Why does Mayor TenHaken live in a glass house?

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First I want to commend Jodi for doing a sit down with our mayor, I think Jodi is a great writer and an accomplished person, but I do take issue with some of things said in interview by the mayor. I may not have a degree in journalism, but I think I have a degree in city politics, I have watched the last three mayors very closely, but I have watched city government in motion for over 20 years, and my BS detector went through the roof reading this article;

In his lower back, which he calls “a wreck,” while tests haven’t shown a reason why.

“The only thing we can come up with is stress,” Jill TenHaken said.

While I will agree 100% stress can wreak havoc on your physical health, I’m still wondering where the stress is coming from? Before Covid, Paul was traveling the country making sure his agenda of lining his pockets and his friends was in full swing, it still is. I have often felt that the two major contributors of stress is paranoia and guilt. If you do the right thing, and you know you are, that is leadership, and that is positive, and positivity contributes to good health. If Paul is stressed out, it makes me wonder what he is doing behind the scenes.

“And two days later, it was a state of emergency in the city,” TenHaken said.

“A state of emergency?”

He remembers even hearing the words caused people to become nervous.

“I remember having to calm people down and say it’s OK, it’s a bureaucratic tool,” he said. “You have to declare an emergency to get certain powers you may need to enact.”

It is not a bureaucratic tool, it is public safety. This is what local leaders do to protect the citizens. Why is everything a ‘tool’ to this ‘tool’? If people are in danger you act, if you don’t think they are, you do nothing. It’s really that simple. His statement shows just how little he understands the power of local government to project its citizens.

Before long, Sioux Falls became the biggest hot spot in the nation.

It became a hotspot because local government, the state, the health department, the CDC and the city council did nothing to prevent what happened at Smithfield. Virology is simple really, viruses spread when you don’t take precautions. We took none because supposed leaders failed to act early.

“When you have to send a letter to your third-largest employer, knowing the economic impact that will have … that was really hard,” TenHaken said.

“I had hog producers sending me pictures of dead hogs, 20 feet high and 50 yards long that they had to euthanize because there was no place to take them, and they saw me as the reason for that.”

Growing up as a family farmer, I can tell you why these hogs had to be destroyed, because these farmers don’t diversify their distribution because they idiotically signed contracts with Communists that they would only supply to them. That is their fault, no one else is to blame. Even a moron can see that.

One of TenHaken’s biggest worries – housing – became one of his brightest moments.

REALLY!? If he was concerned about this, he wouldn’t be allowing neighborhoods to be destroyed, he wouldn’t allow low wage employers to come into town, he would prop up affordable housing with tax incentives instead of giving them to egg roll factories in cornfields sending their profits to foreign nations.

“When people think they have opinions, you maybe don’t know the whole story. You maybe don’t know the background that’s led up to it,” Jill TenHaken said.

Jill, you are spot on. Maybe tell your husband he needs to fill us in, please tell us what is going on. Transparency and honesty will always win the day.

“I remember saying, ‘Listen, if you don’t know where your kids are now and they’re teens, I think I know where they are.’ ”

Several parents later told him he was right.

He is right, but you should think about that statement Paul. Many parents in this community are working so much they cannot properly parent, and when you apply trickle down economics and actually encourage it, you will continue to get bad kids, because parents can’t spend time with them. When you lift parents and workers from the bottom up, you fix a lot of these issues, when you continue to coddle the one percenters you only make these issues worse.

It doesn’t matter that no businesses are closed and none were ever ordered to close, he said.

“That tension and that anger” persist, he said.

This isn’t a critique of Paul, if you have a bad business plan, you will fail, Covid or not. It seems some people want to blame Covid, but I can tell you that most businesses in Sioux Falls that have failed, would have failed anyway.

“So that we hit the ground running once the weather turns and tourism season happens, and I think we’re in a good spot. Economically, this city is going to absolutely crush it this year. Businesses are coming here, tourism and events, our small-business community is going to see an incredible rebound because there’s pent-up economic power in the community right now, spending power that’s been tapped down for a year.”

Not everything is about money. While I agree the big guys in Sioux Falls will do just fine, a ‘whole’ community is achieved by caring about its citizens as that ‘whole’. We need to start governing from the bottom.

 I’m very bullish on mentorship,

While I criticize Paul on his leadership style, I totally agree with him on this initiative. I often wonder how different my life would be if I had a mentor. I just hope he can see the sun through the clouds.

A few weeks ago, TenHaken took a test to see if he has COVID-19 antibodies.

It came back negative.

Somehow, he likely led through the year without contracting the virus.

You are lucky, it’s not a party.

While I think Paul has failed us on open government and helping the little folks, I still pray he does the right thing, someday. Leading comes from within, dig deep brother.

Face the Nation calls out Noem on the Sanctity of Life

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Margaret nailed Kristi with this, “I know you are conservative and you care about the sanctity of life, so how can you justify making decisions that put the health of your constituents at risk?” Noem’s response was to ask other governors that question, even though Margaret reminded her several times that she was asking Noem the question, right now, since she was on the show (that’s kind of how interviews work).

We know the real answer to that question, Conservatives only care about you before you are born, once you are out, you are on your own.

Maybe local restaurants can survive Covid by providing good service?

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The Condiment Vending Machine. Patent Pending.

Trust me, I noticed before Covid that eating out in Sioux Falls was a crap shoot. Sometimes you get good service, poor food or poor service and good food or poor service and poor food or great service and great food. It’s always a mystery. As a person who worked in restaurants for over 20 years it is frustrating, but I also understand we all have bad days. I have often told people I was top of my game maybe 75% of the time, and when I was like that, you were lucky to have me as a server. The other 25% of the time, I feel sorry for you, because when I sucked, I really sucked (I was also mean to blue hairs, Hoots and people who prayed before they ate, commonly known as the people WHO DON’T TIP).

