Council Sioux Falls

The City Council giveth and the City Council taketh away

l3wis January 27, 2026 0Comments

Yes, that is councilor Spellerberg and his hot wings show

So in between eating hot wings and hiding from ethical disclosures the Sioux Falls city council decided they were going to fix our transparency problem at committee and board meetings by making more rules instead of less;

(g) Public input shall be received at each City Council budget hearing and at all informational,
committee, task force, joint, and working session meetings that are open to the public. Each
meeting agenda shall include an item labeled “Public Input.” Each speaker shall be permitted to
speak for up to three (3) minutes. A minimum of fifteen (15) minutes shall be allotted for public
input at each meeting. If additional speakers are present and time permits, the public input period
may be extended at the discretion of the City Council Chair or the City Council. All provisions of
this section shall apply to City Council budget hearings and to all informational, committee, task
force, joint, and working session meetings, except to the extent such provisions conflict with this
subsection

So in other words, a violation of FREE speech rights. While a body CAN limit the time a speaker has, it really can’t put a time limit on the amount of speakers. If 20 constituents show up to talk about the same agenda item, you have to listen to them and afford them their free speech rights.

Each agenda will include a time for public input at the start of the meeting. Prior to the start of public input, the presiding officer will announce that public input can be provided on any agenda items and any other topics of interest to the person addressing the city agency, authority, board, committee, or commission. Notwithstanding the previous sentence, if public input is permitted on each agenda item, the city agency, authority, board, committee, or commission is not required to receive public input during an initial public input period and may instead receive general public comment at the conclusion of the meeting.

This is also a violation of the 1st Amendment. If public input time is afforded in the meeting, a constituent can talk about anything that occurred in that meeting, even previous agenda items. This is a ridiculous rule they continue to push, but it is unconstitutional and you don’t have to follow it if they threaten you in a meeting. I just simply say, ‘You are violating my 1st Amendment rights.’ and that usually gets them to shut up.

As you can see, they are making all these changes without consulting with the public. I have said the smartest thing they could do was create a committee by resolution to make transparency recommendations to the council after having several public meetings on the topic. When you make supposed ‘civic engagement’ recommendations, you should engage the public.

Speaking of transparency, look at how many FOIA requests the city has rejected. Also, you must make your requests thru the SFPD. This is incorrect, all FOIA requests should be emailed to the mayor, since he is the top city administrator. I also suggest you CC the city attorney and city clerk.

If we want transparency in city government we are going to have to get it done ourselves. Once we get closer to the city election and I have a better understanding of who will serve on the next council, I will be urging them to put together an open government task force compiled of residents, city employees and city councilors and kick this closed government in the fanny once and for all.

I will also urge the next mayor to hire a director level public information officer to manage open government.

1st Amendment Downtown Sioux Falls SF City Council Sioux Falls Washington Pavilion

Is it time to cut the Pavilion subsidy?

l3wis January 27, 2026 0Comments

I think it is. When you have over $10 million in reserves it is time to pull the plug. As I have mentioned recently the Pavilion not only gets a subsidy for operating from the city, we also pay for ALL the repairs to the building. The Pavilion has no public benefit because they provide NO FREE public programming. Heck, even the part-time employees have to pay for parking. NO LIE. They used to do a FREE First Friday, but not sure if they even do that any more. They also charge to visit the visual arts museum, and their new outdoor music festival, funded by the Pavilion and taxpayers of Sioux Falls wasn’t FREE like JazzFest or even cheap tickets. The Pavilion has simply been taking money from us for years and providing nothing back unless you can afford a ticket to a show. I would not only cut the subsidy, any repairs to the building that involve upgrading performance equipment need to be paid for by the Pavilion. They should also cover all utilities (they may do that now) and they should pay an annual lease to the city. Next, I would eliminate the Zoo subsidy. It amazes me how the city will nickel dime the pools and libraries but throw millions at organizations that have millions in the bank, it’s stupid. If you want to make cuts, use your brain.

