November 2018

Is 5G dangerous?

l3wis November 23, 2018 4Comments

So there has been this guy showing up to Sioux Falls city council meeting protesting the 5G network proposed in Sioux Falls because as he claims the microwaves coming from the units would be like sticking your head in a microwave.

So I decided to go down that rabbit hole and research 5G online Tuesday night. Once I sorted through all the conspiracy sites I did find several ‘legitimate’ stories about the equipment. The LA Times had an article from 2016 which pretty much determined that high levels of exposure to adult male rats caused tumors, but it seems the jury is still out because no one knows the long term affects on humans.

One thing that none of the stories deny is that the equipment is powerful and a lot lower to the ground than normal cell phone tower antennas. Could this affect one’s health? The possibility is certainly there.

The city is moving fast and furious on new regulations for the new 5G antennas (I guess public meetings on this were not considered or noticed very well);

More than 20 locations on public land across Sioux Falls are being targeted by wireless providers as future 5G cell tower sites, according to City Hall.

That has city officials working to establish a licensing process that would allowÂ Verizon Wireless and other telecommunication companies to begin installing fifth generation micro-towers on city light poles, water towers and buildings as early as next year.

“Once the master license agreement is approved by the City Council via ordinance, this would allow staff to administratively approve those applications,” Parks Director Don Kearney said while addressing the Sioux Falls Parks and Recreation Board, which got a peak at the proposal Tuesday due to the expectation that light poles in parks will be candidates to house 5G towers.

Under the proposed licensing system, unveiled this week by the Sioux Falls Power and Light Division, companies seeking to equip cell towers onto light poles or other publicly owned facilities would be required to pay a $500 application fee. At that time, staff would have 60 days to determine whether the targeted site is a suitable location. If approved, the applicant would pay an additional $25 for a permit, and then a yearly renewal fee of $175.

“We can either approve the application, deny the application or approve the application with conditions,” Kearney said.

After doing my own research, I am certainly NOT opposed to putting ‘some’ antennas up in the city, but I would be extremely cautious about putting them very close to residential or dense office building areas. I also think that licensing fees should be a lot higher, especially to start with, to see how they work and if there is any long term health affects.

But it seems like most everything in Sioux Falls and South Dakota, big business gets what they want while the peasants have to scrape and scratch to stop it.

Â

Democrats South Dakotans

Say it ain’t so! Tornberg to seek another 4-year term

l3wis November 23, 2018 3Comments

According to my sources, Ann Tornberg is seeking another 4-year term as SD Democratic Party chair;

Ann Tornberg, the current Chair of the South Dakota Democratic Party (SDDP) has announced she will seek another 4 year term as State Party Chair despite the continuing decline in Democratic voter registration (down over 13% under her leadership and now resting at 29% of all registered voters, the lowest it has been in living memory) and the lack of success the Democratic Party has enjoyed statewide in recent years (no Democrat has won statewide since 2008 while Democratic representation in the state legislature has declined from 20 seats in 2014 to 16 seats today) . I guess Ann thinks when you are losing, more of the same is a good thing. Needless to say, I oppose her election to another 4 year term. There must be someone out there who can pick up the remnants of the Democratic Party and make it relevant again. Dig deep, Democrats! You need something, but the one thing you don’t need is four more years of the same failed effort.

My suggestion would be Pam Nelson or Bruce Danielson. Let’s see what happens.

MIDCO Aquatic Center Mike Huether Yankton

Good for Yankton!

l3wis November 21, 2018 4Comments

Believe it or not, I do give kudos to the Huethers for giving this gift to the community of Yankton;

A proposed indoor pool facility in Yankton got a big boost Tuesday.

The Mike, Cindy and Kylie Huether Family Foundation gave the project a $1 million donation, just two weeks ahead of the opt-out election.

On December 11, voters in Yankton will decide whether or not construction $14.8 million project will move forward.

The community group Dive In Yankton has secured about $4 million in funds so far, including Tuesday’s gift from Yankton native Mike Huether.

Some of us should consider ourselves lucky enough to have that kind of money to give, and you can never question generosity.Â (though in this case I would – I’m guessing the pool will have the Huether’s name on it in one way shape or form – It is being considered)*

But in the WNAX interview MMM couldn’t resist to pull the heartstrings by mentioning the Midco Aquatic Center.

Sorry Mike, not the same. While a small town like Yankton really needs something like this, and it will get a lot of usage and public support, my argument against our public indoor pool was different. Unlike Yankton, Sioux Falls has oodles of private fitness club indoor pools people can choose from. I just didn’t see the need to compete with private industry. And while the Midco has been somewhat successful (still hasn’t broken even on operational expenses) I still question the public ‘need’.

*As for the generosity of the family, funny how the Huethers suddenly have a cool million for the people of Yankton but had to come begging to the taxpayers of Sioux Falls for $500K for a building that bears their name at the Sanford Sports Complex . . . and the public still can’t use the parking lot.

