August 2022

1st Amendment Joe Sneve Media Sioux Falls thedakotascout.com

South DaCola welcomes The Dakota Scout

l3wis August 19, 2022 6Comments

There has been some speculation out there that I may be competition with the new media coming soon in Sioux Falls. Hardly. Even I know that what my blog offers is mostly my editorial view on what is happening in local government and my enduring fight for transparency, common sense, and good government. I even hope to assist them in any way possible.

I am thrilled that Jon and Joe are launching an alternative to the hospital, food truck, developer welfare crazed local media.

Almost every day I see our local media miss the big stories that effect local governing.

During and after the last local election there were two big stories out there about Councilor Dr. Sarah Cole that not one single media outlet in Sioux Falls would cover;

• Before she voted for herself, Cole had NEVER voted in a local election even though she had lived here for almost 10 years.

• She received $17,500 from Mayor TenHaken’s PAC as a campaign donation.

It has always amazed me when I will hand a story to the media on a silver platter they do nothing with it. I hope Jon and Joe don’t fall into this pattern.

Recently I was reading comments on social media about how our local officials don’t listen to constituents and how we need to make them listen to our concerns and needs. This is true, I have been doing it for 16 years and have seen many positive changes in Sioux Falls due to my diligence and the diligence of my readers but what really needs to happen is there needs to be a full court press to change the makeup of these bodies which means getting the public involved with local elections, not just voting in progressive candidates but volunteering for their campaigns.

The regular Sioux Falls constituent is getting clobbered at the ballot box because of low voter turnout and the massive amount of money being thrown at candidates by the ruling elite. It is unethical and dark.

I’m hoping The Dakota Scout starts to uncover how this dark money has turned our local government bodies into impractical, ignorant, rubber stampers that virtually do NOTHING for the everyday citizen in Sioux Falls let alone hear anything they say.

I wish them luck! Telling the truth about things can be a very lonely place sometimes, but it is always rewarding.

Mayor TenHaken Sioux Falls

Mayor TenHaken (Paul) reminds us the importance of the 4th Estate

l3wis August 18, 2022 10Comments

During PTH’s Sunday Night FB rant his authoritarian stripes started to show;

He reminded folks if you are having landlord issues you should NOT call the media you should call the city. This of course is true, but when tenants are getting no resolution from the city on cockroach issues and other problems this is when citizens SHOULD call the media. The 4th estate’s job is to uncover problems when government is ineffective.

He also voiced his opposition to allowing motorized foot scooters, one wheels, skateboards and E2’s on the recreational (bike) trail. He seems to have a misunderstanding of this technology. Most E bikes I see on the trail are E2s. It makes absolutely NO sense to buy an E1 bike that you cannot ride off the trail over 15 MPH and has NO throttle for effective street navigation. I have also argued that E2’s are actually safer than non e-bikes because you can control (limit) the speed, they have a better braking system, better tire traction, better shock absorption and are usually more durable. Depending on the setting you can actually force the bike to go a certain speed. I have offered many solutions to the council including just enforcing a 15 MPH speed limit and painting a stripe down the middle of the trail. These vehicles are NOT dangerous and in most cases when an accident occurs it is due to operator error or a pedestrian or unleashed dog stepping in front of the bike.

I also look at this as holding back our local bike dealerships. Right now it is virtually impossible to buy any E products in Sioux Falls unless they meet the E1 criteria. Most of these units I see on the trail are purchased online. The E2 and other electric transportation is the biggest growing industry in the nation and we are missing out because our lackluster city council doesn’t want to proceed on realistic regulations.

He also makes the inference that E transportation is not ‘recreational’ saying that the trail is for walking, jogging and regular biking. I would argue that especially with E2 bikes you can get a better workout depending on your setting and it assists people who may have physical limitations. Who do I see riding E-bikes the most on the trail? Retired and elderly folks and very few are overweight.

Speaking of bikes, PTH also reminds us that roads for cars are more important because we can only ride bikes 6 months out of the year and only ‘hardcore’ people ride all year long. Maybe the reason is because the city doesn’t provide enough options for bicyclists to commute all year long?

He also says the Bunker Ramp is self-sustaining through rentals and leases. While it is true the ramp’s bond must be paid for through parking funds I highly doubt the bond payments are being covered directly from the Bunker Ramp which is mostly empty and has a top floor that is closed. The entire parking enterprise fund is likely propping up the bunker ramp.

