South DaCola

Editorial Cartoonist from South Dakota

Media

Mayor TenHaken Media Sioux Falls

Stories the Local Media Should & Could cover but Don’t & Won’t

l3wis 19Comments

As many of you know, I have run this blog for about 14 years as a hobby and as a citizen advocate for open and transparent government. While I have a communications degree, I do NOT have a BS in Journalism. This is why I really don’t worry to much about all the criticism when it comes to my writing skills (seriously, I don’t care), I am only concerned about getting the information out even in a rudimentary and snarky way.

It often frustrates me when the media has a wide range of topics and stories they could cover but don’t. Nationally and Locally it has to do with who is paying the bills (advertising) and why I often roll my eyes when the right-winger radio manure spreaders say there is a left wing and right wing media. There is a GREEDY media, that’s it. Locally they have prostituted themselves to the Industrial Hospital Complex and anything controversial to do with them will never be reported or downplayed.

I will also have to give Mayor Poops credit for one thing, he has the local media right where he wants them, somehow he has found a way to make sure any negative or controversial reporting on him or the city is non-existent. Heck, KELO AM even gave him some kind of award. It works out great for him. He has NO serious challengers (only one so far) and he will cruise in as the incumbent with a tank full of money.

So what stories are we missing out on that the local media could cover?

• The lack of Covid vaccination education and combatting misinformation

• Massive profits from the healthcare industry in Sioux Falls and their monopoly on care (relating to Covid). This actually showed up in the city’s financial report presentation yesterday at the city council informational meeting.

• The possible Federal investigation into a certain person (there have been several national stories about this but the local media has only barely scratched the surface, oh and they have taken it to the SD Supreme Court)

• Smithfield (Federal fines, environmental concerns, TenHaken’s ties, tax rebates and incentives, Covid health of workers, product shipping to China, etc.) This place alone could keep one news organization busy for months

• Economic Impact of TIFs in Sioux Falls (I would even suffice for simple story about how the returns don’t even add up)

• A survey of South Dakotans and their stance on abortion (I still think a majority supports legal and safe abortion in SD especially when it comes to exemptions)

• Medical and Recreational Marijuana and the REAL harmful effects, if any really exist, and Noem’s corrupt war on the voter’s will

Medical MJ Dispensary limitations (the not so quiet rumor going around is that the big wheel developers and banksters in town went crying to the Chamber and Mayor Poops claiming if a dispensary is built next to their property it would decrease it’s value. Doubtful. If you visit downtown Fort Collins, CO you will see a striving entertainment district full of bars, restaurants and galleries intertwined in with dispensaries

• Why has the Bishop Dudley House become so mis-managed? What is the SFPD and City Hall doing about it? The neighbors and business owners response? The taxpayers responsibility? The cost? The solutions?

• What’s going on with the Bunker Ramp?

• Why is everything sponsored in Sioux Falls by one person?

• I leave the most important story to last; The lack of open and transparent government in Sioux Falls and the push towards secrecy and corruption. If you think things were kept quiet during the last two mayoral administrations, they have nothing on Poops. He has virtually made sure public meetings are posted so vaguely or just eliminated them all together. He also has limited the number of public meetings the council holds, got involved with eliminating an incumbent populist councilor, changed the meeting times to be inconvenient for the working stiffs, changed public input, tries to cut deals with councilors and developers without quorum and generally doesn’t tell the public much unless it is about his dogs on Facebook.

Do I think this is intentional? YES!

I also don’t think this is a conservative, liberal or independent thing, it is a authoritarian thing. There are some political philosophies out there that think informing the public to much only complicates getting things done in government. While I will agree it is a REAL philosophy, it is also wrong-headed and extremely dangerous and wreaks of corruption. You would think those in the media would be appalled by the lack of access they have to their local government. Sure Poops likes to tell us about butterflies and parking ramps but he really isn’t letting us in on much else except that city employees apparently hold hands and sing songs during their morning coffee breaks because they are part of the SF One Borg.

It is time for our local media to remove their heads from a certain person(s) butt and start digging around, at least on a few of these issues. I would agree we live in a pretty good town, but I also think the concentration of power by a few players and the lack of transparent government is holding us back and it is the duty of the 4th Estate to remedy this, if only they had the courage or the brains.

abortion Donita Trump Noem Kristi Noem Media

UPDATE: South Dakota Media fails to report the whole story when it comes to Noem’s anti-choice war

l3wis 12Comments

UPDATE: Apparently he is not charging us . . . yeah, right.

While many of our news(?) outlets have reported Noem’s endless anti-choice battle and hiring kook-bag Trumper lawyer Sekulow no one has reported who is footing the bill. WE ARE!

South Dakotans have voted twice to keep abortion legal and safe in our state. A large majority of Americans support legal and safe abortions, and when there is only exceptions like rape and incest, those numbers are even higher. So I am wondering how Noem is justifying spending OUR money on this hypocritical UNCONSTITUTIONAL lawsuit and why the MSM isn’t telling South Dakotans about how she is throwing our tax dollars in a burn barrel. I suggest Noem finds private donors to fight her endless battle and I encourage the media to tell her the same.

Media

This is the problem with the Media

l3wis 14Comments

While many people out there want to blame the media for fake news because of right or left leanings, I have often argued that is not the problem at all, it’s the news rooms being owned by their sponsors. Back in the day of old timey news the news room separated itself from the ad room, they practically share a desk now.

We don’t have to look to Fox, CNN or MSNBC we can look locally. How many negative stories have we heard about the major healthcare providers in Sioux Falls? Not many. There was even a large car dealership fined once for fraudulent advertising practices by the Feds, and one TV station didn’t even mention their name (or is it there name)?

