South DaCola

Editorial Cartoonist from South Dakota

2020

Bob Litz County Commission Elections Jeff Barth Mayor TenHaken Minnehaha County

Minnehaha County Commissioner Jeff Barth calls out TenHaken’s Partisan Voter Suppression Bullsh*t

l3wis 9Comments
(Start video at 1:23:00)

I got a ‘friendly’ call from Jeff last night about his performance at the meeting;

“In Mayor TenHaken’s letter, when he talks about the integrity of the election, I have to question his integrity,” Barth said during the Minnehaha County Commission meeting.

This appears to be what I have said it was from the beginning, blatant partisan voter suppression by Mayor Stoneless, and Jeff reiterated that at the meeting. Just look at how he has moved the goal posts in just a few days, first it was about ‘Security’ and when he couldn’t get any traction on that he said it was about ‘State Law’ than when that didn’t stick he said it was about what they do in Iowa.

I will have to agree with Barth, it’s not about any of those things, it’s just plain Bullsh*t coming from a very weak individual who continues to fail at leadership. If Paul had any stones at all, he would come in front of the County Commission and explain to them in person why he won’t do it, or at least send the person who is really running the city, COS Beck, to explain it.

When Paul was elected he had a long history of making a living at being a partisan hack, so I had no question in my mind he would continue that tradition as mayor, and he hasn’t disappointed in that respect. Just like the last guy who made a living from being a salesman, he continued that tradition as mayor.

Folks, in Sioux Falls, Covid is not what ails us, it’s our government.

Corona Virus Donita Trump Noem Kristi Noem

Noem stiffs struggling South Dakota workers while bailing out their low wage employers

l3wis 4Comments

Well, I am not surprised, I knew Noem would find a way to bail out businesses instead of workers with the Covid money;

Gov. Kristi Noem will use nearly a third of the $1.25 billion in pandemic relief funds that South Dakota received this spring for a small business grant program.

Noem announced via her social media accounts Thursday afternoon that $400 million in CARES Act dollars allocated to South Dakota will be designated for small businesses that have suffered during the coronavirus pandemic.

Of course, we all know what a government ‘grant’ is, it is a handout, never to be paid back, and highly unlikely to trickle down to these business’ employees.

I suggested early on that this money go directly to individual South Dakotans so they could it invest back into our communities, whether that is paying bills or saving money for healthcare or for higher education, instead, she does what she does best, piss it down the legs of businesses that will hardly trickle that golden shower down onto the rest of us. I would really like to see how much of this money will be used to expand these businesses and hire more workers at living wages or a way for them to just pay off debt. I’m sure the legislature will conduct a study on it next year. Yeah right.

Corona Virus Sioux Falls Washington Pavilion

Taxpayers may have to bailout the Pavilion

l3wis 4Comments

Hey, I don’t blame the Pavilion for having to cancel their shows, Covid has wreaked havoc on the entertainment industry;

The Washington Pavilion has canceled its 2020-21 Performance Series, which would have brought hit shows such as “Fiddler on the Roof,” “Hairspray” and “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” to Sioux Falls.

Many Broadway tours have been put on hold or canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. In a letter to supporters, the Pavilion said it is working to rebook as many shows from this season as it can for next season.

This will hit the Pavilion hard since they depend on this revenue to float them each year. In fact the Pavilion has made money from these shows over the years and if they didn’t have to float the arts center and science centers (which lose money) the Pavilion would have been very profitable. The problem is they don’t split the pot of money up between the entities, they just move it around.

Of course they have a plan, not a very good one mind you;

While refunds will still be offered, the loss of the tours has put the Pavilion “in a very challenging situation,” Smith said. “As a nonprofit reliant on ticket sales, sponsorships and gifts of support from the community, the loss of these tours – a $3 million impact – has put the organization in a very challenging situation. We are asking our loyal customers – if they are able – for their support at this unprecedented time.”

In all reality, it will probably be the taxpayers that will have to bailout the Pavilion during this down economy. But we have already been giving it millions in maintenance for years. It is what I suspected it would turn into, a money pit, and the Events Center and Aquatic Center are not to far behind.

