August 2017

So Paul Ten Haken wants to be your ‘Middle of the Road’ Man

Hilarious!

Mr. Ten Haken is anything BUT ‘Middle of the Road’. But I won’t dig into that until he makes an official announcement, which he plans to do tomorrow;

The founder of a Sioux Falls digital marketing company will make “an exciting announcement regarding the future of Sioux Falls” this week.

Ten Haken’s name has come up in conversations about the 2018 mayoral race, but earlier this year he downplayed that possibility, saying that family obligations would keep him out

But a decision last month might indicate he’s freeing up professional time for a campaign. He announced in July that he was stepping away from his role as CEO of the company he founded in 2008 to take a lesser role as advisory board chair.

Not sure if he is announcing running for mayor. He could be running for an at-large council seat or assisting a mayoral campaign. But most likely it is a mayoral announcement.

There has been some internet buzz over the past couple of weeks that a moderate Republican will be running for Mayor. Paul is ‘anything’ but moderate when it comes to one of his biggest clients, the Republican Party of SD and it’s members. Though he likes to pretend otherwise;

“It’s just safe to kind of walk the middle of the road and if you’re going to post about politics.  There’s nothing wrong with engaging in politics, but just not in such a polarizing way,” Ten Haken said.

When I posted about this story being concerned that Ten Haken was spying on his employees personal political leanings to much, he made this comment;

Paul Ten Haken on 09.24.12 at 6:50 am

The takeaway from the story is that employers (self included) don’t necessarily appreciate overly controversial bantor and talk that can create a rift in a company’s culture. Politics, religion, sports, etc. are certainly not taboo, but extreme left and right views can make an employer question the “fit” someone will be in a work environment that the employer has painstakingly built.

I responded by saying I think employers already suck enough blood out of their employees without telling them ‘how they can think’ outside of work. As long as an employee isn’t engaging in illegal or dangerous activities outside of work, it is none of my employer’s business what they think politically, extreme or not.

One of my readers made this fantastic comment in response;

I have had several thousand employees over the years . . . If you control their lives outside of work, you set the tone of fear, suspicion and deceit, always looking over the shoulder mentality as they find ways to get even with you.

I was taught many years ago, the eight hours spent at the job control the other sixteen hours. If you have to be concerned about their sixteen hours, you don’t have time to do a good job with their time ‘working’ the eight.

Can you imagine what city employees would think of having this man as their boss?

Like I said, I would rather wait for Mr. Ten Haken to make an official announcement about his political OR non-political future. But if he does announce a run for mayor, South DaCola will be glad to show just how ‘Non-Partisan’ ‘Middle of the Road’ Paul has been ‘painstakingly’ building his business. It involves a little music and some moving of chairs.

Zach DeBoer Running for Sioux Falls City Council Central District

Sioux Falls, SD – August 27, 2017 “I am proud to officially announce my candidacy for Sioux Falls city council, representing the Central District. It is my belief that if we want our city to continue to prosper and grow like it has over the past decade, we need to invest our time and resources into creating more walkable neighborhoods, increasing density in our core, and improving our modes of public transportation. I am a believer in government transparency and giving all citizens a voice in city government. As a business owner, artist, and community advocate I have been involved with a variety of boards and organizations all with the aim of helping improve our city. I am currently a member of the city’s Visual Arts Commission, the All Saints Neighborhood Association, and DTSF’s Design & Development Committee. I was also an active participant in the creation of the city’s cultural plan, ‘Sioux Falls Imagined’, as well as Downtown Sioux Falls’ ‘Downtown 2025 Plan’. I have been a strong advocate for public art as well as contemporary urban design within the city of Sioux Falls. I am excited for the opportunity to continue the phenomenal work done by previous councils and look forward to working together to build a greater Sioux Falls.”

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Zach DeBoer is the owner of Exposure Gallery & Studios, a contemporary art gallery and studio space that aims to use art as a tool for positive change in his community. Outside of the gallery, Zach works

This seat will be vacated by Michelle Erpenbach who is term limited.

Are Sioux Falls taxpayers getting bilked on pool construction expenses?

As I posted about in April, Watertown ($23 million) builds an entire fitness and pool complex for less than Sioux Falls built just an indoor pool.

IMAGE: David Lias/Vermillion Plain Talk

Vermillion built a $4 million dollar outdoor pool this spring much larger than Drake Springs.

The little sleepy prairie town of Mobridge just built an outdoor pool for $3.4 million* (City of Mobridge), much larger than Drake Springs.

So why is it that Mobridge, Watertown and Vermillion can build bigger, cheaper facilities than Sioux Falls?

Take into account that Drake Springs cost $4.7 Million, 10 years ago! Or that Sioux Falls has easier access to materials and contractors!

Look at the $115 million dollar Denty that we continue to pour millions into for upgrades.

It makes you wonder if some of the city projects, like the administration building, are inside bids and deals? the numbers just don’t add up folks.