http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JuMlHdxiIZ8

In the wee hours of Tuesday night, I will be starting a long overdue blog break. South DaCola will remain up, but commenting will be turned off to prepare for changes. Not sure what the new format of DaCola will be, but a (small) team of South DaCola foot soldiers and associates have been weighing our options. I can tell you this, it will no longer be a bitch session but a proactive community activism website and news source (what many don’t realize is the activism my site inspires that doesn’t grace the pages of the interwebs, they are numerous, and often). Not sure how long this transition will take, but I am guessing about a month. Some of the things we will be doing will be definitely ground breaking and ‘different’ to the Sioux Falls market (yes, I will be selling advertising), and different then any traditional media source that currently exists in the Greatest Little City in the country. I am looking forward to it, but I am also looking forward to the break from my tireless obsession with city government.

While I volunteer my activism on this site, it hasn’t always been ‘fun’. I have lost sleep and good friends over it, and the friends that still talk to me, don’t do it as often. It’s been rough emotionally for me, because my personal (recreational) life is almost nonexistent, and if that is going to change, for the better, I need to make this transition. It’s time I get back to things I enjoy, like BBQ’in with my friends, bike riding, firepits and camping, playing yard games, painting and going to live music shows and dancing with the ladies (love dancing with the ladies). Stuff that has almost dwindled to nothing, especially over the past four years.

There has been some positives though, and I am grateful for them every day. I have met some pretty amazing people in our community on this journey, who have made me laugh, made me cry, and pulled the inner fight out of me. Candidates, citizen advocates, city & county employees, elected city and county officials, attorneys, campaign consultants and a whole host of other citizens disenfranchised by city government that have a legitimate beef and axe to grind. They are fantastic, intelligent, thoughtful, fascinating people that are not apathetic or ignorant and have hearts the size of the T Denny Sanford Premier Center. I love the NEW friendships I have attained. Some of these people will probably be my friends for a very, very long time, and I love it (a lot of them like to dance also 🙂

This is the most important city election this city has ever had since I moved here in 1991. Ballot issues on quality of life, public services, home owner property rights, etc. I have been diligent and obsessive for a reason, maybe it’s the bleeding heart Liberal in me that just wants to see fairness for EVERYONE from government, especially on a local level. Transparency and anti-censorship are my two biggest issues. I have often had the belief that democracies can only be fair to the citizenry if that citizenry is informed. Ethical and open government is tantamount to a vibrant and strong local government, unfortunately, that has not happened over the last 8-10 years in Sioux Falls (Huether and Erpenbach have been public enemy #1 in this arena). I’ve seen good people chopped down, I’ve watched public employees terminated and publicly disgraced unfairly, I have seen citizens put through the wringer and watched the very people we elect allow it to happen, with no remorse. As the chair to ‘Citizens for Integrity’ said the other night about the ballot language at the city council meeting, “It’s bad!”

We can however make a change on Tuesday, remember to VOTE at any vote center and VOTE for a change and progress;

Jamison

Dunn

Schwan

Reistroffer

Ballot Measures: YES on the first Five, No on the last Two!

In closing; I have become familiar with defeat and victory in municipal elections, but the voters are the ultimate deciders, and while I will not be able to personally accept some of their decisions on Tuesday, I can deal with it, move on, and work with the positive results of that night. I hate to sound like a candidate, but I Love Sioux Falls, it took me a long time to get to that point, but I think we have so many things we can improve on. I think we can do that no matter the results Tuesday night, and I hope the NEW DaCola will be a part of that.

18 Thoughts on “South DaCola, change is in the air

  1. Matt on April 6, 2014 at 7:36 pm said:

    Good friends should not be lost because of political disagreement. You and I are almost polar opposites on the political spectrum and we have never met but I consider southdacola to be the best blog out there. Period. I respect and admire your tenacity and insight and appreciate your commitment to good government. More often than not you are right on (and this from someone who thinks Rush Limbaugh is just a bit too liberal). Please continue to keep the folks at city hall honest. Thanks and good luck!

  2. Thank you, Scott, for the time and effort you have put into southdacola.

  3. OldSlewFoot on April 6, 2014 at 8:29 pm said:

    I await your new venture.
    Politics in SF is fun.

