Sioux Falls City Council votes against Chamber and approves city flag

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NOT the official flag of Sioux Falls

The city council, all 8 of them approved the city flag tonight, but some worried (Rick Kiley) that they would be stepping on the toes of the Chamber and their rebranding efforts.

As I reported back in May, the city, and now it seems that Chamber have been leading an effort to brand the city. Kiley brought it up in the discussion tonight. While this isn’t a bad idea, I wondered when the Chamber was going to bring the public into this discussion, you know, the people who fund this government and live here. Once again, the business elite in town want to decide what is best for us, without including us in the discussion.

Personally, I am offended that these back room discussions have been going on. I guess Sioux Falls is only your city if your Chamber membership is up to date and paid for.

Did Pheasant Fest even have a very big economic impact?

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I’m sure some of the restaurants and vendors at the event had a little bump. But it certainly didn’t affect our sales tax much, (City Council is getting briefed on March Financials, the report document is to the right in SIRE) and it certainly didn’t affect lodging. The hotel tax is down over 14% from last year, which equates to the occupancy rates being down.

I was hoping Pheasant Fest would have a major affect on the tax rolls in Sioux Falls, but it seems like it really didn’t make a difference at all. Which I am very surprised about.

I would really like to hear from the CVB as to why hotel stays are down so much from last year.

UPDATE: Chamber says Entenman a life-long resident of Sioux Falls

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UPDATE: The Chamber made the error, not the Entenman Campaign.

As I have been telling people, it is often the ‘little’ things you have to pay attention to in campaigns. Details that candidates will try to slip by you.

I have noticed that Entenman’s campaign is built on a lot of spit balling and approximates. Like how he kind of just guessed that 2017 ended well financially for the city. Or that he has the intention to serve 8 years, even though he only did one term on the city council after his bucket list of the Event Center and BID tax was marked off the list. Seems he is learning from his buddy MMM who he would emulate as mayor, it’s NOT a lie if YOU believe it.

He claims in the Chamber interview he is a life long resident of Sioux Falls. Never mind the time he spent going to college in Aberdeen or the over 15 years he lived in Brandon. It’s kind of like a certain legislator from SD that lives in Texas most of the time.

Brandon isn’t a sub-division of Sioux Falls (they probably wish they were with all the water problems they are having) It’s actually a separate community with a different zip code.

Dell Rapids, Canton, Tea, Baltic  . . . Sioux Falls? Close enough.

Debra Owen new Public Policy Director for Sioux Falls Chamber

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SIOUX FALLS — The Sioux Falls Area Chamber of Commerce announces that Debra Owen, J.D. has been named Public Policy Director. She succeeds Mark Lee, Ed.D. who is leaving to become market president of Reliabank Dakota.

Owen will provide leadership in the area of public policy and advocacy on the local, state and federal levels. Her background includes more than 27 years of experience in both business and government leadership positions, including public policy, advocacy, strategy, planning and implementation.

Congrats to Debra, I’m sure she will do a great job!