South DaCola

Editorial Cartoonist from South Dakota

Sanford Hospital

Donita Trump Noem Kristi Noem Sanford Hospital Sanford Sports Complex

Is Noem doing Sanford’s Bidding?

l3wis 6Comments

Yeah, sadly we have to go to Yahoo News to get the real bizzo on our Governor. As I have mentioned before, we would never get a story like this out of our local media;

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem is encountering heightened scrutiny over decision to reject women’s sports legislation, with many questioning the influence of a longtime advisor – Matt McCaulley – who also has ties to the state’s top employer.

You may remember Mr. McCaulley, he was Sioux Falls City Councilor Neitzert’s attorney when he gleefully avoided punishment over his ethically challenged trip to Texas with Mayor Poops.

Since Noem’s veto, her conservative credentials have come under scrutiny, including from National Review. The conservative outlet published an article last week that raised legislators’ concerns with McCaulley and highlighted the $40 million that his client, Sanford Health, directed towards its sports complex on the same day that Noem announced her veto.

Kwinky Dink? I think not.

“It’s a well-known secret in South Dakota that Matt McCaulley has a seat at the Governor’s policy table while simultaneously representing the interests of Sanford Health as one of their key lobbyists,” a person with first-hand knowledge told Fox News.

“During the Women’s Sports debate, we clearly saw this conflict of interest when the Governor came out with a style-and-form veto on the same day that Sanford Health announced their $40M donation to expand a sports complex. McCaulley not only influenced Governor Noem’s decision to derail the women’s sports bill, but he also helped write the press release and worked on the messaging.”

Hey, Kristi, you could have waited at least a couple of days . . .

Some have suggested that Noem’s policy decisions were made under heavy influence of McCaulley.

And a lot of other people. It is pretty plain to see that Noem is influenced in every thing she does by outside influence. Whether that is McCaulley, Lewandowski, Trump . . . the loser list goes on and on.

Christine Erickson Corona Virus Denny Sanford Sanford Hospital SF City Council Sioux Falls

Sioux Falls City Councilor Erickson must be taking mask wearing advice from FORMER Sanford CEO

l3wis 16Comments

Yeah, you didn’t hear it here, but someone got the boot after writing strange Covid poetry to his employees, but we may never know;

Kelby Krabbenhoft and Sanford Health have agreed to part ways, Sanford announced in a news release at about 5:45 p.m. today.

This is no surprise, I have been hearing for months from Sanford employees that Kelby actually partially retired last Fall but was staying on basically for consulting for the transition to Intermountain Health. Not sure how much of that is true, but you will remember last Fall was when a lot of executives were leaving and an investigation into Denny Sanford was being done. No charges have been filed.

But as I was watching the Sioux Falls City Council Informational meeting tonight, I found it ironic that one of the city councilors who voted against a mask mandate and has admitted to having covid couldn’t even figure out how to wear a mask (you need to cover you mouth AND nose.)

Masks! We don’t need no stinking masks!

While she did pull it up a few times she kept pulling it down while talking. Scientists have said that masks actually do work, BUT you need to wear them properly and you have to have 100% compliance. Maybe Christine felt like Kelby that now that she has some kind of magical immunity she didn’t have to wear the mask?

Argus reporter Ellis said it best when talking about Sioux Falls City Government, “Amateur Hour.”

Denny Sanford Denny Sanford Premier Center Event Center Sanford Hospital Sanford Sports Complex Sioux Falls

Sioux Falls needs to stop putting our philanthropic eggs in one basket

l3wis 12Comments

As we have heard since Friday, there are many more chapters to be written about the investigation into Denny Sanford. At this point, we really don’t know what will happen. But one thing is clear, and something I have been concerned about for a very long time, depending on one big donor in our community to sponsor almost everything has put us in quite the pickle. We need to spread it around more.

Let’s face it, even if this wasn’t currently going on, we have already sold our souls to one person. Drive around this town, how many things have Denny’s name written all over it? Even if Denny would have made his money curing Cancer, would it still make it right? I have often argued we need to spread the philanthropy around. Recently we saw that with the Triage Center and the Kirby Dog Park. To that, I say bravo.

Even if Denny gets out of this unscathed, we can’t go back. It will cost the hospital and the taxpayers of this community millions to erase his name from our town. It will have economic impacts, political impacts, reputation and business impacts, city budget repercussions and many more things if he is indicted. We must prepare NOW for things to come.

In this letter from CEO of Sanford Health, something stuck out to me;

Like you, I’m deeply concerned about these reports.

Yah think Kelby!? This tells me that those on the top probably know how deep this investigation goes. To put out a letter like this before any indictments should all make us step back and think a little bit.

I knew there was going to come a day of reckoning in our community because we put all our eggs in one basket when it comes to charitable giving. Hopefully we learn from this, because it will end up costing us a lot of dough.

And if the sign on the Denty needs to be removed, may I suggest a name I had from the beginning, The Citizen’s Center, why not name it after the folks who are paying the mortgage on this dented up tin can?

Corona Virus Kristi Noem Sanford Hospital Sioux Falls

Military setting up drive thru testing facility

l3wis 5Comments

I guess the Military (National Guard?) has been setting up drive thru testing lanes in the parking lot at Washington HS. I wonder when the governor and mayor were going to tell us about this? Sanford has their testing setup at the Foundation House at the Sports Complex.

In an unrelated note I guess Sanford is also serious about building a 10,000 person capacity baseball stadium at the complex also. I noticed over the past couple of weeks they have finished a bunch of dirt work in the area and I believe seeded it with grass. I doubt they would start on it this summer.

Sanford Hospital

Is Sanford the ‘Pirates’ of Healthcare?

l3wis 5Comments

I will have to admit, I about spit out my drink when I read this;

From the start, the two entities had a clash of cultures. Krabbenhoft and his executive team were viewed as swashbuckling. They had money and ambition.

I also think it did not help they were being investigated for Medicare Fraud and later fined $20 Million.

But for UnityPoint’s regional leaders, the Asfora announcement weighed heavily, leading to concerns about whether Sanford was more committed to money than patients.

Just look at who the hospital is named after, the Pirate of the Credit Card industry. Or look at the massive sports complex they have built. It often makes me scratch my head when lawmakers basically let Sanford do what they want to, do not regulate them or reign them in but instead incentivize them, and when these same lawmakers get sick they run to Minnesota. I can’t say I don’t blame them.

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