  4. Dan Daily on April 6, 2014 at 8:42 pm said:

    From the heart.

    I’m getting to old to chase women but I’ll tag along. We both need to be put in our proper place by women who are now stepping up and taking government back from the antiquated senior male power blockade. I’m hoping Hillary divorces Bill so I can become First Man. I’m thinking the new white house dishes should be camo design.

    I’ve always told you this site is local news you can’t get from media. They sold out and no wonder they’re failing. Keep this spirit. Otherwise, where can I go for real truth? There’s profit here if not unexpected revenue success and a public stock offering.

    I’ve come out of the closet because I’m proud to live here and proud of those that read and post here. These are conscious people who recognized local government became oligarchy if not cleptocracy from the greed of a few treasonous headline grabbers. They have honorable mention or plaques everywhere. In time, the rest of the city will see them for who they are behind the scenes and recognize we had become so close to communist rule.

    I’m here and proud to be a soldier. I came back from combat and discovered constitutional liberty was absent here and recovering there.

    Not sure where this is going but my mind’s working. I can ad to this because the constitution guarantees citizens equal privilege. Suppression and control from a few tyrants works but not for long. This site will become the history of how people recovered their inalienable rights and rediscovered life and liberty taken away from them.

  5. Helga on April 6, 2014 at 8:47 pm said:

    I totally understand your desire for a break. But on a selfish note, I like reading your blog and how will I get your “love” of Sioux Fall fix until you come back?

  6. grudznick on April 6, 2014 at 9:10 pm said:

    Mr. E.

    I, for one, have always appreciated your efforts. Even when you were wrong. Keep it up for those times you were right.

    Best wishes.
    g

  7. I am very excited for your future and the future of the Dacola community. I would love it if you threw a BBQ dedicated to your fans and activist network!!! Keep up the positive spirit Scott. We have big things to come.

  8. rufusx on April 7, 2014 at 8:23 am said:

    So – only going to allow griping from one side – eh? Sounds like censorship to me 🙂

    Oh well, if you can’t beat ’em – join ’em.

  9. H ey emmit I voted for you I hope your a democrat.

  10. Angry Guy on April 7, 2014 at 10:17 am said:

    I’ll save you a spot at the next Angry Guy Bonfire, and you can drink my beer and dance with my wife if you promise to keep it in your pants.

  11. Dan Daily on April 7, 2014 at 10:40 am said:

    Emmett has a good idea for a get together. How about a spring pot luck at a reserved city park pole shelter. You gotta taste my enchiladas. Theresa, make the call. This is a test to see if my enchiladas can hide the camo on White House dishes.

  12. Dan Daily on April 7, 2014 at 11:06 am said:

    Hey, investors could show up and South Dacola will head into another Facebook story. Or, you can serve cola downtown from a hot dog cart with Dacola logo.

    Life is a journey with scale. The fun part is not at the top or the bottom but the trip up or down. From down, everywhere is up. From up, lift others up or greed will take you down.

    Today is better than yesterday and tomorrow is looking good.

  13. 85th stuckee on April 7, 2014 at 12:56 pm said:

    Thanks Scott for all your great articles and great images. The three stooges and smiley face city council are a couple of many favs. We’ll be around to read comment and support you thks

  14. Madison Observer on April 7, 2014 at 5:29 pm said:

    Just don’t get bitter. If you stay in this for so long, you may see so much that anger and frustration come out too often. That’s when you lose perspective as well as friends and future opportunities.

  15. circulator on April 7, 2014 at 5:29 pm said:

    Can’t wait to see what your future holds…I will always be a loyal reader!! You are valuable resource & I know you will continue keeping the city honest!

  16. l3wis on April 7, 2014 at 7:10 pm said:

    Not totally leaving, just going to make it more ‘fun’ I talked about it a little bit on 100 Eyes today.

  17. Analog Kid on April 8, 2014 at 1:26 am said:

    Looking forward to the next chapter. Perhaps we’ll bump into each other at Ponca St. Park (NE) where little has changed since 1936 or on one of the disc golf fields this summer.

  18. Sammy on April 8, 2014 at 9:17 am said:

    Thank you for your efforts.

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