SF City Council Sioux Falls

Sioux Falls City Council meeting Sep 8, 2020 recap

l3wis 11Comments

Bravo to Councilor Pat Starr for being the only city councilor to vote against the property tax increase, he also gave a great speech about it. There was ZERO open discussion from the rest of the council, they just bowed their heads and did as their masters told them to do. RAISE TAXES!

During public input a citizen shamed the council (except councilors Starr and Brekke and former councilor Stehly) for not doing the right thing when it comes to evictions, the Feds had to step in.

Many people showed up tonight to talk about the importance of funding the municipal band, including many veterans. No mention of suckers or losers, which was good. Councilor Starr proposed a multi-year contract amendment. Councilor Kiley and Soehl tries to downplay it with some poppycock about a future ‘study’. We know how this goes.

The Police and Fire union contracts were approved, little talk about the contract with the rest of city employees.

Neitzert’s ethics hearing was voted on. The circus started by Greg’s attorney’s claiming Starr and Brekke should recuse themselves because they colluded with Mr. Cunningham. Silly. It is actually hilarious. If they provided Mr. Cunningham with documents, they were all PUBLIC. PUBLIC. Not anything private or privledged. Don’t be fooled by the legal mumbo-jumbo. Greg’s attorney claims this was a political attack, but Greg is the one who violated ordinance not Starr or Brekke. A political attack is accusing someone of something they did not do. Greg did it. How do you attack someone who is guilty? Guilt is guilt.

Greg’s attorneys are extremely sloppy. Emails between city councilors and citizens and conversations between city councilors and citizens are public property. Not collusion. And to make that assumption is ludicrous.

Shawn ‘Tornado’ Tornow blows the whole thing up. Good stuff. Even Gregs’ attorney could not pronounce Greg’s last name right. LOL. What is a Nit Zert?

Well, I’m not sure much was accomplished except that the hearing is at 6 PM at Carnegie on Thursday. I doubt the city camera’s will be rolling, but I am sure Bruce’s will.

5G Mayor TenHaken

Is Mayor TenHaken investing in 5G while taxpayer’s foot the bill?

l3wis 4Comments

I know I have asked this question in the past, and I continue to not get many answers from sources or the media. I have asked the local media on several levels to look into this. Crickets. I would think this would be very easy to look into with their resources.

Like I said, it is hard to connect the final dots, but I do know a couple of things that should be looked at;

• TenHaken’s father could have connections with his electrical supply company in Minnesota (I haven’t been able yet to prove he is supplying local contractors with 5G equipment).

• Is TenHaken investing in property that has 5G towers on it? (this is also a big question, because I am uncertain what property he owns and where these towers are going).

• Senator Thune helped TenHaken push this thru. It is a FACT that Thune has received over $1,000,000.00 dollars from the telecom industry in campaign donations. That speaks for itself.

Like I said, I’m having trouble putting the final puzzle pieces together and I beg our local media to start asking questions.

When some people question my question about 5G investment, I often tell them the same thing, “The previous mayor invested in developments thru his wife while he was mayor and you can’t tell me that our current mayor is living off of $100K a year and change with 4 dependents? He has ‘side’ investments, and I’m just curious what they are.”

So is the taxpayer’s investments in 5G in this community beneficial to them or beneficial to the man in the corner office? Good question.

I may be completely wrong, and I have been in the past, but unless we ask the questions and look into it we will never know. It would be even better if TenHaken would just disclose his possible connections.

I would love to see our lazy ass media in town to start asking those questions. Maybe they slip it in between the stories about rain sprinkles, food trucks and golf tournaments.

« Previous Page — Next Page »

You Missed

Crime Downtown Sioux Falls Homeless Mayor TenHaken SF City Council SFPD Sioux Falls

It was only a matter of time

Denny Sanford Premier Center Mayor TenHaken Sioux Falls

The SF Storm gets the boot, Stampede is likely next

Trump

Liberal Tears

Downtown Sioux Falls Sioux Falls Sioux Falls Parks and Rec

What the heck are they building next to the Steel District?