South DaCola

Editorial Cartoonist from South Dakota

2018

Downtown Sioux Falls Media Sioux Falls

Our Media in Sioux Falls & the ICON Lounge

l3wis 6Comments

My blog has uncovered some pretty serious things. The siding issue with the Events Center and the conflict of interest with the Deputy Secretary of State running a campaign consulting business while working for the taxpayers of South Dakota.

We know how those things have turned out.

I have known about the noise complaints directed at the ICON since there inception last year. I have mostly kept it quiet because I felt an amicable solution would be solved between parties. Didn’t happen. About a month ago I found out it had escalated to citations. I still held back because I felt some kind of negotiation would have happened. It didn’t.

While some would think I just throw stuff out there to get attention, trust me, if I did that on a regular basis I would have the Sioux Falls version of TMZ. I don’t. I want local government to work, and I want people to get along.

After the band Closet Monster had to move their reunion concert to the District from the ICON, I thought it was time to say something. So I did.

The ICON lounge noise story is one of the biggest stories that has been duplicated from South DaCola in the history of my blog. Shared on Facebook like a bad rash and mulled over by every single media source in this town. I’m surprised TIDBITS hasn’t picked it up.

I blush a little bit, because it’s not that big of a deal. A naive person bought a condo residence downtown (I have no idea who this person is) and are mad it is noisy.

There are probably multiple facets to this story that I could blog about for weeks, but I won’t because action is taking place. All I have ever asked from my local government since I started this blog. BRAVO.

My issue is that our local media has ran with this because I brought awareness, when it has been sitting under their noses for months. I would even venture for several years (remember the Food Truck noise ordinances because residents downtown complained?).

The local media is quick to say I am the lazy one, who doesn’t go out and research my topics before blogging about them, guess what, NOT MY JOB. I simply am here to ask questions, and let the public and media sort it out.

I asked the questions, Is this fair? Is the SFPD acting appropriately? Are the codes right? How do certain developers get special easements while others don’t?

I told a reporter once that there are dozens of stories each week about government corruption in this town that are glaring to most of us, why is it so hard for the local media to pick them up?

I will tell you why; FEAR and lack of historical experience.

I’m glad I got the ball rolling on this issue, but our local media should have been all over this months ago. You know, the ones that get a paycheck to investigate these things.

Developers Development Downtown Sioux Falls Employment Sioux Falls

Are we doing this right? Drinks & Design (2/27/2018)

l3wis 2Comments

Detroit gave Cameraman Bruce a call to witness an event downtown on February 27, 2018 at the Design Center. Always interested in the what happens there, he said OK. So with cameras rolling we bring you the presentation hosted by Jordan Deffenbaugh, Drinks & Design, are we doing it right? His panelists were Bob Natz of Natz and Associates with Shannon Globke of Muth Electric.

From their meeting announcement:
Design is about a process. From inception to completion, certain steps need to be made to allow for a process to be successful. That goes for construction too. The processes work a certain way for certain reason, but we want to ask “Are we doing this right?” How we design? How we build? What materials we use? How we assemble those materials? And are we efficient every step of the way? We can all agree that there is room for improvement in everything. 4D EDU invites all that are interested, contractors, designers, and current and future homeowners alike, to ask the question “Are we doing this right?”

“Employ your time in improving yourself by other men’s writings so that you shall come easily by what others have laboured hard for.” Socrates

“Work smarter, not harder.” Allan F. Mogensen

Design surrounds us. The streets we walk down, the phones we tap on, the homes we live in. 4D EDU, in affiliation with 4D Design + Consulting, wants to help Sioux Falls home builders and homeowners understand “what the heck design is anyway?” Enter Drinks & Design, a new event happening the last week of every month at the Design Center in Downtown Sioux Falls. These gatherings will host a panel of design experts from a multitude of backgrounds and career fields, focusing in on home design in the Sioux Empire. And of course, there will be good food, beer & wine.

Denny Sanford Premier Center Event Center Sioux Falls Taxes

Why has the entertainment tax collection been dropping since The Denty opened?

l3wis 8Comments

Well, I don’t know the answer to that question. BUT, I have speculated quite often on this. I have often argued that the Denty has actually been a financial drain on our city, and not just in a mortgage payment.

So why is it with so many people coming to Sioux Falls for sold out shows at the Denty the entertainment tax has been dropping?

My theory is that more and more people are dropping their entertainment dollars on tickets at the Denty, those dollars go directly to the artists and promoters and directly out of town. In other words, they are not spending that money on authentic local entertainment. Not only has it caused collections to go down, it is NOT getting recirculated in the community.

While it is nice we can see world class acts in Sioux Falls now, it has acted like a vacuum taking money out of the coffers of local entertainment.

Ironically the Mayor had a press conference today peddling more lies about how ‘profitable’ the Denty has been. He said that after operational costs, it made $2.1 million PROFIT last year. Ironically they never discuss the $10 million mortgage we pay out of our 2nd penny road tax. They also don’t mention that the city only holds the account on this FAUX profit that SMG controls. In other words, the city coffers (us) never sees the $2.1 million left over after operational expenses. The only money we take in at the end of the day is the $1.9 million in sales taxes it generated last year, which still leaves us far in the hole after paying the mortgage.

He also thanks the voters for passing the Denty with a FAKE, non-legally binding advisory vote. If the voters would have had a LEGAL bond vote on the EC, it would have never passed.

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