South DaCola

Editorial Cartoonist from South Dakota

May 2017

Elections SF School District Sioux Falls

Is the Sioux Falls School District trying to discourage voter turnout?

l3wis 7Comments

The school board election is June 6th. But it seems the School District is doing everything in their power to promote low voter turnout. First they announced they would ‘hand count’ the election, in other words, ‘please don’t show up and vote, you may create extra work for us’. They also had an opportunity to put the school start date on the ballot, but used a questionable emailed survey instead. Now they are using vote centers (vote at any precinct) for the election with only 10 precincts that are within blocks of each other in the central part of the city with NO precincts to the NORTH or NORTHEAST. They also did not list the addresses for the sites, just the site names.

If the School District and Board are wondering why voter turn-out is so low, they can just look to this sorry excuse for an election. I would be shocked if they get even 2,000 people to vote in the upcoming, middle-of-the-summer election. NOW that’s democracy at work!

Dark Grey and White areas are SF school district. Cross-hatch is OTHER districts within the SF boundaries.

Gear Up State Funding State Legislature

Online Petition to push for Gear UP hearings

l3wis 0Comments

On September 17th, 2015, South Dakotans awoke to horrific news stories of the entire 6-member Westerhuis family discovered dead in their burnt out home in Platte, brutally killed by shotgun blasts.

SIGN THE PETITION

News reports have confirmed these deaths are at the center of acknowledged corruption in the mismanagement and misuse of taxpayer monies given out in grants by the SD Department of Education. Reports are that Department of Education administrators have known for years that these taxpayer monies were not being handled properly by its contracted agent MidCentral Education Cooperative. News reports identified former and current public education officials as having received large amounts of taxpayer monies via these programs administered by MidCentral Education Cooperative; however, these programs cannot identify any Native American children who benefited from these monies specifically designated for these needy youth.

South Dakota statutory law, 2-6-2. Empowers the Government Operations and Audit Committee (GOAC) to inquire and review “any phase of the operations and the fiscal affairs of any department, institution, board, or agency of the state..” With the ability under 2-6-4. to “examine all records and vouchers, summon witnesses, and thoroughly examine all expenditures and the general management of each department.”

The MidCentral Education Cooperative was contracted and answerable to the South Dakota Department of Education to administer these taxpayer monies. They were agents of the Department of Education and a contractual entity of the Department of Education. Accordingly, the Joint Legislative GOAC has authority to conduct hearings and demand answers of the Department of Education and its agents in this admitted corruption surrounding taxpayer monies, in order to seek corrective legislative actions to address this infamous corruption of SD government.

We, the signatories of this petition, hereby call for Senate President Pro Tem Brock Greenfield (R-Clark), Senate Majority Leader Blake Curd (R-Sioux Falls), Senate Minority Leader Billie Sutton (D-Burke) House Speaker Mark Mickelson (R-Sioux Falls), House Majority Leader Lee Qualm (R-Platte), and House Minority Leader Spencer Hawley (D-Brookings) to require immediate public hearings be held by the GOAC into this notorious corruption responsible for the murders of Kailey (9), Jaeci (10), Connor (14), and Michael (16) Westerhuis.

Developers Development economy Foundation Park Sioux Falls

Another Bar Napkin contract OR the real deal this time?

l3wis 3Comments

Rumor has it they have an actual committed tenant for Flopdation Park. Hopefully they have an actual signed purchase agreement this time, instead of a handshake and a wink;

The Sioux Falls Development Foundation will make what it’s calling a major announcement Friday involving Foundation Park.

Remember, as of right now, South Dakota and Sioux Falls taxpayers have committed over $30 million to this project so far in infrastructure costs. We have a stake in this process. Will the Development Foundation deliver this time? And if they secured a new business for the area, will it provide over 50-100, living wage jobs?

Downtown Sioux Falls SF City Council Sioux Falls

Downtown Sioux Falls Private Partnership with parking ramp is a horrible idea, and gets worse by the day

l3wis 10Comments

During the Sioux Falls city council informational meeting yesterday, community development did a presentation to council for the new DT parking ramp. I responded at public input last night at the regular council meeting on how baffling it is that a majority of the council supports such a poor plan.

What troubles me is that the plan sounds worse and worse each day, yet the city council gets stronger with it’s support.

Only councilors Stehly and Starr oppose it. Starr doesn’t like the idea we are spending $18 million for only 190-240 parking spots. Stehly takes issue with the investors and Legacy development.

Some things I pointed out, piggy backing off of what Starr and Stehly said earlier at the informational meeting;

  • Why do we need to use the CIP, 2nd penny fund as collateral for the bond? Why not use the other parking structures we own as collateral?
  • Why even go into private partnership with Legacy when we would get more parking spaces for less if we built it stand alone. The city has already admitted we need more parking DT. Why spend almost $100,000 a space when we could spend $20,000 a space? Recently the SF Airport proposed spending that amount on parking spaces for a parking ramp they are proposing for $22 million and 1,100 spaces.
  • If we NEED to go into private partnership with a private developer, why choose Legacy? Even though they are not part of the OSHA investigation and fines, they still could be included in a civil wrongful death suit due to their ties to Hultgren Construction. Why get in bed with that?
  • And one of the most glaring parts of the informational meeting is what was said about investors. At first, community development director, Darin Ketchum says that NO city employees, elected officials or their families or spouses are investing in the project. So Stehly asked Ketchum, “Do you know WHO the investors are.” Ketchum reponds “No.” HUH!? How can you guarantee no city investment from employees when you don’t have a list to compare to? While I am willing to believe that NO city employees are investing, I do think Ketchum is lying about the investor list, I think him and his partner in crime, city attorney Fiddle-Faddle have seen the investor list.

So when will the insanity stop? Will more then two councilors get on board to stop this project before it is too late?

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