I have only ate indoors a handful of times since Covid hit and it wasn’t until after I recovered from my own bout with it that I decided to eat indoors. It has always been by myself and I try to sit away from folks. Trust me, I get it that it is probably not fun wearing a mask during a whole shift to wait on people, but it is your job. I have also noticed that service has gotten even worse since Covid. I think it has a little to do with less experienced younger servers who are not afraid of getting Covid working mostly during the pandemic, while the older experienced ones have decided to sit it out. There is also a whole different level of rudeness and flat out lying from servers that I have never really seen before. You know, you don’t have to lie to me, just grab your manager, which also lie to you to. Yah can’t win.

Last night I was baffled by the policies of a certain DTSF restaurant that is a small Midwest franchise. It is a popular place and the food is good for a franchise. I have ate there several times and have never had a bad plate. The service last year before Covid was always really good and the food has never been bad, until the service I received last night.

I sat at the bar to just simply have a quick burger and beer before going somewhere. While the service was ‘acceptable’ you would think I wouldn’t have to ASK every time I needed something. There were literally 4 of us sitting at the bar and 2 were together.

Service aside what was annoying is they have that stupid line on the ticket that asks for you to donate to a charity that they will give to in THEIR name. They have also added a line that asks if you will ’round up’ for the charity (another annoying trick retail is pulling during this pandemic). I always write ‘DUMB’ on that line and write to give their own money since this takes tips away from the servers. But what really surprised me was the $.50 charge for a side of mayo that I asked for, you know, a common condiment that should be included with a cheeseburger anyway. It’s not like I was asking for garlic truffle oil aoli or guacamole, just a side of Miracle Whip.

I will say that $.50 charge probably lost you a customer.

It’s the little things!

What’s next a bubblegum machine with condiments in it that you have to pay for to dispense? Maybe a dishwashing charge if you don’t opt for wax paper and plastic forks?

While we have certainly heard the bitching and complaining about the loss of business in the local hospitality industry during Covid, maybe it’s NOT Covid, maybe it’s your p!ss poor customer service where you beg your customers to give to a charity that you take credit for while charging me for a swab of liquified egg whites. Heck, even Wendy’s and BK don’t charge for mayo on a burger!

While some say they miss eating out due to the pandemic, let me fill you in, you ain’t missing much.

So the next time you hear about a restaurant that has gone under, maybe it wasn’t Covid, maybe it had to do with a mayo famine.

Sioux Falls Planning Commission has serious attendance issues

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As a South DaCola foot soldier pointed out to me yesterday, how can 4 votes out of a 9 member commission pass a $94 million dollar TIF recommendation to the city council?

Good question. After spinning my wheels yesterday I discovered according to the Commission’s own rules and Robert’s Rules they can conduct business with 5 members present even if the chair is a non-voting member (they only break ties).

So this got me even more curious about the attendance of the Planning Commission, even pre-covid and discovered over the past year, even though they can attend meetings via phone, a good chunk of them don’t even bother to show up. In fact, over the past 14 months, they have never conducted business with a full body (9 members);

Feb 2021 – 5

Jan 2021 – 6

Dec 2020- 6

Nov – 5

Oct – 6

Sep – 7

Aug – 7

July – 7

June – 2 meetings, 6 at both

May – 6

April – 5

March – 6

Feb – 7

Jan – 5

While I totally understand that these members are volunteers, I question what they signed up for? While they do have to read a lot of materials to prepare, they only really need to attend ONE meeting per month for about 1-2 hours. That’s it!

But my blame for this attendance isn’t on this all volunteer board, it really lies in the lap of Planning Director Eckhoff and his boss Mayor Stoneless. Has there ever been an attendance discussion? My guess is probably not considering it is easier for the mayor and his developer friends to push an agenda when no one shows up to vote on that agenda (or very few).

I think it is absolutely disgusting that a board that is supposed to recommend to the council can pass a ludicrous $94 million dollar TIF on 4 out of 9 possible votes, with next to no discussion.

This administration gets sloppier by the day when it comes to process.

Mask Mandates are NOT a 1st Amendment issue, they are a 4th Amendment issue

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I often scratch my head by how little our state legislature and governor know about the US Constitution;

Governments in South Dakota, across the country and the world used mask mandates and business restrictions to slow the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Some lawmakers, though, say those mitigation efforts don’t jive with the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. And now a bill making its way through the legislature would narrow the scope of when cities, counties and townships can make people wear masks or force businesses to close in the name of public health.

It is NOT a 1st Amendment issue, it has to do with trespassing and property rights which is covered under the 4th Amendment;

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

The 5th and 14th could also apply. But I have often said that mask mandates in general are moot because the US Constitution already protects business owners from trespassers. If you have a sign on the front door of your business that says you must wear a mask and you refuse, that business can call the police and you can be prosecuted for trespassing. Those laws already exist.

I would argue that any municipal government can implement a mask mandate as long as that mandate is about private business and private property and within their 4th Amendment rights (in other words private businesses and even churches could ignore the mandate).

The 1st Amendment argument holds no water because as we saw with Trump’s Twitter ban, private business CAN limit your speech on their premises, platforms or property.

Where I would side on the 1st Amendment argument is that it would be unconstitutional for government to mandate mask wearing on their (your taxpayer funded) property.

Once again the statehouse is filling their short session with foolishness.