Entries Tagged 'Downtown Sioux Falls' ↓

This was the scene about 4:30 yesterday at the election center in Downtown Sioux Falls (photos by Theresa Stehly) the line was several blocks long.

This of course could have been avoided a couple of different ways;

• Do what I have done for almost a decade, vote as soon as early voting starts. I believe I voted about a week after it started and there was about 3 people voting when I walked in. I have done this for a long time because I got tired of the musical precincts in every local election (something else that should end, another form of vote suppression).

• We should mail every registered voter a ballot, NOT an application, in at least state and national elections.

• We should have dozens of drop boxes available throughout the county at city and county properties (this of course would be possible if we didn’t have a political hack as the mayor of Sioux Falls who belongs to a party that promotes voter suppression).

What is crazy is that while we hand out $20 million dollar TIF’s and build $26 million dollar mural substrates, we can surely afford to make voting easier.

We live in a great country that allows us to choose our officials, but we make it really f’ing hard, even right here in South Dakota. I never thought I would see the day that people had to stand in this long of a line in Sioux Falls to vote. These pictures made me very sad.

****Note; if you have not mailed your ballot in yet DO NOT! I won’t make it to the election center by Tuesday. Drop it off in person or have a friend do it for you!

Guest post by Bruce Danielson (edited by publisher)

In the middle of a pandemic we’re going to spend more money on the bunker ramp to cover up the mistake and the error.

A request for proposals issued today calls for submittals involving community art and site enhancements at the new Mall Avenue parking ramp at 110 S. Mall Ave.

Proposers should “consider opportunities to positively impact the experiences of all who may encounter their project, including visitors, residents and employees,” the RFP said.

This is what a colorblind graphic artist does for leadership. How about, we cut a deal and fix the problem?

The downtown business people are so pissed off with how ugly this thing is, the color blind are now looking for sponsors to buy a big old huge tube of lipstick.

Will it be pink, purple or rogue? The optics are very interesting. What sponsors are going to do this and put their names on it?

We have people losing their homes, being food insecure and our administration decides we’re going to find sponsors to put lipstick on a pig. There are only limited dollars in the community and once again we’re having businesses line up at the cosmetics counter at Macys to see if there is enough stock.

Didn’t anybody with a brain get the memo?

Apparently it got to the code enforcement office and this is why they’re trying to change the mural ordinance? Can you imagine after the SouthDaCola story and Cameraman Bruce’s recent City Council comments and photos about the parking ramp somebody in City Hall said “Let’s find a way to paint or install murals on the bunker I mean, blunder, oops I mean, parking ramp and maybe we can hide it?”

Then an over anxious code enforcer reminded the color blinded “Our ordinance won’t let us do it, we’ll have to give the mayor a violation.” Then he added, “Do we just put his ticket in a blue Shopping News plastic bag and tie it to the Mayor’s Office door? Whose going to do tie it and then pay it?”

The brainiacs in City Hall got working, real hard, because it takes a lot to put lipstick on a pig. We should know by now, this town’s administrations do not do anything without an ulterior motive. They are making it look like times are a changing finally but in fact they are dreaming of a pig wearing rogue lipstick while forgetting about the stink permeating around it.

This makes one think of the Dolly Parton line, “It costs a lot of money to look this cheap.”

Once again Sioux Falls is using art to cover-up a disaster, 6 months at a time. BTW, where do we get lipstick by the gallon?

Publisher’s note, I found this little tidbit interesting in the RFP;

• Evoking positivity and exemplifying a One Sioux Falls spirit.

I have been an artist and graphic designer for over 25 years, and over that time I have many people request irrational crap like this. I often just tell clients or commissioners, ‘No really, what do you want it to look like?’ ‘Feelings’ and ‘Emotions’ mean different things to different people. Use Rothko’s work as an example. Many people think it is ugly, boring or meaningless while others look at it and have deep emotions.

And BTW, what does One Sioux Falls even mean? I am still baffled by this initiative that seems like something TenHaken cooked up after taking a Dale Carnegie course and listening to old broadcasts of Norman Vincent Peale. When will our local officials stop trying to sell us stuff?

(FF 41:00)

Yes, folks, only in good old Sioux Falls would a developer complain about how he had to front a little money in legal fees and surveying (City Council Meeting, Items 16-17) after receiving some easements.

