People who build ‘Rat Rods’ are ‘Bad Neighbors’
l3wis 
Image: KELO-TV
Leave it up to Jorgi and camera crew to take a picture of this truck. This guy must be in violation, look at the scary maltese cross on the door. This is the first thing I thought when I saw the truck (commenter on FB);
I have a complaint! In this story, you had footage of a pickup truck, when you mentioned abandoned vehicles. That particular vehicle is not abandoned! It belongs to a friend of mine, and is what they call a “rat rod”. It IS registered and licensed. I think you should apologize for not doing proper research, and maybe do a story on the ” Rat rod” scene in the Sioux Falls area. You would learn that the folks who build threes cars are very proud of them. I agree about the problem you covered, but in this case, you blew it.
Yeah, it would be nice if KELO did a story about ‘Rat Rods’ but you can thank DTSF for chasing Automania out of town.
If someone fails to do something about the problem within a few days, the City will issue a fine of $100. If the property owners continue to ignore the problem, the City will fine them another $200. A third violation can result in a $300 fine for a total of $600 in fines all together.
And this is where the city has it wrong legally. You can’t continue to issue fines until the first violation has been resolved, and you certainly can’t make them pay every violation. The city has learned nothing from the Dan Daily Supreme court case, except keep doing the same thing over and over and expect different results. The code enforcement ‘system’ in Sioux Falls is broken, not jut because the ordinances are poorly written but because the people in charge of the department are power hungry bullies that take pleasure in harassing property owners.
As for abandoned homes that have no clear title holder, that is an issue all in itself. That has to do with property that has ownership problems. By all means, clean it up and take care of it. But if someone is working on their own licensed vehicle on THEIR property, how is that a violation? The city has no right to tell you what you can do on your own property as long as it is not illegal activity. The city charter is hardly the law of the land, and quite laughable if you ask me.
This code enforcement firestorm by the city and media is out of control. The Charter Revision Commission needs to take a serious look at the ordinances that deal with property cleanup and maintenance.
And BTW, nice job on the staged trash shots by the cameraman to make it look like trash is all over the place. I had to laugh at the containers that were clean and clearly probably taken from the KELO break room trash can. That’s some serious ‘investigative’ journalism Jorgi.
