South DaCola

Editorial Cartoonist from South Dakota

Downtown Sioux Falls

1st Amendment Downtown Sioux Falls Elections SF City Council Sioux Falls Vernon Brown

UPDATE: The more things change, the more they stay the same

l3wis 1Comments

UPDATE: Yup, looks just like Brown;

Nomination for At-Large “A” City Council Member
Vernon Brown
2019 S Pendar Lane
Sioux Falls, SD 57105
Nomination by Council Member Miranda Basye
Nomination seconded by Council Member Ryan Spellerberg

It was no secret that the council was likely going to appoint a former city councilor this next Tuesday night to take over Dr. Cole’s seat after she HAD to leave Sioux Falls for her profession.

The question was who? My short list was;

Rolfing

Starr

Kiley

Neitzert

Jensen

Stehly

Brekke

I could also see Jeff Barth or John Paulson.

Another name brought up to me last week was Erpenbach. And I thot this may be the wisest choice since she just disbanded Thrive maybe she could take the next 6 months on the council to to reorganize the homeless task force. So while I am NOT a Michelle fan, it was much better then others on that list. It’s not Michelle but it’s close, it is likely someone who works for Michelle’s husband Steve.

I figured over the weekend the true candidate would emerge, and they may have. The rumor is that Vernon Brown will be nominated on Tuesday night and there will be no other nominations. I guess things could be worse, we could nominate Matt Paulson to the city council, of course they would have to change house rules so Matt could bring his emotional support dog* to the meetings with him.

They may mix it up and nominate Michelle, Vernon and Rick just to make it look like they are doing their due diligence, but I hear they didn’t have to many takers (or at least takers that are willing to wear knee pads around 9th and Dakota).

*That was satire. I know ‘who’ his emotional support dog is, and they don’t eat Alpo.

1st Amendment Downtown Sioux Falls homeland security Homeless SFPD Sioux Falls

UPDATE: Was the Sioux Falls homeless encampment ordinance passed with pressure from the Feds and Governor?

l3wis 3Comments

UPDATE: Speaking of the homeless, last night a DTSF business owner who has been frustrated with the city’s response to homelessness spoke at the council meeting (FF: 34:10). She explained to the council she did a FOIA request with the city and her findings were astonishing. Basically the city has spent millions over the past few years putting transients in this cycle of citations without providing assistance. If we simply housed these folks with housing first initiatives we could actually save taxpayers money while addressing the issue and providing housing.

Her biggest suggestion? Have a coalition of services, in other words TALK TO EACH OTHER and coordinate those services thru different non-profits, the city administration and the Police Department. I have often said managing this issue isn’t rocket science, it just takes a conversation, transparency and the will to spend the money (or should I say ‘re-direct’ the money). I have even suggested such housing programs could be sponsored by local business donations. As far as I am concerned, it has gotten so bad, anything at this point is improvement.

Screenshot of some of the ‘citations’ our SFPD is wasting our time with;

Screenshot

A few weeks back the homeless coordinator for the city was at a public meeting. She was asked how the new ordinance is working out. After a brief pause she admitted that they haven’t implemented it yet because they are working out logistics. But you could tell from her nervousness she was probably making up an excuse.

What I found baffling about her answer is that when they pressured the city councilors to pass this there was a sense of ‘urgency’. So did that urgency go away? Not at all. I rode to all 4 corners of the city on Sunday, and while there is more transients in the downtown area, I saw groups of them (6 or more) wandering the sidewalks, bike trail, etc. all over town. I counted at least 10 different groups and many individuals.

If the city has realized this wasn’t the best solution, then why not rescind the ordinance?

So today, Jordan Deffenbaugh was on a city government rant, and there was a sentence in his rant that caught my attention;

Repeal the encampment ordinance – a failed policy making vulnerable residents surveillance targets.

Jordan was talking about the Feds accessing out extensive camera system in Sioux Falls to catch homeless immigrants and his concern.

Was this ordinance sponsored by the Police Department and the Mayor’s office just a pass thru with pressure from the Governor, AG and Feds?

It just seems odd to me this ordinance was needed just around the time of Prairie Thunder then never implemented after ICE was finished harassing us. So now we have the White House influencing our local laws and policies. Nice 🙁

Speaking of Sally Tomato, I have often rejected the comparisons to Hitler, but it seems they have more in common then we thought, just ask Stormy.

1st Amendment Downtown Sioux Falls Homeless SFPD Sioux Falls

Rumor Mill: Private Security for Downtown residents?

l3wis 3Comments

As I have said in the past, I don’t post about 70% of what is fed to me because I can either NOT get another source or it is so personal, I just avoid it. But sometimes I get a rumor sent to me, and this person was just as inquisitive as I was, so he asked me to do some digging. I couldn’t find anything from internet searches, which doesn’t surprise me, because this would be a ‘word of mouth’ kind of personal security firm. Supposedly there is a NEW private security firm specializing in protecting high-end residents and businesses in downtown, so anonymity would not surprise me to protect their clients. I am not sure if any SFPOs are moonlighting with this business or even investing in it, which I think would present HUGE union conflicts. But let’s just pretend for a moment that indeed this was cooked up by either current or retired officers, it makes you wonder if the transient problem DTSF is being ignored on purpose? It’s good bizzo for private security.

I knew it was only a matter of time, and wouldn’t be surprised something like this is already in operation or in the works. Minneapolis has had similar firms in their downtown and there main objective is knocking transient heads together, and they seem to do it with impunity. I have seen them in action. Let’s just say that I saw several transients quickly walk the other direction when they saw them.

What a sad state of affairs. This is what happens when a problem is ignored. The minions suffer while the wealthy buy their way out of it.

1st Amendment Downtown Sioux Falls Sioux Falls

UPDATE: Is the Shriner’s building downtown getting torn down?

l3wis 5Comments

UPDATE: I guess the developer interested in this project wants to also secure the buildings to the north of the block (Midco buildings) next to the Federal Courthouse. This means they will likely be asking for a street closure on 13th between Phillips and 1st Avenue. As I understand it, Midco would sell the buildings and would not be involved with the project, but I also have no idea who the developer is. You could build a ton of housing in that two block area even if the basement was parking and the 1st floor on Phillips was retail. Seems the planning department is trying to slip this project thru on the lowdown, but that is going to be difficult since the area they are proposing for redevelopment is prime real estate in DTSF.

Well, if you know a Shriner, you might have heard what the plans ‘may’ be for the parking lot the city is selling DTSF. Apparently they are not too attached to the building downtown and have looked at moving to a smaller more convenient location more South Central which would make the current building for sale. It probably wouldn’t be a hard lift to get the radio station to sell also. I guess the point is development won’t work UNLESS they have the entire city block, which make sense. Now Assam may not want to sell, but you could build around that chicken coop. What I don’t know is who is the developer and what do they want to build there? Apparently the city already has an interested party, but like most things it is top secret, you know, like the failed apartment buildings at 8th and Railroad (oh, did I say that out loud?).

MAJOR SIOUX FALLS CONSTRUCTION MANUFACTURER SELLS TO NATIONAL COMPETITOR

I have only had information on this trickling in, but I am assuming this will be a major story in the community in the coming days or weeks. Many employees and management are speaking out and it is only a matter of time. I was actually surprised because this company has often been used as an example in our community of how a local business should be run with employee ownership. My understanding is they over extended themselves with expansion and it was effecting the bottom line. I am withholding the name of the business until I hear more details about the sale.

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