First the obvious, and replying to one of his main complaints, that while taxpayers are essentially giving him FREE land, that this gifting party should somehow also pay these fees?!

This same developer also received millions in a TIF (massive tax rebate) before the project was built. While I do complain sometimes when the council doesn’t discuss an item or answer constituent questions, I did chuckle a bit last night after this developer stood at the microphone and cried about how he had to spend a couple of grand (to receive FREE property). Their non-response to this unwarranted fit was completely appropriate. Not a single councilor, the mayor, the city attorney or any of the planning/environmental staff responded to his rant.

It reminds me of when I used to wait tables and people would want a free meal if I forgot to give them complimentary free bread. This developer has received free property and millions in tax breaks and has the nerve to complain about it?!

I decided to break down today and pay the entrance fee to the Pavilion’s VAC to see the latest exhibit of the permanent collection. It was nice, because in the over an hour I was there, there wasn’t a single soul in the joint. Why? Because it cost me an astounding $15 dollars and change to get in. I have never paid this much to enter the MOMA in San Fran, the Institute in Chicago or Minneapolis or the DAM in Denver. Not sure why the Pavilion thinks charging this much to see dusty old paintings is worth that? But it’s all about the Benjamins with the Pavilion these days, even recently making the city subsidize them for low income visitors even though the taxpayers already own the building and subsidize the place each year in management and maintenance. I guess the millions we throw at them already isn’t enough.

While it was nice to see an impressive permanent collection without worrying about people coughing the covid babies on me, I was unimpressed by the lackluster presentation. Not only were most of the exhibits not labeled, the salon style of the exhibition had many great works up in the rafters where you could not view them. Maybe if I dropped another $15 dollars I could get a scissor lift to assist my viewing.

This is what happens when you turn an arts center over to a money grubbing Executive Director and a Cartoonist Department head. Enjoy wiping your butts with my $15 dollars.

I was actually surprised it is moving forward to trial;

A federal district court finds that the case against the City of Sioux Falls in the drowning death of an Iowa girl can go forward.

Judge Karen Schreier found that the plaintiff, Courtney Jayne, representing her deceased minor daughter Maggie Zaiger, had met their burden to survive the City’s motion for summary judgment.

The little girl fell into the Big Sioux River at Falls Park while on an outing with her family. 

As I understand it, the Public Assurance Alliance is handling the case for the city.

As we have been hearing through sparse media reports, the project is on hold until 2021. What does this mean? Well, it means if it does rear it’s head next year, and that’s a big if, the project may change. This of course means the TIF would be null and void. I have encouraged councilors to rescind the TIF ASAP and get it off the books until we actually know what is going to happen.

Across the country this has been common practice for awhile, and with Covid many businesses have been adapting by selling cocktails to go in takeaway orders.

I have advocated for a long time that city ordinance should change, specifically during the summer months, that Downtown bars should be able to sell drinks to go in plastic cups for strolling Downtown strictly.

I don’t think this should be a free for all, but I think it would help out the Downtown hospitality industry in extra sales.

Give me your pros and cons.

I found this picture on FB last night, this is a line outside a popular bar in DTSF. While the restrictions are not set to lift until Tuesday, I have noticed many drinking establishments have chosen to just ignore them anyway. And why not? There are no leaders or people in authority in charge in this town. The worst part about this pandemic isn’t scenes like this, it is the total lack of leadership by our elected officials. Why implement half-baked rules with no real teeth if people are just going to ignore them anyway?

I will only briefly say that if this is passed next week, we have few options if the cases spike drastically, we will be stuck with our bad decision. I still think we should extend until May 15. I also have seen several restaurants and bars already operating like this passed on Friday. One downtown bar has been operating all thru this. I saw several cars at their establishment last night. I also saw people dining on the patio at a restaurant downtown over lunch with a server waiting on them.

What I found interesting about the council discussion is everyone brought up business owners and patrons rights, but no one brought up the rights of workers. If you were on unemployment right now (and actually making more money) would you want to risk getting Covid while making less money? Hell NO! Funny how no one brought this up in the meeting except Starr. If these businesses have taken out PPP loans (grants) and their employees are on unemployment, what is the mad rush to reopen?

I had to laugh while watching this DTSF Rotary FB video of ThuneHaken,

with his facial hair and ‘sneakers’ (a cross between Bass orthopedic and Airwalk, not laughing, I will need them soon). Seems he has been hanging out with someone for a little to long.