South DaCola

Editorial Cartoonist from South Dakota

August 2012

Event Center Sioux Falls

Was the Sanford Center the plan all along? Even before the public voted on it?

l3wis 14Comments

Just another ‘secret’ Sanford events center meeting

I have been following the Events Center debate for years. But not until the recent final push to name the place after Sanford do the puzzle pieces come into place.

While we can all sit around and wonder if Sanford’s name was going to be on this place all along, I want to share these tidbits with you. You can draw your own conclusions . . .

Did you know that there was a get-out-the-vote (secret) committee within Sanford? Some of the member’s may or may not have included Dave and De Knudson, councilor (former) chair Sue Aguliar, Sanford volunteer coordinator Nona Bixler, wife of David Bixler, financial and budget analyst for the SF city council. It is also assumed that councilor Jim Entenman was involved since he sits on the Sanford board of trustees.

It is also very peculiar that the SF finance department’s director, Tracy Turbak, was in charge of the EC election. Municipal elections are typically handled by the city clerk. In light of the fact that former city clerk, Debra Owen was terminated right before the election it makes it even more peculiar. Especially when you consider that former county auditor (an expert of local elections) was named interim city clerk after Owen left, and she wasn’t asked to run the election. Why?

Having a secret get-out-the-vote committee isn’t that big of deal, actually I commend their efforts, though I disagree with what they were selling the public.

What makes it a big deal is that these same people are dictating whose name gets to be on the side of the building. Dave Knudson, VP and chief legal advisor to Sanford wrote the naming rights contract based on a series of ‘supposed’ secret meetings with a secret committee which might have been comprised of the same people that sat on the secret get-out-the-vote committee.

But as councilor Tex Golfing said in the recent EC contract working session, “There is a difference between ‘secret‘ meetings and ‘private’ meetings. These were ‘private’ meetings.”

The smoke couldn’t get any thicker.

family

Goodbye to the old farm

l3wis 6Comments

My grandparents recently moved into an apartment and left the old farmstead. I went there yesterday and dug around and was allowed to take whatever I wanted. I got some cool tools, a vintage tie, and old tube radio (that still works) and some other momentos. The house is over 100 years old and my grandparents have lived there since the late 40’s. It will probably be torn down. They lived half-way between Tyndall and Springfield.

 

Food Sioux Falls

Best SOUPS in Sioux Falls?

l3wis 8Comments

The Ukranian Borscht at Touch of Europe

Not sure what made me think of this list, but I thought I would compile it. Give me your 2-Cents.

1) Kaisen Soup – Sushi Masa (Seafood creature heaven)

2) Borscht – Touch of Europe (Beet vegetable soup)

3) Tomato Zucchini – Minervas (actually every downtown restaurant has stolen this recipe)

4) Gumbo – Bros (Spicy goodness)

5) Clam chowder – Outback (White, peppery and only available on the weekends)

6) Lobster Bisque – Crawfords

One of my memorable soups in Sioux Falls was served at a place called the Hamburger Shop (Parker’s resides there now) There Wisconsin cheese soup was to die for. I also like the liver soup at the Bohemian Cafe in Omaha.

 

Phillips to the Falls Railroads Sioux Falls

Why does the city have to be the middleman on a land deal?

l3wis 20Comments

“I’m not going to be negative like that.” (actual quote at the press conference). Who wouldn’t be positive when you are spending other people’s money and hanging out with babes. (Image: KELO-TV screenshot)

Now that BNSF is NOT asking the Feds and SF to build it a switchyard, just to purchase the property – why should we get involved at all?

Seriously. If they want this land for development, then let developers purchase the land for development. Why is my money being used to clean up this property so developers can profit from it? Screw that, didn’t we learn anything from Munson’s mess called Phillips to the Falls? (which we still own because of the contamination).

Nearby, though, the city dealt with high levels of contamination to build Phillips to the Falls, and the city is paying almost $20,000 for a study of Falls Park West to figure out how to go about building there because of previous contamination from when it was used as a landfill.

