Sioux Falls

Paratransit SF City Council Sioux Falls Sioux Falls Transit Transportation

Sioux Falls City Council will finally approve FREE youth bus rides all year long

l3wis July 15, 2022 4Comments

UPDATE: Public Transit advocates have told me they were aware of the changes, BUT were never given a timeline when they would go in effect so it comes as a pleasant surprise to them.

If I am reading this correctly it looks like the mayor wants to give free rides to youth on public transit all year long (item #35);

I’m glad to see they will be attempting to make this change. Rapid City has done it for several years. This will also alleviate some strain on the School District’s bussing system. While the mayor is the sponsor, I don’t think there will be any no votes on this.

It is a little disappointing that the council did not bring this forward considering they are 1) the policy body and 2) been urged by advocates for several years to make this change. Apparently the mayor got the message while the council is still hanging out in the cornfields looking for ways to getting out of forming policy on things like the bunker ramp and tornado sirens.

Sioux Falls

Wholestone Foods cleverly finds a loophole in the slaughterhouse petition

l3wis July 14, 2022 8Comments

I gotta hand it to them, it seems WF found a way around the petition;

Wholestone Farms plans to open a custom butcher shop at the location planned for its future pork processing plant — before a November election that could prohibit the company from expanding here.
Construction is starting “imminently” on the shop, which will be located on the 170-acre property in northeast Sioux Falls near Benson Road and Interstate 229, near Gage Brothers Concrete Materials.
Butchering will begin there before a November election, when a proposed ordinance expected to be placed on the ballot could lead to meat processing plants being prohibited within the city limits.

By having an operating processing plant before the election means that the petition, if passed, cannot STOP Wholestone from expanding;

As you can see from the petition language, if a processing plant is operating in Sioux Falls before the ordinance is passed, it can expand, which means nothing would be stopping WF from building the bigger facility hooked to the existing butcher shop.

In a statement, Robert Peterson, treasurer of the Smart Growth Sioux Falls campaign, said: “This smells like a hastily concocted attempt to thwart the will of over 10,000 concerned citizens of Sioux Falls who believe the city voters should have a say on any future slaughterhouses in Sioux Falls.”

It kinda smells like you just got punked!

Democrats Downtown Sioux Falls Sioux Falls South Dakotans

Large Crowd for Democratic Party Picnic tonight

l3wis July 13, 2022 7Comments

Two things that will get me out of the house, free food and 5 blocks away 🙂 The pasta salad was fantastic!

I had a chance to talk to several candidates. A word of advice, the younger candidates need to loosen up a bit, they are wound tighter than a $2 watch.

One of the things I heard the most was the nastiness of the SD GOP Chair, Dan Lederman. You know that non-Christian guy who has a business in Iowa and lobbies for the Theocrat Saudis and CO2 pipelines.

His comment about the ‘clown car’ struck a nerve, and they are on fire about it. Dan would surely know what a clown is since he practices the art everyday.

It was a great event and the Dems need to duplicate events like this in every county and town in the state.

Affordable Housing Downtown Sioux Falls Pettigrew Heights SF City Council SF School District Sioux Falls

Rumors still circulating about 9th & Grange greenspace

l3wis July 12, 2022 3Comments

The Cathedral and Pettigrew Heights neighborhood associations have already made it clear they do NOT want the greenspace and community gardens at 9th & Grange to be used for affordable housing. Both associations have shown that there are plenty of empty lots and houses that need to be torn down throughout both neighborhoods that can be used to move affordable houses to the neighborhood without using the greenspace.

As I mentioned in the past both associations have plenty of evidence that the school district and the city have been quietly working behind the scenes to take over this space for affordable housing.

A person who attended the most recent Pettigrew Heights association meeting said a city official(?) told some of the attendees that there is still a plan to move affordable houses to the greenspace (Sanford expansion was mentioned).

The land is currently owned by the School District and they may have to get an appraisal on the land before transferring it. If that happens the school board and the city council would have to approve a land transfer (there may be some legal issues with usage). The city could take it over as a park or they could try to transfer the land for affordable housing (the city already maintains the space for the school district).

I guess the first place to watch is the school board, who currently make most decisions behind closed doors, then show up to the public meeting to rubber stamp those nontransparent decisions. The agendas will have to be scrutinized closely because they may try to slip it in on the consent agenda.

As of today, the school district maintains they have NO plans for the space . . . but would they tell us if they did?

Downtown Sioux Falls SF City Council Sioux Falls

Is the City of Sioux Falls using ‘fuzzy math’ for storm cleanup costs?

l3wis July 11, 2022 6Comments

Imagine my surprise when I saw this slide in the presentation planned for tomorrow’s informational meeting on Storm Debris Management;

Obviously the live presentation will probably bring some clarity to those last 2 numbers because if they cleaned all the streets and parks for those dollar amounts they must be using Santa’s Elves for FREE. While the May storms were bad, last week’s storm was worse, but I find it a little hard to swallow with labor and equipment costs the city only spent that much. Maybe that is all they spent on clearing boulevards and streets, and if so, it is a disservice to the public. Muni government is easy, you collect taxes and you provide services. That means helping folks with storm cleanup like the city did in 2013 instead of relying on the quilting bee from church.

Sioux Falls City Council will finally approve FREE youth bus rides all year long

Wholestone Foods cleverly finds a loophole in the slaughterhouse petition

Large Crowd for Democratic Party Picnic tonight

Rumors still circulating about 9th & Grange greenspace

Is the City of Sioux Falls using ‘fuzzy math’ for storm cleanup costs?

You Missed

UPDATE: Let Sioux Falls Vote! Sign Data Center petition!

Trust

I have been telling council this stuff for over a decade

First Ave Doc, many memories