1st Amendment Sioux Falls

Come Protest the Dumbest Person on Earth (I know, there are several)

l3wis January 27, 2026 0Comments

1st Amendment Elections Open Government Open Meetings SF City Council TIFs

Data Center Petitions Due

l3wis January 26, 2026 2Comments

Let Sioux Falls Vote will be collecting circulator sheets starting tomorrow with a deadline of Thursday to turn in the petitions. I have no idea how many sigs they have, because they decided to collect signatures in what I call the ‘chaos’ style. Now, this is NOT bad, just chaotic because you are depending on hundreds of volunteers (not paid circulators) to collect the sigs for you and you come in at the end with the booty. If I had to guess, they have the sigs, maybe more, but there is NO way of knowing until Thursday. All that aside, even if they don’t make the mark, this petition drive has united many folks across the political landscape. Dems, Repubs, Indies and all stripes are working together on this. With all the horrible political division going on in this country, it makes me smile that EVERYONE in the community is working on this together, and it is what I envisioned anyway; CITIZENS UNITED AGAINST A CORRUPT CITY GOVERNMENT And even if they get the valid sigs, the city and developer will likely challenge in court; language, active voters, etc. It will be a sh!t show. But let’s pretend for a moment this makes it to the June ballot, the rezone will go down 70/30. And even if the petition drive isn’t successful, it will reveal the true colors of our city government, and that sends the best message.

I also want people to know Sam Scarlata who is organizing the petition drive is also running for At-Large City Council against the incumbent Rich Merkouris. We may not be able to kill the Data Center, but we can kill his council seat! I want Sam to know, there is a grassroots network in this town that will destroy the Matt Paulson money machine, we are going to change city hall in June, and I mean it this time 🙂

Speaking of the Developer Welfare Queens, I was awaiting Jodi’s article defending the grifter class in Sioux Falls with all the Data Center resistance;

Rapid City voters last week made a clear statement about the guardrails they believe should exist around tax increment financing. Without delving too deep, Rapid City also historically has used tax increment financing to fund growth in ways that fundamentally are different from Sioux Falls.

Sioux Falls generally has taken what I would call a conservative approach with structuring TIFs, focusing on some of the most basic qualifying costs allowed under state law: things like site preparation, infrastructure and parking. I can point to numerous downtown redevelopment projects that would not exist at the scale they do or exist at all without this economic development tool. They have done what they were intended to do: driven additional economic activity well beyond the increment in property tax growth they were able to use to support their projects.

This statement is on it’s head. Rapid City has actually used TIFs more, but for smaller infrastructure and housing projects, that is why the Libertyland TIF was so ridiculous to RC voters. Sioux Falls has NOT used them CONSERVATIVELY. Massive tax breaks for parking ramps ($100 MILLION) that mostly residents of the expensive condos use, which drive up our personal property taxes and forces residents across the state to fund our school district with sales tax revenue. In other words when the SF city council gives a TIF (property tax break) the school district has to make up that property tax revenue from state sales tax collection. So when you buy a loaf of bread in Milbank you are funding the tax cut for millionaire condos in Sioux Falls. I know, not fair. At all.

Economic development incentives aren’t giveaways. They’re more like investments.

I would agree 100%. When we use tax dollars to fight a fire, build a road or give us clean drinking water, that is an INVESTMENT, in EVERYONE. When we give that to rich developers that just creates a wealth gap and raises taxes on the rest of us. If anything it is a DI-VESTMENT in our citizens.

Every time I hear a journalist or some other talking head talk about the benefits of TIFs, I ask the same question, ‘What is the benefit to the average tax payer?’ I usually get crickets and the reason there has never been an independent state or city audit of TIFs is because there is NO benefit, and they know it. TIFs are really the emperor with no clothes.

If TIFs really work, why not an audit?

I hope Jodi had a nice dinner from the revenue she made from this article, because you are the only one benefiting from TIFs. Just sayin.’

1st Amendment Sioux Falls Uncategorized

Accept the Invitation

l3wis January 24, 2026 4Comments

Yesterday I heard another disheartening story about someone running for local office and turning down a FREE opportunity to promote thyself and their campaign.

I get guff from my Lib friends that I listen to too much right wing radio/podcasts. I enjoy them because their ridiculous claims make me laugh my ass off. But sometimes I learn something new, like how these knuckle draggers think.

I recently suggested this book to someone running for a seat in the upcoming city election. You have to sometimes walk over a line and look at the person on the opposite side of your thinking. You may learn something about yourself while educating those around you about who you are.

The city election is non-partisan. Let’s work to keep it that way. There are no left/right, rich/poor ideas, there is just common sense.

So if someone asks you to be a guest to talk about your campaign, don’t check their party registration, check their values, and check yours. Silence speaks volumes, remember that.

‘I don’t know if the city is corrupt, they don’t tell us anything.’

And that is the crux of our problems, not party affiliation.

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