Even local politicians are not challenged. As I have pointed out, there are hundreds of verifiable research studies about the harm of TIFs done by some the nations leading universities economic departments, basically they never pay for themselves, but not one single media group in South Dakota has done a comprehensive story about the negative effects of TIFs.

It is, as Mr. Oliver points out, because they are owned by their sponsors. This is the problem with the media. It has little to nothing to do with politics.

Donita Trump Noem Kristi Noem Media

Let’s play Softball with Gov. Noem

l3wis 9Comments

DakotaKDLTSFYFOXNow News Brian Allen and KOTA’s Jack Caudill got a chance to interview Noem. While they did ask good initial questions (that she dodged) they never followed up when she spurted her bull crap. It’s not like this was a live interview, this was posted to the website, it could have easily gone for another 30 minutes. We all know Noem has the time to go on whacky time news like OANN and Newsmax, doesn’t she have the time to go on the Sioux Falls Foodtruck Network for at least 60 minutes? The 4th Estate needs to demand this of our elected officials, not politely ask if they can get at least 30 minutes after both journalists drove several hours to Pierre.

But let’s review the Softball Game;

One of the first questions was about mask mandates. She blabbered about how they only work in certain settings. Huh? Ironically, she doesn’t seem to mention that cities like Brookings and Sioux Falls who implemented mask mandates had cases go down, drastically. But you know, masks don’t work.

When questioned about Amendment A, at least she honestly admitted that she was personally against Marijuana. We all know this isn’t about the State Constitution this is about her radical authoritarian GOP tendencies telling the rest of us how we need to live our lives. She only believes in Freedom and Liberty if you believe in the things she does. She may claim to have a problem with socialism but fascism doesn’t seem to bother her too much.

She once again trotted out the same old excuse that Thune, Rounds and Johnson all have about how they don’t like Trump’s language but love his policies. You know, policies like, the racism surrounding immigration and religious freedom or the tax cuts to the mega rich or the ignorance of environmental and safety regulations, the war on the media or deadly viruses. Not sure which policies she likes, but yeah, he does have potty mouth and that is bad.

When asked about her National popularity she blamed it on the ‘haters’ that attack her for protecting our rights and liberties in South Dakota. You know like having one of the highest Covid death rates per capita, poor worker rights and safety regulations or that 70% of South Dakotans make under a living wage. There is so much Freedom here we can hardly pay for it.

She also bragged about our great economy in South Dakota. Sure, when you talk about the state coffers that gets millions from the Feds and hands it over in corporate welfare or farm subsidies to the corporate farms we are doing wonderful. The main reason Noem did not implement mandates, especially when it came to worker safety, is because greedy business owners told her NOT to. It had to do with their FREEDOM to crack the whip on a workforce in a right to work state that have little employee rights and very low union participation. Don’t let her Freedom and Liberty speeches fool you.

She also continues to claim that if the public wants the budget of the HI-POs that are on her security detail they need to get that from the office of the Highway Patrol while she bullies lawmakers that are trying to pass legislation that will give us those numbers. She also claimed that she didn’t know where the text message came from attacking Rep. Taffy Howard. Sure, you betcha. It doesn’t take a brain surgeon to figure out that a fried fish eater and his buddy from Iowa are behind it and probably hired a couple of out-of-state schlumps with a track phone to do the dirty work. When this kind of gutter pathetic campaigning comes up, all roads usually lead to these two fat losers, but they will probably hide it like an historic flag in the trunk of a car.

She continues to peddle the lie that Ossoff and Warnock are ‘Marxists’ because they accept the reality of the United States being a Democratic Socialist nation, we have embraced these policies as a nation for well over a 100 years. Heck, Kristi has even padded her own pocket in millions in personal socialist farm subsidies. Kristi seems to think she lives in some other nation. She said she was surprised by the criticism? Really? When you make idiotic, bigoted remarks, guess what, people will criticize. She then calls herself an introvert and accuses the public of electing ‘Rock Stars’ instead of ‘Great Thinkers’. She is correct. Wondering when she will resign so we can trade our Governor Rodeo Rock Star in for a Great Thinker?

Media Sioux Falls

Jodi Schwan launches Pigeon 605

l3wis 6Comments

I briefly spoke with Jodi about this new project a few weeks ago and got the impression she wanted to do something different our local magazines and local MSM was NOT doing, telling a story behind a story. Good Luck!

COVID TOURISM IS STILL ROARING

On Ms. Schwan’s other site she talks about Experience Sioux Falls and the continued ‘covid tourism’ in the middle of a pandemic;

“The website was built to be a part of a larger strategy that will complement the marketing campaigns we implement,” said Krista Orsack, director of marketing for Experience Sioux Falls. “It’s imperative that we stay up to date and continue evolving to consumer and industry expectations, especially as we recover from a tragic pandemic.”

I don’t want to be a Debbie Downer, but ‘recovery’ is months away. While I agree we shouldn’t totally shutdown as a city to visitors and should be planning events after the pandemic has calmed down, I think the reason the pandemic has dragged on so long is because of the selfishness and impatience of the public wanting to get out and party. I think right now in Sioux Falls we should concentrate on keeping our workplaces and schools safe while vaccinating as many people as quickly as possible. Oh, and to all you mask deniers, isn’t it ironic that once Sioux Falls passed a mask mandate our infection rates have been dropping. Coincidence? I think not.

We will have plenty of time to party once we gain enough immunity. Chill the F’ck out!

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