Here is a final draft of the Yankton Aquatic Report;Â FinalDraft

Denny Sanford Premier Center Event Center Public Utilities Public Works SF City Council Sioux Falls

Sioux Falls City Council avoids the 700 pound gorilla in the room

l3wis November 20, 2018 10Comments

That wasn’t all entirely true, Councilors Brekke and Starr brought a little reason to the sewer rate increase discussion tonight after Rick Kiley had a total meltdown when Stehly called him out about disparaging the work of staff. Which made it even more ironically funny, because all Kiley does is constantly compliment staff sometimes just for opening the toilet stall door. So when Theresa reminded him that staff helped her come up with her numbers, Ricky Lee went ballistic, twice. Memorable stuff.

Soehl suggested that she share her information in advance (you know, like the rest of the council does with Theresa and Pat . . . LOL!)

But let’s get to the serious stuff. Janet was smart to bring up the history of the 2nd penny and it’s use for infrastructure and Starr quoted Citizen Stanga wondering why so much of the 2nd penny goes towards ‘play things’.

Most people don’t realize, when you buy anything in this town, a portion goes towards paying down the bonds on the Denty from the 2nd penny. Whether you use the facility or not (in which you have to purchase a ticket) you still have to pay for it’s mortgage. You can always sit outside for free and admire the ‘interesting’ siding.

The council totally ignored the gorilla. While they argued up and down that sewer rates must rise to pay for upgrades because it is only fair to charge the user, they avoided the fact that the play palaces bonds in our town are not paid for by user fees, not one penny. Brekke and Starr came the closest to suggesting we have a long term strategic plan to look how we spend the 2nd penny (to which they got crickets). All they could focus on was that Stehly said $300.

If you want to have an honest and fair conversation about user fees and paying down bonds, as several councilors suggested, then we need to start talking about how the Denty is going to start paying it’s own bonds moving forward. I don’t think a person who can afford to pay $150 to see a Jackass in a cowboy hat would blink an eye at paying an extra $3-5 ticket fee for bonds. Heck, most wouldn’t even notice it after there $10 Coors Light and $8 dollar pretzel.

If the council thinks it is fair to raise rates to pay for sewer infrastructure then they need to also pass a city ordinance that attaches a bond repayment ticket fee to all the shows at the Denty. Otherwise they are just a bunch of hypocrites . . . wait?!

There is an alternative that would cost us less

Another portion of the conversation that was left out tonight is the simple word ‘conservation’. Actually, Public Works Director Cotter was the ONLY one who brought it up, recognizing that the conservation programs he helped implement have reduced water usage. And you can’t argue with his numbers, they are astounding and measurable (bravo to Cotter). While he gave this ‘gentle hint’ to the council, no one decided to run with it. We could actually spend a lot less by implementing even stronger and more stringent water conversation programs which would decrease our sewer usage. Many have even suggested eliminating lawn watering by planting more draught resistant natural grasses instead of non-native ones.

Besides just considering the 2nd Penny, we have alternatives to save us money on these projects, but as Brekke has suggested since she ran for the office, it takes PLANNING!

Jim Sideras Sioux Falls

Sandy likes a plea deal

l3wis November 19, 2018 9Comments

Now that a plea deal has been reached in the Sideras case, it’s time for me to share how this case has affected me over the past couple of weeks. When I found out that Jim’s attorney was using the excuse that comments Patrick Warren made in the Argus Leader and on my BLOG proves he has a vendetta against his client, I was shocked, baffled and quite honestly LIVID! It seemed to me that some of evidence the prosecutors have already presented pointed all fingers at Sideras. Simply put, even if Warren would have somehow got access to Jim’s personal computer remotely, how on earth could he do it when Sideras was in San Antonio?! The defense was grasping at straws, and as they proved today in the plea agreement, Jim was ultimately the guilty party.

Besides speculating on Jim’s probable light sentence (I will be surprised he gets any jail time) the plea agreement is kind of telling. Notice Jim only plead guilty to possession of an image on his personal laptop. This is significant. Why?

From KDLT;

The Human Resource Director for the City of Sioux Falls says regardless of his plea, Sideras is still entitled to his pension, after serving 34 years with fire rescue.

This statement alone may explain why this was the only count he agreed to plea to. Besides the fact many city employees and citizens are extremely angry he gets to keep his pension, by state law he is entitled to it. I felt after the verdict came down the city should just cut him one check for his vested pension and send him on his way without taxpayer pension funds or healthcare.

Could they legally do that? Is there a loophole? I believe there is. See if this would have went to full trial and he was found guilty of some of the other possessions, some of those occurred while he was on company time, and it could give the city the right to file charges of misuse of government property or capital, even fraud. If they could successfully tie Jim to those charges they probably would have the right to pull his pension. Besides the fact he got one heckuva a plea deal, the greater misdeeds in misusing taxpayer property was the real crime here. Unfortunately we will never know. That may explain why we have gotten NO official statement from the city on this case.

Is 5G dangerous?

Say it ain’t so! Tornberg to seek another 4-year term

Good for Yankton!

Sioux Falls City Council avoids the 700 pound gorilla in the room

There is an alternative that would cost us less

Sandy likes a plea deal

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