Amazing, in a 7-1 vote, (Stehly opposed) the city council approved axe throwing at a bar. I will agree, that would be okay, but I will get to that in a moment.

The hypocrisy of this is that they denied a beer license to a mom & pop affordable movie theater because they were concerned about the safety of the minors, but apparently drinking beers and throwing axes doesn’t concern them.

Why? I will tell you why. Because ‘mom and pop’ who own West Mall 7 don’t own one of the largest home realty agencies in Sioux Falls. The owners of Escape 605 do. They have connections.

But the irony of this is you could have had your cake and ate it too. While they can’t put a condition on the license itself, they can put conditions on the safety plan. In other words the council could have deferred this and asked them to change their safety plan to ONLY allow drinking AFTER their axe throwing session was finished, than came back with a NEW license request.

UPDATE: One of the arguments from the owner of the bar to allow axe throwing around alcohol was that dart leagues use steel tip darts. I thought that was odd, so I asked some people who throw in Sioux Falls dart bar leagues. They told me they were unaware of a steel tip league in Sioux Falls since all the leagues use electronic boards who only accept plastic tip darts.

Not only was the vote tonight childish, hypocritical and wreaked of elitism, it was completely ignorant. You could have allowed them to have the axe range and alcohol, and done it safely, but instead they just ramrodded it through because there seems to be some immediate need to open an axe throwing bar in a building that has sat empty for several years.

I hear individual councilors say individual stupid things at meetings, but I have never seen a group of them act so idiotic before. WOW.

17 Thoughts on “UPDATE: Sioux Falls City Council has another ‘hypocritical’ alcohol license vote

  1. Apparently, they only care about children and not adults in this town. Because “children are our future” (Or our future underpaid workers, that is)….. And some bars allow you to play Jenga at their establishments, too. So I have an idea, the City should approve a bar liquor license for an establishment, where the patrons of the bar are allowed to play Jenga with one of the establishments load-bearing walls. Because we know for a fact that such walls generally don’t move our Council….Although, they might move a building, but don’t forget, they only care about the children, “our future underpaid workers”….

  2. l3wis on July 17, 2018 at 9:09 pm said:

    I still laugh about the comparison of darts to axes. How many movie thrillers have you heard of that have a ‘dart murderer’? I heard they don’t play them at West Mall 7.

  3. They probably confused a Dodge Dart murder with darts…

    But on an other note, Reuters is reporting tonight that Gary Hart will be at the grand opening of the new Ax Bar, however:

    https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/video/presidential-election-race-starts-itn-lib-28-2-84-gary-news-footage/814663432

    And I especially can’t wait until Sturgis picks up on this bar theme, too…

    Just imagine, now Sanford with their new liquor license might follow the trend as well…. Because how different is ax throwing really from MCC fighting?

    Perhaps their marquee will read: “Lizzie Borden once drank here”

    Maybe a British pub theme would be better with a pub name like “An Ax to Grind,” “An Ax in Hand” or “An Ax in Time.”

    And if it is ax throwing today, then what stops it from being a gun range bar tomorrow? With the latter having constitutional rights, too, to exist with a grind if anyone tries to force them to stick merely with “an ax in time”….

    “Come to the Ax Bar & Grill, where customers get to pick their own meat.” (They will be known for their steaks…)

  4. Rachel on July 17, 2018 at 10:56 pm said:

    This is a joke right? Axe throwing and booze are compatible because Stockberger has an in, but we won’t let a business serve beer at a movie theater. I have patronized both businesses but this is ridiculous. Honestly, throwing an axe sounds kind of fun, but buying a beer at a movie theater is reasonable..perhaps the council could implement some what fair judgement in their decision making.

  5. D@ily Spin on July 18, 2018 at 7:56 am said:

    “Here’s Johnny!”. Just where I want to relax with a beer, a bar with drunken axe throwers.

  6. i12doit on July 18, 2018 at 11:19 am said:

    If the council does the reach around do they do it in Private or do you think they all stand in a line and do it mutually? Sounds like at least one of them chooses not to be involved in the nasties. If of course they really do them things. Who knows what goes on behind closed doors?…. Who’s picture will they be throwing the axe at?

