What the Hoover Commission looks like . . . if they had bad haircuts.
After watching their softball interview, I got the feeling that they want him to be mayor. They are soo predictable. I loved it when Bill Peterson bragged about being a history buff and said he would implement his own ‘Hoover Commission’ (just one day after PHD history professor Dr. Kermit Staggers proposed it to the same ED Board). They joked about it, and asked who’s idea it was first. Bill blabbered about something in an attempt to be funny, but you could tell he was caught off guard and not too happy Kermit trumped his ass.
Eat dat! Sucka!
I am begging the AL to endorse Bill. PLEASE! THE KISS OF DEATH – THE ARGUS LEADER ENDORSEMENT. He will be in a battle royal with Vernon for 4th place.
,i>After watching their softball interview, I got the feeling that they want him to be mayor.
Funny…I got the same impression after watching the costello interview. They were not just softballs being lobbed, but beachballs set on a t-ball stand. Hell…even AG could hit that….I think.
How many times did he hit one out of the park while referencing fuddruckers? And not a peep about his meat market operation? And how about his bold proclamations about the 52 million dollar a year impact of a new and bigger “events” center. I still have a hard time with anyone who chooses to use that logic. Whether it is the Summit League tourney, highschool basketball, ANY sports for that matter, or entertainment…ain’t nothin about a bigger building that is going to make the crowds any bigger than the dismal numbers they already have.
They say 40% of the people who go to Sioux City venues have 1 or 44 SD license plate numbers. And Sioux City cannot fill their building, or even come close, even with that added firepower from Lincoln and Minnehaha conties. So somehow…thru the magic of costello, or vernon brown, or whoever is saying it, this new facility is going to generate 52 million a year in revenue. WHAT THEY FAIL TO TELL US IS WHAT THE CURRENT FACILITY GENERATES. If it’s not at 52 mil or damn close, then they are just flat lyin about that number.
Back to beachballs on a t-ball stand. I have not seen huethers interview yet. Maybe later today. Got to believe he was also hittin that beachball a mile.
Peterson is the architect of Home Rule. Home Rule – Corrupt Mayor is an unconstitutional tyrannical dictatorship. No surprise that the city owned propaganda oriented Argus endorses him.
Huether’s interview is good. The normal, don’t answer a question by repeating the question. Beck accuses him of being a bit unrealistic when Mike suggests he will hold weekly meetings at the Whisk & Chop with department heads so the public can come and visit with them. It’s like I told City Clerk Debra Owen when they had ‘coffee with the council’ People don’t have the time or are too apathetic to attend these events, unless you are serving free pork sandwiches. You have to go to the public, they won’t come to you. Staggers is the only candidate that has said this. Mike’s response was, “Well, it won’t be a lovefest.”
Peterson is smart, I will give him that. But he sounds like he wants to expand city government even more then Munson. I also wasn’t impressed by his 20 million references to the ‘Bully Pulpit’ I don’t want a ‘bully’ as mayor, I want a silent leader that listens to the public.
Poly is my hero.
Peterson is the only one of the group that has a chance to break through the anti-Sioux Falls mindset in Pierre. Whether that’s on Events Center funding or anything else.
He’s also the only one who actually gets how the project intertwines with the long term growth patterns & future transportation needs of both the City and downtown in particular.
Like it or not people, we better have an arm twister if we ever want to break the cycle in Pierre. He’s not tyranical, petty & spiteful like Janklow was, but he’s not a wallflower by any stretch.
Poly:
“And how about his bold proclamations about the 52 million dollar a year impact of a new and bigger “events†center. I still have a hard time with anyone who chooses to use that logic.”
Why? Because it comes from a paid consultant? A person (or people) who does nothing all day but research these facilites, both existing and potential ones, and has access to a wealth of information that backs up their claims. People who’ve gone to school for years to become experts in the fields of urban planning, societal & economic trends & forecasting things like this? Do you have evidence or examples of where the consultant we’ve hired (or any of them for that matter) are as off base as your gut seems to be telling you? If we can’t trust those experts which ones can we trust and what makes them different?
