RIP Bob Newhart
l3wis Probably one of the funniest dead pan comedic actors to ever live. I loved his later show. I did a deep dive a year ago and watched most of the old episodes. Good stuff.
Argus Leader Case against the City of Sioux Falls thrown out
I figured a judge would toss this. (Actually an injunction was denied, the case can still move forward) never understood the argument they were making. The Dakota Scout could not register until after the legislature changed the law.
I think the bigger issue here is the MASSIVE CONFLICT OF INTEREST. I think if not a few, ALL councilors knew that Paulson was an investor and all 9 councilors (includes mayor) have received money and campaign assistance from the email farmer.
But let’s play an ignorant constituent and PRETEND that the council had NO clue who the investors were. If that were the case, why did they vote on this? They know that they have to file a investor disclosure with the SOS and that disclosure should have been a public document BEFORE the council voted. But somehow that filing got mysteriously misplaced.
Shananigans.
This case should have never been about timelines, it’s about a council who has NO ethics and approves a contract that will benefit an investor. And I would argue that Paulson isn’t really benefitting monetarily, but he does control the narrative. You know, like when you reject a mural because you think it is racist, and the media, including the DS didn’t touch the story with a ten foot pool. Shocker!
This case isn’t a question of legality, the Dakota Scout met SOME of those requirements, it is a ETHICAL issue and ALL 9 on that DAIS need to taken to the ethics commission, one by one, and dealt their punishment.
My position on the matter hasn’t changed. The internet has been in existence for over 30 years, it is time to embrace it. Public notices in a paper with a circulation of 5,000 or even 7,000 isn’t cutting it. Nobody goes and reads 6 point type in a paper you pickup at Burger King. Give me a break! It is laughable to think that even one single person is getting their legals from a printed paper.
If you want to see public notices, you can, 24/7, 365 days a year, for free, ONLINE! And if you still want to resist the evil internet you can go to the clerk’s office (unfortunately they don’t serve cheeseburgers) and get a print out. This isn’t hard folks. Stop wasting tax dollars on a service that virtually 1% population MAY use.
Maybe the city could have Legal Notice Mondays and have food trucks in front of Carnegie that wrap your sandwiches in printed out legal notices! Bet you would reach about half of the population that way, because if there is one thing Sioux Falls is good at, it’s eating!
It’s all pretty damn ridiculous how our state legislature crafts laws. They still think it is 1952.
Elections
Ethics
Marshall Selberg
SF City Council
SF School Board Member
SF School District
Sioux Falls
Local Sioux Falls Government & 4th Estate dropped the ball on election corruption
The Sioux Falls School District and former Sioux Falls City Councilor Marshall Selberg got away with it.
And why wouldn’t they?
The school district allowed a candidate to use perjured forms, TWICE, with NO remedy.
Marshall Selberg PERJURED a finance form, possibly lied about his voter registration over the past year, and served OUT of his district for at least a year (a close friend of his confirmed to me he was living out of the SW district for at least a year.) AND he told a reporter on a phone that he was in fact living out of the district and that he needed to ‘move on with his post council life.’ So you moved out a year in advance to prepare for your future life?
These are ACTUAL crimes, not just ethic violations.
The media looked the other direction and local government officials who have the power to fight corruption and unethical behavior also looked the other way.
Where was the City Attorney? The State’s Attorney? The SOS? The Attorney General? The County Auditor(s)? The School District’s Super and Board and many more in City Government, including councilors, who dropped the ball.
And the media hid under a rock while they battled who can get a couple grand from the city a year for legals.
So why did the media help the school district and the city cover this up? Because by saying nothing, you are a part of the problem. You can’t blow your horn every year during Sunshine Week then hide when you see corruption and say nothing. Open government is a 24/7 thingy, not just when it is convenient for you to transcribe a press release.
I don’t think it was a conspiracy at all by the media, just plain old laziness.
Proposed Muni-gym rates to almost guarantee subsidies of millions of dollars a year for taxpayers
Do the math, Sanford is dumping the property onto the taxpayers of Sioux Falls because they are losing money on the facility. We subsidize the Midco to the tune of $1.2 million a year. If we cut the rates at the new (used) facility beyond what Sanford was charging we are looking at a $2-3 million subsidy every year just to keep the doors open.
But no one on the council or at the administration is talking about the subsidy.
I am of the opposite opinion, if the citizens really want this (they don’t since this was cooked up behind closed doors with NO public input, just like the rates) we should charge enough that the place floats itself, so if that means rates HIGHER than what is charged now, oh well.
Taxpayers should NOT be funding recreation at these levels. I think providing FREE recreation is great, but if the citizens want this kind of service, we can provide it, but it is going to cost you.
And what was the public input on rates? Obviously there wasn’t one. They hold a presser to announce the rates then drive down the street to have the Parks Board approve the rates in the same day without any public comment period.
And what will happen to current Sanford members at that location? Will Sanford try to KEEP them in the fitness family by requesting they move their memberships to one of their other facilities? You guarantee they will!
We are solving NO problems with this purchase, but we are sure creating gobs of debt and operational debt for the next 40-50 years. Utter stupidity.
THE RIVERLINE DISTRICT IS JUST A GIGANTIC SCAM
Speaking of half-cocked ideas from the administration, let’s move down the street to another proposal by Poops that is turning into a real POS. They are going to use the entertainment tax, a tax normally used to subsidize maintenance on our entertainment facilities, to purchase the property, which I even question the legality of, but what makes this even more suspicious is this talk about putting this white elephant to a vote.
First, the obvious, this facility would have zero economic impact on the regular Joe in Sioux Falls except our taxes would be subsidizing this place to the tune of $20 million a year (bond payments, operational, etc.). Secondly, when they talk about bringing a ‘vote’ they are referring to an advisory election like they did with the Events Center. This was NOT a legal bond election and the EC would have failed if it were. Bond elections NEED a 60% threshold to pass. If the city tries to pull an advisory vote again, I encourage engaged citizens to do a petition drive to make this an actual LEGAL BOND election and not some dog and pony show.
Warriors of Freedom and Liberty!
You can watch these fine folks tell the county to go fly a kite over a home rule charter. I agree with these fried chicken folks. Home rule charter is just a way to turn a government entity into a dictatorship. Voters should reject this, especially coming from the ‘policy wonk’ Dean Karsky.
Also, who is in charge under a home rule county charter? Deano the Meano couldn’t answer that question, probably too busy trying to find his passive aggressive pills.