  7. matt johnson on July 18, 2018 at 12:07 pm said:

    It is my understanding that the city needs a new source of funds. As there is a pandemic of ax murders and other crimes where an ax is wielded, anyone who leaves their ax in an unlocked car will face a stiff (yet to be determined) fine. I also understand that anyone who leaves their computer unprotected, and it is subsequently hacked, will also have to pay a heavy fine. Democrats, are you aware of this?

  8. I can’t imagine spending any time in a bar that’s attractive to the meathead types that would be prancing around the axe tossing area.

  9. Warren Phear on July 18, 2018 at 4:28 pm said:

    Scott Hudson, I’ll never, ever be in a bar that calls axe throwing entertaining. I would guess it appeals to trump supporters, so, it could be really, really big in this state. This I can tell you. Believe me. There was no collusion.

  10. Matt,

    Have you ever heard of “economies of scale,” when it comes to executing public policy? Because when it comes to axes or computers being stolen – and those thefts then harming society as whole – well, they don’t appear to be a problem right now, but stolen guns are… Which begs an other question. Will the bar be supplying the axes or will you be allowed to bring your own ax to the bar?…. You know, those axes which many keep in their unlocked pickups…. (But you would think that the two American flags sticking out of the back of their pick-ups and the ‘Trump 2020’ stickers on their bumpers, too, would ward off any thieves…Wouldn’t you?)

  11. matt johnson on July 19, 2018 at 8:02 am said:

    JKC-You must be thinking of people like the one arrested on South Blaine Avenue this week (with the antifa stuff) oh wait that is a left wing deal so any violence on his part is warranted; and I did not suggest that computers were stolen but rather information that should not be there was accessed- thanks Hilary

  12. Matt, I believe that guy who was arrested had things on his social media accounts, which suggested that he was not really a “Leftie”….. Interesting, huh?

    I didn’t know that Hillary was president. Plus, if Hillary is guilty of any thing, it is being sloppy, which is at best a general intent crime. Whereas the Trump crowd appears to have made specific intent crimes, which were specifically against American interests…

    I also notice that you like to gaslight on a lot of your comments with tangent arguments about abortion or Hillary…. Just heads up, that means of debate is a sign of weakness….

  13. matt johnson on July 19, 2018 at 12:56 pm said:

    so let me get this right JKC. you can bring up any thing you want about Trump but not a word can be said about the lady who was dumb enough- just to be kind- or criminal enough- just to be honest- to use a private server for government work; and you can infer that the mayor is a liar just because he did not attend a “pride” festival as we are told these are really just people who deserve a good life but it is wrong to talk about the life that others could have had – makes a lot of sense to me- but I forget you libs get to decide what is justice

  14. Matt, I guess you can talk about anything. It is a free country, but to be credible it helps to be germane and it is wrong to assume that somehow your tangent comments are naturally an indictment of others or their thinking….. Oh, and I never called him a liar. I am quite confident he went camping. It is just the absence from the diversity debate and then the Pride event, which leaves one wondering, especially when he has been endorsed by the FHA….

  15. scott on July 20, 2018 at 9:04 am said:

    matt, please explain why it is a good to 1. leave your car outside unlickked, and 2. leave your car unlocked with a gun in it.

  16. The Guy from Guernsey on July 21, 2018 at 1:29 pm said:

    “One of the arguments from the owner of the bar to allow axe throwing around alcohol was that dart leagues use steel tip darts.”

    LOL. Thank you for exposing this.
    I am never surprised at the aplomb with which real estate-types can exxagerate, state mistruths, or more frequently, tell a bold-faced and blatant lie. Just to get tge deal done.
    Sometimes it is a case in which they don’t have complete knowledge of an issue/inquiry. Can’t rationalize the time to get the info and get it correct in the “fast-paced, rah-rah, go-go world of real estate”. And TBH, if it might be an obstacle to a deal, they really just don’t want to know. Make up something and move to the close.

    Other times, fully knowledgable that the truth will nix a deal, they prattle on with inaccurate information, adding some gloss to get past the obstacle. It’s the deal that counts.

    Real estate agents rank slightly above used car sales people, but still below whale dung at the bottom of the ocean in my book.

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