So the Minnehaha County Commission got a surprise this morning;

Knife River Corp., owner of the former Concrete Materials Co., has offered Minnehaha County $65 million for the  William H. Lyon Fair Grounds.

Maybe it wasn’t that big of a surprise.

A 1999 task force went through a similar exercise with consultants and concluded the fair needed $31 million in capital improvements, but the county didn’t identify a source for the funds, Meyer said.

“It also struggled to develop an operating business model that made the fair self-sustaining and no longer continually dependent upon county subsidies as it is today,” he said.

I had a discussion with a Commissioner before the task force was created and said that if Knife River puts forth a good offer they should take it. The Fairgrounds are crumbling and Knife River needs aggregate to keep Sioux Falls growing, but there are some legal issues;

Commissioner Jean Bender, who is an attorney, said the county does not have a clear legal path to sell the property.

“That land was a gift to the county, and that gift is very tightly constrained, and the risk is if we sell that property that that property would go back to the heirs, and the county would get nothing,” she said. “So there are very significant legal impediments, which is why it hasn’t been done in the past.”

I actually think the county could overcome those hurdles, and they really should;

“If you ever want to bankrupt somebody, give them a white elephant,” Commissioner Dean Karsky said. “We have something we have to take care of, but we have no revenue source to do that.”

I have suggested that after a successful sale, the county could relocate the fair to a smaller community in the county like Dell Rapids, Brandon, Hartford, etc. The new fairgrounds could start with tent rentals and really doesn’t need a grandstand. We have plenty of entertainment options in Sioux Falls, we don’t need another concert facility. If they put the $65 million in an endowment to fund the fair moving forward, it could work well.

I hope the commission doesn’t sit on their hands and explores other options.

Last night at the joint Minnehaha County/Sioux Falls City Council meeting, Bob Kolbe brings his old shotgun for a presentation during open public input about how Republicans and the NRA have lost their minds. I’m with Bob, I support the 2nd Amendment and believe it is crucial that citizens can bear arms, but I am also in agreement with Bob, that 2nd Amendment clearly spells out with that right there is a responsibility of government to regulate that right. Just look at abortion, it was a right for 50 years, with regulation. Same goes for the 1st Amendment, numerous regulations with it comes to obscenity and libel.

What some may be wondering though is how did Kolbe walk into Carnegie, a public meeting space, with a gun (which I would assume was NOT loaded). Guess what? It is completely legal according to state law. Years ago (I believe during the Munson Administration) several councilors wanted to ban weapons at Carnegie Town Hall but quickly found out that they cannot because of our wacky legislature who thinks you should be able to carry guns anywhere. I have often been nervous about coming to meetings that have controversial items because there is nothing stopping anyone from walking into ANY public building in this city with a gun (I think the Federal and County Courthouse and Post Office is exempt). I do not own a gun and never have, but I support people who choose to. Now if we can only convince people to stop bringing them everywhere, especially public meetings.

To say the job Auditor Kyte performed last Tuesday was less than stellar is an understatement. It was a disaster. Besides the wrong ballots being handed out in several precincts and the calling out of NON-REPUBLICANS showing up to vote against Amendment C, there was also the issue of Kyte running an election where he appeared on the ballot (a possible violation of state law). Well he did lose. But many have been asking if he is qualified to run a general election (his term doesn’t end until the Spring of 2023) or if they need to bring in outside help. Apparently it didn’t take the MCC very long to come up with a solution, posting this job ad on Friday;


When I went to vote today I noticed an empty auditor’s office with directions to go to the 2nd floor (which I am sure is quite convenient for the elderly and handicapped 🙁 I asked the lady when I got there why it was on the 2nd floor she seemed bewildered and said that is the only place they had room (even though like I mentioned before, there was an empty auditor’s office). I was told later by a county official that they wanted to have people vote at the election center but that is currently being used by the equalization office because the administration building is being remodeled.

Let’s get things even more confusing for voters – and we wonder why no one shows up for muni-elections? There was also NO sample ballots available that I could see (I did not ask for one).

There was also this sign posted on the door of the building.


Not sure why a NON-city petition cannot be circulated while people are coming in to vote. I’m not even sure if they can legally restrict petitioners on public property.

This state, county and town is turning into a real fascist state.

While I would love to blame the Commission for the authoritarian move to put a time limit on public input, it seems the Trumper election deniers have ruined it for the rest of us. The group (who obviously believe Trump won the election) have been berating the Commission over the past couple of months about election integrity and all the supposed problems with our elections like drop boxes, mail in ballots and of course fake news.

So the Commission has decided to change their long standing rule of NOT having a time limit on public input to now having a 5 Minute limit (with a cute little clock on the big screen) and similar to the SF School Board a sign up sheet, to which the chair said was to make sure they are spelling the public inputers names correctly. It is also a very nifty way to turn them over to the NSA, CIA and FBI ðŸ˜Š

While I totally understand the annoyance of ignorant morons who watch to much Newsmaxx (the city council has the march of the Anti-vaxxers that show up each week), I think instead of changing a long standing public input rule maybe the commission needs to change the rules of engagement with the inputers. I think a lot of times at public meetings, whether it is city council, school board or county commission some of these issues can be quickly resolved if you would just answer their questions on the spot. They may not like the answer, but if you are clear with them that they got a response there would be no reason to show up week after week complaining about the same stuff while building up their conspiracy theories.

After watching this, I have come to a different conclusion on ‘general’ public input. It really isn’t about the time limit, the position on the agenda of even decorum, it’s more about the governmental body interacting with the public during this time. But you will never get that since most of the local governmental bodies are run by authoritarians who want to keep their backroom deals and schemes secret. Just watch how the chair of the Lincoln County Commission runs the meetings . . . scary stuff.

ICE RINK AT EVENTS CENTER MALFUNCTIONS

The Denty having to cancel the Stampede games this weekend due to malfunctioning icing equipment is a flashing warning sign of what is coming for taxpayers. If you think the $10 million a year mortgage is draining us, wait until major upkeep and maintenance starts. The building is getting to the age that this stuff needs to start being budgeted for (7+ years old). Just look at the Pavilion, a place that was supposed to cost us $19 million has probably gone far beyond $100 million in maintenance and upgrades over the past 20+ years, and this is just a small facility compared to the Denty. A city official told me recently they will have to start budgeting major maintenance expenses starting next year (like siding replacement) and the price tag will NOT be small. I still think the Denty (besides the bunker ramp) was one of the stupidest investments this city ever made that sends around $20 million in profits straight out of town and out of state every year never to be recirculated locally, and don’t get me started on the location!