Developers Development Downtown Sioux Falls Sioux Falls

UPDATE II: Will OSHA investigate the Crane Collapse in Sioux Falls?

l3wis August 16, 2022 12Comments

UPDATE II: Looks like it is lot easier to tip a crane than to turn it back over.

The developer really needs a communications person reviewing these statements before releasing them;

“We know what happened with the equipment, and it was not anything to do with our building,” said Jake Quasney, chief operating officer of developer and general contractor Lloyd Cos. “We had a failure when it came to that piece of equipment.”

And why would it have anything to do with the structure itself? Am I missing something here?

“OSHA came in even though it wasn’t a workplace accident but out of an abundance of caution,” Quasney said.

So was it a morning donut break gone awry? Using caution is what you are supposed to do BEFORE using the crane, not after the fact. OSHA is investigating because it was AN ACCIDENT. Good thing the crane wasn’t lifting BS, could have been a lot worse,

UPDATE: A reliable source told me this afternoon that OSHA is investigating the crane collapse.

I first want to say I am grateful no one was injured or killed today at the Sioux Steel project crane collapse.

But if you do a little digging, you will see this happens across the United States.

No one was injured in the incident and Lloyd Cos. said it is continuing to investigate the incident alongside local authorities.

I rode my bike by tonight and the crane was in the same position it was this morning. This of course could mean that OSHA will be on site to investigate. I hope so. This is NOT the duty of the local FD or PD, this is a work safety issue that needs to be thoroughly investigated by the FEDS.

As a person who worked construction as a teen and have had many interactions with OSHA we cannot depend on city officials to make a judgement of what happened. There could be a thousand different reasons, but most likely the crane was NOT set up properly or put on ground that was NOT stable. There also could have been mechanical failures. At this point speculation is useless until it is fully investigated.

Casino SF City Council Sioux Falls Video lottery

Sioux Falls Video Lottery 4-Plex Casino deferred

l3wis August 16, 2022 10Comments

A few years ago the council took the idiotic step of allowing two separate casinos in the same building with a door separating them. State law says you can only have a maximum of 10 machines per casino space/address. So they pull this little trick of separating the casinos by suite number and they can max out machines.

I knew if they approved this with all their fancy conditional uses like separate bathrooms, entrances, chain link fences, separate coolers, etc, that the sh!t would run down hill. I think there have been several applications put in for other locations.

Tonight, councilor Starr had had enough and 5 out of the 7 councilors present decided to defer the use until they can hear from the applicant who was not present tonight. (Jensen and Soehl voted it down)

As you can see below, the applicant wants to put 4 casinos next to each other in the same strip mall with different suite addresses so they can max out at 40 machines.

I have long known the council to be nuttless when it comes to challenging the state when it comes to telephone booth casinos, but isn’t it time they put a middle finger up and finally say we have had enough of these sh!tholes. Let the state sue us! I welcome the lawsuit! Maybe we can finally allow the city council to legally tell VL casino applicants to go away and stop any new casinos from opening in this city ever again.

The council can deny the applicant based on suitable location, we will see how this dog and pony show goes.

Donita Trump Noem Kristi Noem Larry Rhoden

Rhoden/Noem Ad; 3 Big Fat Lies!

l3wis August 16, 2022 5Comments

• Many businesses, schools, health clinics and churches closed down during Covid in South Dakota (you know, if she would spend a little time in SD she would see stuff like this).

• There are currently NO transgender athletes challenging the state for participation (I think there was ONE lawsuit in Dakota Dunes a few years ago).

• CRT does NOT exist in our schools, whether that is k-12 or higher ed. IT HAS NEVER EXISTED in SD.

So when is the media going to call her out about the continued lies she tells? She has been peddling these lies for over a year.

South DaCola welcomes The Dakota Scout

Mayor TenHaken (Paul) reminds us the importance of the 4th Estate

UPDATE II: Will OSHA investigate the Crane Collapse in Sioux Falls?

Sioux Falls Video Lottery 4-Plex Casino deferred

Rhoden/Noem Ad; 3 Big Fat Lies!

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Nepotism run amuck at Sioux Falls City Hall

BUY LOCAL! BUY IMMIGRANT!