Cameraman Bruce got an emergency call to show up at 7:30am to McKennan Park to start recording the Sioux Falls, SD Big Yellow House go to the Ground. I took 4 hours but it is not more. The heavy equipment operators did an amazing job controlling the destruction on June 7, 2018.
No one is a winner in this mess. The house was a well built, very nice addition to the right neighborhood, just not where it ended up. This has been traumatic to the neighbors and the entire neighborhood. This stuff divides communities and it has done it here.
There are many of us who know who should take a major chunk of blame in this mess, the former mayor and his administration. They could have setup the federal historic standards system properly to protect this and other similar neighborhoods including downtown.
The full 4 hour 5 camera recording will be posted separated in another.
The city of Sioux Falls caused all of this to happen. Period.
DaCola’s Note: I drove by at about 11 AM and there were about 50 people standing and watching from McKennan Park. Some kid should have sold lemonade, could of made a fortune.
This whole thing is due to the absence of government. As long as we have an attitude that government is bad, that the government is not us, then things like this will continue to happen.
A political atmosphere which sees government as the answer at times and is willing to make it work can prevent such a tragedy as this. But as long as we have political leaders who ignore laws, see governing as ruling and not leading, and promote local control to the point where it means there is no control or that the control is for the few, then such a tragedy will happen again.
This tragedy is a testament that you cannot successfully nor honestly run a government like a business; and there is a reason that we have laws and rules, and if you don’t like those laws and rules, then you publicly and honorably need to change them and not just lead with a mentality of scoff law, which in turn unfortunately is often disguised as a mentality of de-regulation.
Local control created this mess, but it was so local that the local citizens were not a part of it, rather the victims, because some choose to lead as rulers and not lead based on the rule of law….
As I understand it the city isn’t off the hook yet for this, stay tuned.
Sad for many. People gathered in sympathy. Everyone wants to be a good neighbor. The city seems to encourage and promote neighborhood conflict. There are sadistic employees at city planning. This was their doing. They hide behind the courts refusing to admit they are responsible.
What a waste. You better hope SF doesn’t make you tear your house down. I am glad I don’t live in city limits. They have could made this a homeless shelter.