You’ve hated the EC idea from the get go and your convinced the place will fail, even though the deck for success is stacked more in Sioux Falls’ favor than nearly any other City you can name.
Mitchell?
Move the state fair there and combine with concerts and conventions. Closer to Pierre (state events, sports, funding). Two practically undeveloped freeway exits. Between Minnesota and Wyoming. Far enough from popular Sioux City events center competition. Modern inexpensive hotels with low rack tax, nearby restaurant choices, a future water park, Cabella’s, the corn palace, a vibrant downtown entertainment scene.
The biggest advantage:
Uncorrupted local anxious democratic government that will provide tax incentives. City leaders without paper bag full of 100’s requirements.
The question becomes ‘Where not to locate an events center’?
Not in a city with 300 million debt who already has an unprofitable Pavilion, infrastructure collapse, major flooding issues, and an oversized government that fights itself into oblivion.
Not in a city where citizens are denied their constitutional rights and property tax increases have forced people to move.
Not in a city where everything is a side bribe. Once businesses commit, the bribes become perpetual and out of sight.
Not in a city losing its banking, agricultural, and medical base.
Not in a city without constitutional democracy. Business realizes the direction will be state or federal intervention.
“You’ve hated the EC idea from the get go and your convinced the place will fail, even though the deck for success is stacked more in Sioux Falls’ favor than nearly any other City you can name.”
Thanks for the chuckle.
Transportation to Mitchell?
A high speed train from Buffalo Ridge (outside Sioux Falls city limits) with free parking lot.
A state run airline hubbed at Mitchell connecting to Sioux Falls, Rapid City, and Pierre.
Set fee ($25) bus service hubbed at MItchell connecting to above.
CLEAN UP THIS GOVERNMENT OR TURN OF THE LIGHTS.
StopHomeRuleSiouxFalls.com
Restore democracy with civil disobedience and organized resistance.
Scott, I’m for an events center but there must be major policy change and restructured commitments beforehand.
There’s growth all around the city but not in Sioux Falls. An EC is one sound way to prevent further expatriation. It’ll just not happen for 5 years or more. Someone else (ie. Northwest Iowa or Mitchell) will do it first.
PG: a vibrant downtown entertainment scene
Have you ever actually been to Mitchell? The one time a year that downtown could be considered ‘vibrant’ is during Corn Palace days. Aside from that you have a couple of bars like the Depot and the Jackpot that do ok, and a lot of fading businesses like Harve’s sport shop that likely will die with their owners.
Heck – even Dairy Queen moved off of Main Street and even some of the little gift shops haven’t been able to make it in recent years. The once semi-sorta-famous-if-you-wear-skirts doll museum closed and the long since defunct balloon museum has been turned into a theater that apparently gets very little traffic even though it is half a block from the big bird feeder itself.
The most frequent visitors to Mitchell’s downtown area are high school kids who use it as their ‘loop’ all weekend long, so I’m not so sure we can go so far as to call it vibrant or even entertaining at this point.
I drove through downtown Mitchell a week ago. For a weekday, seemed active. Next time, I’ll walk up and down for a better impression. Point well taken, I need more information.
The one thing Mitchell’s main street will always have going for it is the Corn Palace. Love it or hate it, it does draw the tourists and that is where all the events in Mitchell are held – basketball games for both Mitchell Senior High as well as DWU, state tournaments, concerts, etc etc.
Also, the highway that comes into down from the North dumps directly into main street, so a certain amount of people will take it all the way down until 1st street at which time they can go left to Burr St. or right to Sanborn depending upon where they want to go.
Actually that Highway 37 bypass has taken quite a toll on the downtown area. I think that is the primary reason Dairy Queen closed and why so many of those little shops are suffering whereas in the past they all did quite well.
However, since all of Mitchell’s development is now happening South of I-90 it honestly doesn’t bode well for their downtown area. The one thing they do have going for them is Mitchell has allowed several new bars to open up downtown which has given it a certain amount of life that it otherwise might not have.