Sláinte Mr. MacGowan
l3wis One of the greatest Irish folk singers and songwriters has decided to join the other bastards at the pub upstairs.
November 2023
DaCola’s business of the Year 2023; Full Circle Book Co-op
So I was mulling this over the other night at the Book Co-op, while drinking one of Mr. Lidster’s mulled wine creations. I know, the irony screamed louder then the cloves!
What place do I frequent that I am usually happy when I am there?
Of course, Monks is a DaCola staple, but the peeps working there lately are turning into real snots.
The Hat is usually hit or miss, unless you run into Joe Sneve, which is usually full of some Jack Daniels wisdom.
Of course there is always Sunday Vikings football at The Orion and something my friend Marvelous refers to as ‘just pizza’ (it’s a compliment).
But to be honest with you, my happy place is the Book Co-op.
Doesn’t matter what time I pop into the place, I always meet someone new that either just moved here or are traveling, run into old friends or have a very funny yet uncomfortable conversation with folks.
No judgement!
And I think that is what makes the place so incredible. A school teacher and immigrant from Wales decided to open this place and after the teacher flew the coop, literally, Mr. Sion Lidster took it over.
I would have never guessed there was a lot of Bohemians in Wales, but Mr. Lidster takes on the roll very well.
Besides weird snacks from the hidden kitchen, they serve all kinds of beverages from tea & coffee, to Delta 8, to beer and wine.
While the poetry readings, concerts and freak shows are really worth the visit (and they sell awesome used books, stickers and merchandise) it is really the parade of regulars and non-regulars that make the place!
It is common place to have multiple convos about international peace, sex, gender rights, sex, global warming, sex, gun rights, sex, etc, etc, any given night you walk in there, and it is embraced!
I also love the owner Sion (pronounced SHON). You know how people say straight men can have a man crush, Sion would be mine. He loves to drink, he loves to write poetry, he loves great literature, music* and art and he ain’t bad looking.
I tell people often if you ever want to walk out of your element while in DTSF – this is your place. I always walk in with a smile, and leave with a bigger one!
*His 80’s new wave playlist is identical to my CD collection of the same era!
Is the Sioux Falls School District fudging the numbers to overturn the Title IX ruling?
Watch the video above (FF: 16:15) Two parents spoke to the school board tonight about the recent Title IX ruling.
They are accusing the SFSD of fudging the male sport participation numbers (making them appear lower) so they can get out of supporting gymnastics.
Basically the parents said the district is encouraging male athletes to NOT participate or to drop out of sports so their participation gets low enough to justify NOT having female gymnastics (According to Title IX):
No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.
They are basically accusing the district of fudging the numbers so they can circumvent the judge’s ruling.
If this is true, it is about the dirtiest pool I have ever seen a local governing body pull, and if I was this group of parents I would sue the district again for trying to circumvent a judge’s ruling, and I am sure if the judge hears about this in the news, he won’t be too happy.
NO SOUP FOR YOU!
This authoritarian approach by the district shouldn’t surprise us after they pulled this crap today;
Some Sioux Falls students may have to go without breakfast or lunch if their parents don’t fill out paperwork for free and reduced-cost meals… but it won’t happen for at least a few weeks. Thanks to donations, the district’s school meal debt will be paid off on Friday. But if the district doesn’t do something, administrators fear the debt will build again.
So after they get a large donation to pay off the debt, they decided they are going to stick it to the poor kids. Here’s the deal, it is NOT these kid’s fault they are born poor, you are NOT going to bleed water out of rock. I think every kid deserves a free breakfast and lunch if they can’t afford it with no shame.
I have often agreed with this cliche, “Showing up is half the battle.” and if these kids are at least showing up to school, this is an opportunity for the district to make sure they have full tummies also so they can learn.
While the district spends millions each year on athletics, they can’t seem to figure out that kids need brain fuel to excel in their academics.
LINCOLN PARK TIMELINE
Also during public input tonight several lawmakers spoke on the creation of Lincoln Park. One of the commenters was SF City Councilor Greg Neitzert (FF: 22:30). He gave a great timeline of correspondence between him and the district and the mayor’s office. He basically said everything went dead silent in February.
Let’s just say there is mountains of evidence that the SFSD was playing Joker Poker with the mayor’s office in trying to put in an affordable housing project in that space, and once they were caught they clammed up.
So I guess the District’s new motto is;
Screw Lunch.
The Heck with Gymnastics.
What Parks?
Seems like a very scholary thing to say.
Update on Sioux Falls City Council & School Board Election
Some are forgetting that the SF School Board will share an election with the city council in 2024. There are two seats up (Kate Serenbetz and Marc Murren). Marc was just elected a few years ago and if he chose to run for re-election it would be his first attempt as an incumbent. As for Kate (used to be named Parker) has been on the school board since 2009. Not sure if she will run for re-election, but I think it is time for her to go. While I have mixed feelings about term limits I think 8 (continuous) years is long enough for local governing boards. Not to mention, after 15 years I can’t point to one major thing Kate pushed for that made the district better.
I also heard there are about 3 other people thinking about running. Of course there will be some clown from the militant right winger group, there will be some business dude and I also heard a rumor about a well known business/chamber connected female running (and if it is who I think it is, run far, far, far away from her . . . we will have more on her if she announces. BAD! BAD! BAD!)
I figure it will likely be a 6-8 person race, and the great part is the school board has a plurality election so the top two vote getters win seats, no run-offs. I would encourage anybody wanting to cut their teeth in running for a local governing board to jump at this opportunity!
As for the city council, no new news. I don’t expect any more announcements until after January 1st and I think they will come rolling in;
NW District (Neitzert’s term is ending) No candidates have announced but I have heard about 3 potential.
SW District (Selberg’s term is ending) One candidate has announced and I have heard about 2 other potentials. I’m also hearing ‘funny’ rumors about the candidate that has announced. Hopefully he will get a challenger so the media can explore some of these rumors.
NE District (Starr’s term is ending) Two candidates have announced and a third one is rumored to announce soon. The 3rd potential candidate has been posting crazy amounts on FB about their community advocacy lately, so I am guessing they will be announcing soon, and if so they will be the STAR of this city council election. The irony is ALL three candidates are fantastic in their own way, and it’s too bad they are all running against each other.
AT-Large (Jensen chose not to run for a 2nd term) They could replace him with a dead person and it would be better . . . funny, I heard that saying somewhere. Two candidates have announced and if it remains just the two of them, it will be a blowout, I don’t think I have to tell you who would win. I’m guessing the winner in this race will spend about $120K.
Throw me a line if you know of any other potential candidates or if you would like to make the announcement on DaCola!