If BNSF wants to sell the railyard for private development – fantastic! Sell it to private developers and keep my tax dollars out of it.

 

SD Attorney General Secretary of State

Is the SD Republican Party protecting Gant because he is an ‘investment’

l3wis 14Comments

Is Gant competent or just another ‘TOOL’?

First an overview of some organizations that are behind some this;

YOU MAY HAVE HEARD ABOUT the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), which helps Republicans draft bills in statehouses. (We reported on the group last month.) But you’ve probably not heard of the Republican State Leadership Committee, which gets them elected in the first place.

Able to raise unlimited funds, the Republican State Leadership Committee is a stalking horse for corporate America. Top contributors to the group include Altria (formerly Philip Morris), Anheuser-Busch, Citigroup, Comcast Cable, Exxon Mobil, Home Depot, Monsanto, PhRMA, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Verizon, and WellPoint.

Guest Poster contributed to this;

There was an organization formed to takeover state legislatures starting in 2002. The group managers make their organization look like they are loosely banded together citizens with a simple public mission to be conservative.  The mission is to make all US state legislatures their version of conservative. Their version of conservatism is based in pre 1965 southern white state’s rights principles, where only certain land owners should be able to vote.  As these managers continue to assume more power they want someone to make their actions appear legal…  I am sorry, they not only want they MUST have someone to make the actions legal.  What group am I talking about?  A little known group based out of Virginia, the Republican State Leadership Committee (RSLC). (mentioned above).

Why does this affect us in South Dakota?  Why do I bring this up and why should you care?  In the 2010 Pre-General Election Financial Reports available on the Secretary of State’s website, we find the RSLC has given two of our senior elected officials in South Dakota $25,000.00 each for their 2010 campaigns.  These organizations do not give this kind of money out of the goodness of the heart.  They expect something in return.  In a small state like South Dakota, $50,000.00 can make a difference. Who are our owned or rented officials?  Well SOS Jason Gant and Attorney General Marty Jackley.

COMPLETE DOCUMENT: Jackley 2010 Campaign Report

You remember them, Gant of the shoddy SOS office and his legal savior when questions arose recently.  You might also remember the legal eagle AG decision made within hours of being given instructions on how to investigate potential computer / business / public ethics issues.

Is the SD Republican Party protecting Gant because he is an ‘investment’?

Click on image to enlarge. See more here.

Again, why should we care?  The RSLC wants our SOS office to control all our voters and local elections from Pierre.  This group is part of ALEC.  The mission of RSLC is to elect future members for ALEC.  We currently have several dozen GOP members of our legislature who are subsidized by ALEC. They will be pushing for more Real ID laws, use of unverifiable voting equipment, rules to block citizens from voting and limitations on the citizens right to redress their grievances before their elected officials.  Once you know what ALEC is, you see how bad both RSLC and ALEC are for South Dakota.

So how does this work with ALEC, RSLC, Gant and Jackley?  RSLC finances campaigns of ambitious politicians, usually people with no principles.  ALEC needs their legislation passed in Pierre, RSLC backed officeholders write SOS rules.  These new laws and rules are implemented by SOS offices and the Attorney General is necessary to defend the actions in court plus write ballot explanations to confuse.

After the recent Attorney General’s financial “question not asked” opinion I had to look harder at the data we have available to find reasons for the strange official responses received and NOT received.  There are more figures which do not add up and puzzle pieces still falling into place. There will be more to come in this matter.

I originally started to look into this trying to answer the questions:

“Is the AG and the SD Republican party protecting Gant because he was such a huge investment in the 2010 campaign cycle and still owes a good chunk of change?”

“Did the SD Republican party give Gant such a large donation because they had confidence that he was qualified to be SOS?”

“or… or he could be easily manipulated by the party and his benefactors to do their dirty work?”

His repeated incompetence certainly shows he is not qualified for the job, so one would assume the SD Republican party was looking for a ‘tool’.  Is Jackley there to keep him “legal”?

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