There is one thing you can say about Sioux Falls City Government, it is predictable. After having two consecutive weeks of these supposed weekly Wednesday briefings we have radio silence. Nothing on YT, FB or the city website (there isn’t much there anyway).
I actually thought there would be at least 4 or 5 consecutive weeks before they threw in the towel. Maybe the new communications person with all of her food truck reporting experience they could setup the briefings in a parking lot where the food trucks could participate?
“We are still investigating the homicide that occurred yesterday, but no worries because the pulled pork sandwich I just got is bang’n!Oh, and have you heard, the price of bridges are going up!“
I also find it a little ironic that the new press briefing room that the taxpayers spent gazillion dollars on isn’t equip for the media to ask questions (that we can hear).
Of course, they will probably poke Detroit Lewis in the eye tomorrow with a press briefing . . . I guess I am it.
This new weekly briefing will take place every Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. In the One Sioux Falls Media Briefing, city departments will be highlighted for various topics each week.
We can be happy this is a small attempt at transparency but if certain constituents don’t have Facebook how are they going to watch it? Also, can the city’s media department figure out how to mic the reporters in the room so we can hear their questions?
Like the pressers during Covid, I doubt these weekly pressers will endure. This is just an attempt to make up for the 6th Street Bunker Bridge fiasco and the lack of transparency. Transparency in government isn’t an ‘occasional event’ it should be 24/7 – 365.
While I detest that most of our legislators in the state are Republican, I do get a good laugh when they start fighting over who is the most conservative. I don’t think any of them are, just Cuckoo. Read this email sent out defending State Legislator Julie Frye-Lactation;
Dear Mary Jane,
There’s something strange in the water out in Pierre.
President Pro Tempore, Senator Lee Schoenbeck thinks he’s the King of South Dakota.
Senator Schoenbeck thinks he can unilaterally decide who represents the people of South Dakota.
Schoenbeck, a notorious RINO, is acting like the King of South Dakota and illegally and unconstitutionally suspended a sitting state senator without due process.
His outrageous power trip is disenfranchising and silencing the elected representative of tens of thousands of South Dakotans.
You see, Schoenbeck unilaterally decided to punish South Dakota citizens by suspending Senator Julie Frye-Mueller before an investigation had even been organized, over a private conversation between Mueller and a legislative services staffer regarding childhood vaccinations and other motherhood issues.
Should a politician like Schoenbeck have the power to silence another Senator over a personal conversation?
Schoenbeck, working with Democrats and Establishment Republicans, forced through Mueller’s unconstitutional suspension, overriding the ruling of the chair and dismissing out-of-hand any constitutional concerns.
Unless South Dakotans like you fight back, Schoenbeck and his liberal cronies in Pierre are going to KEEP ignoring the Constitution.
If this challenge to our Republic goes unanswered, Schoenbeck will continue to block conservative bills and control the State Senate like a petty tyrant.
I hope you’ll join me in saying “Enough is enough,” to Little King Lee.
Remind him that the President Pro Tempore of the South Dakota Senate does not have the authority to remove a Senator simply based on his opinions of a legislator’s private conversation.
For Liberty,
Bethany Young Grassroots Director Young Americans for Liberty
P.S. President Pro Tempore Lee Schoenbeck is acting like he’s the King of South Dakota. He thinks he has the POWER to remove duly elected Senators based solely on his opinion.
Schoenbeck, a notorious RINO, has illegally and unconstitutionally suspended a sitting state senator without due process. His outrageous power trip is disenfranchising and silencing the elected representative of tens of thousands of South Dakotans.
Yeah there is something strange in the water alright, it is most likely vodka. While I do agree Ms. Frye-Lactation should be punished for having an inappropriate conversation it certainly doesn’t rise to suspension. As reporter Austin Goss recently pointed out on Matters of the State (2:50);
You have people in that chamber, as recently as last year, who have DUIs . . . you have others in that chamber who call each other pond scum and monkeys. So I guess if the reason to throw her off the floor is decorum, I am just kind of confused . . .
I am not confused, while the above email is chocked full of smoke and mirrors there is one clear thing going on here, Julie pissed off the wrong governor and it was time to eliminate her.
Well, yah gotta know employees are NOT happy about a holiday furlough when they blatantly set up a Go Fund me page;
Gannett, which owns the Sioux Falls Argus Leader, the Watertown Public Opinion and the Aberdeen American News, is requiring all of its employees to take a week unpaid over the holidays. This decision affects 15 journalists.
The funds raised will be distributed evenly to help cover the lost income during the furlough week. Many of the journalists affected are young and not from the area. They are worried about not being able to pay rent and their bills while still being able to go home and see their family. This fundraiser aims to help them enjoy the holidays without stressing about rent payments.
Gannett has been doing this for several years now and it should be NO surprise to the employees. I guess over the years I have personally just gotten used to NOT getting vacation, insurance benefits or holiday pay from several of my employers (mostly hospitality). While I agree it sucks, one week unpaid is not the end of the world. If you can’t afford to miss one week’s pay out of the year, you really need to take a closer look at your finances.
UPDATE: I was informed that this page was setup by a NON employee for the employees of Gannett
