South DaCola – Editorial Cartoonist from South Dakota

Elections Jamie Smith Redistricting Sioux Falls Sioux Falls

Is Jamie Smith running for Mayor of Sioux Falls?

l3wis May 20, 2025 4Comments

When I first saw that Smith was a possible candidate for mayor in a recent news article, I just chuckled and wondered who was concocting this story. Sources told me at the time that Smith was NOT considering a run and even blew off speculation. Until recently. The Dems were successful in getting Duffy elected to the school board, even though that was NOT a heavy lift, so I think they want to try their hands at a mayoral race. I welcome it if it is true. Sources tell me Smith plans to announce next week at a staged event in Downtown Sioux Falls. We will see. I have had only two candidates confirm to me they are indeed running but don’t have a launch date, but I would assume IF Jamie announces next week the dominoes will begin to fall.

CAN THE COUNCIL LEGALLY DETERMINE THE DATE OF THE NEXT ELECTION?

The council is tasked with determining if our municipal elections will be in June or November of next year. I lean towards November, but only two councilors currently support that idea, so our elections will likely be in June. But can the council determine this? Some are saying since there needs to be a change in charter, that change should be determined by voters in a special election. In other words the city council should be calling a special election BEFORE January 1st allowing the citizens to make the determination. I will let the lawyers hash it out, but like the pool bonds, I would just let the citizens decide and wash your hands of it instead of all the hand wringing. This is a decision that will likely hold for years, so you best make the right one.

Developers Development Downtown Sioux Falls Planning Commission SF City Council Sioux Falls TIFs

UPDATE: What’s going on with promised Apartment Complex behind 8th and Railroad?

l3wis May 17, 2025 3Comments

Last Tuesday the City Council got a presentation on RFP’s vs. Negotiated Sale. The topic came up because a negotiated sale is what the city is apparently still in the process of negotiating with the developer, Christensen, for the proposed development behind 8th and Railroad. I find this a little alarming. Back in June of last year the council got a presentation on the development. The developer told the council then that they planned to break ground in the Fall of last year or Spring of this year, now the planning department says it is is still in the ‘negotiating stage’. How can you be in the negotiating stage when the Planning Commission approved the TIF last July? Now there was a statement made by the proposed developer in June when they made their initial presentation; they said they would coordinate their build out with how fast the properties at the Steel District and more specifically Cherapa II would lease out. One wonders if those properties are having trouble being leased, and coincidentally slowing investment in the Christensen development? But we know how these games are being played in town. Years ago a franchise motorcycle repair shop tried to come to town and a major competitor with their wrench in city government convinced banks and other investors to back away from this franchise essentially shutting them down before the doors even opened. Funny how a TIF gets approved before a land purchase is even signed. We got some real clowns running the city these days . . .

SPEAKING OF A CIRCUS

There has been a lot of talk lately between constituents about how light and meaningless the city council agenda has been lately. The story is the lame duck mayor is telling council no new policy initiatives will be allowed on the agenda. I told someone, “The only reason you would shut down the only function of your policy body is because you have someone bigger then you riding your ass.” More to come on this.

UPDATE: Mike Zitterich sent me this;

I wanted to see how many ordinances and resolutions that get posted to the City Council Agenda by the mayor or city councilors, and in 2024, here is what I came up with:

Out of 354 Ordinances/Resolutions sponsored from January 1, 2024 to December 30, 2024 —

Mayor………………………….183……52%……………………5.1 Per meeting

Private Applicants…………..97……27%……………………2.7 Per meeting

City Councilors………………74……21%……………………2.1 Per meeting

36 Meetings in 2024

HIGH:

Mayor sponsored 13 total on August 13, 2024

City Council sponsored 9 twice on May 14th and May 7th of 2024

Private Applicants sponsored 8 total 3 times during the 2024 season.

Art Downtown Sioux Falls Public Utilities Public Works Sioux Falls Washington Pavilion

Nepotism run amuck at Sioux Falls City Hall

l3wis May 15, 2025 5Comments

Besides the secretive roof repair happening at the Pavilion they are also installing new outdoor sculptures.

Besides COS Erica Beck’s son getting a job in HR straight out of college, there seems to be some other nepotism and conflicts going on. There was a rumor for awhile that the Public Works Director’s wife who owns an interior design company got the contract for the redesign on city hall recently (that is a rumor I am still looking into), but his son, who owns Urban Oasis, apparently got the contract to install the sculptures. His father makes $232K a year with the city, so it seems a bit odd that he would need even more from the taxpayers. Now they could argue that the sculptures purchase and installation was paid for by a private donation so there is NO conflict, BUT, as I argued in the past that since these sculptures are sitting on public property, they are public art, and the taxpayers will be responsible for their future maintenance, this is a public project NO matter who is paying for it because we own the property the sculptures are being placed on. There are plenty of experienced landscape contractors in Sioux Falls who could have done the job, and with more then a couple years experience. This was clearly an inside handshake deal. I wonder what the city council will do about it. My guess, like the Selberg incident, they will look the other way.

Immigration Sioux Falls

BUY LOCAL! BUY IMMIGRANT!

l3wis May 14, 2025 5Comments

With Noem’s recent arrest of a WHOPPING eight alleged illegals that probably only committed the crime of crossing the border for a job, I found there is a better way to protest then standing on a street corner with a sign about Sally Tomato. We already know these people are awful, showing them this with a sign doesn’t matter. Noem still attains the title of Dumbest Person on Earth. “Oh, Oh, Oh, how dare you protest my commencement! I’ll show you Madison I’ll round up your illegals.” So incredibly petty, but par for Noem.

I decided that best way to protest these deportations was to start patronizing immigrant owned businesses. There are quite a few in Sioux Falls. I’m starting with restaurants. I will now only eat at immigrant owned restaurants in Sioux Falls (for takeout and sit down). I have NOT included bars or fast food, but it is a start. I have always strived to shop local anyway, and to be honest with you, some of the best restaurants in town are immigrant owned, just to name a few;

Sushi Masa, Jacky’s, Saana’s, Oshima, you get the picture.

Immigrants are important to our culture and society, they are also important for our local economy providing many jobs (I actually see American born people working in these places. I worked for immigrants for awhile.)

Immigrants are more then just people who clean hotel rooms, pick vegetables, milk cows, and cut meat, they own businesses and contribute to the greater good of our community. I would love to see every franchise fart factory shut down in this community. BUY LOCAL! BUY IMMIGRANT!

Downtown Sioux Falls Sioux Falls Uncategorized Washington Pavilion

UPDATE: Pavilion ‘Roofgate’ continues

l3wis May 13, 2025 2Comments

UPDATE: Apparently the contractor doesn’t seem to care if anyone knows they are working on the building, so why hasn’t the Pavilion said anything? It is also preparing the NE corner for the new outdoor sculptures, so I am sure there will be a ribbon cutting once installed, and it would be kind of weird to see contractors working on the roof that was supposed to be fixed already.

Last week a person who works very close to the Pavilion told me they have been loading materials (roofing) on the roof with cranes last week and continue to work on it. So I drove by this morning and noticed scaffolding on the roof. There was also 3 commercial trucks parked by the work area; An HVAC contractor, a drywall contractor and a roofing contractor. Notice the logo on the roofing truck. This is a company that specializes in this kind of roof repair. So I’m just wondering, when is the administration going to tell the citizens they are repairing the roof. And who is paying for this? #militantclosedgovernment

You Missed