Innoskate Sioux Falls!
l3wis This is a great event for Sioux Falls, and I would like to thank Nancy Halverson from the Levitt for organizing the event. Tons of skate demonstrations, talks, art, food, and MUSIC!
July 2022
Take the Money and Run!
So the Minnehaha County Commission got a surprise this morning;
Knife River Corp., owner of the former Concrete Materials Co., has offered Minnehaha County $65 million for the William H. Lyon Fair Grounds.
Maybe it wasn’t that big of a surprise.
A 1999 task force went through a similar exercise with consultants and concluded the fair needed $31 million in capital improvements, but the county didn’t identify a source for the funds, Meyer said.
“It also struggled to develop an operating business model that made the fair self-sustaining and no longer continually dependent upon county subsidies as it is today,” he said.
I had a discussion with a Commissioner before the task force was created and said that if Knife River puts forth a good offer they should take it. The Fairgrounds are crumbling and Knife River needs aggregate to keep Sioux Falls growing, but there are some legal issues;
Commissioner Jean Bender, who is an attorney, said the county does not have a clear legal path to sell the property.
“That land was a gift to the county, and that gift is very tightly constrained, and the risk is if we sell that property that that property would go back to the heirs, and the county would get nothing,” she said. “So there are very significant legal impediments, which is why it hasn’t been done in the past.”
I actually think the county could overcome those hurdles, and they really should;
“If you ever want to bankrupt somebody, give them a white elephant,” Commissioner Dean Karsky said. “We have something we have to take care of, but we have no revenue source to do that.”
I have suggested that after a successful sale, the county could relocate the fair to a smaller community in the county like Dell Rapids, Brandon, Hartford, etc. The new fairgrounds could start with tent rentals and really doesn’t need a grandstand. We have plenty of entertainment options in Sioux Falls, we don’t need another concert facility. If they put the $65 million in an endowment to fund the fair moving forward, it could work well.
I hope the commission doesn’t sit on their hands and explores other options.
The Future of ThuneHaken
It may be a running joke in the comments section of this blog, but lately I have been hearing from Democratic and Republican political insiders that the GOP money machine and other operatives are setting Mayor Paul to be the next senator from South Dakota.
I would assume that Dusty Johnson would run for Governor in 4 years and Paul would run for Rounds seat (assuming he decides not to run).
When I first heard this well over a year ago from a Democratic party rabble rouser, I just laughed, but it seems the chatter in both political parties is at a deafening level.
I think it all become much more clear today when I was sitting on Phillips Avenue watching the 4th of July parade and Mayor Paul came by with a big old truck emblazed with his campaign logo like he was running for something. He is. The US Senate.
Sioux Falls city government has no leadership. None, zip, nada, black hole.
Guest Post, Bruce Danielson
As we consider our declaration of freedom born in July 1776, consider the remarkable citizens who helped us create a government owned by the people. These citizens would later help define a way to grant more and more rights to more and more people. The more amazing thing that followed their courage, was their efforts helped them lose more personal wealth or their lives because they chose to be leaders, not followers.
Authoritarians are not leaders, they are bullies taking away from most of us in the short-run and all of us in the long-run. The reversal or taking away rights whether the initiative, referendum, or personal responsibility rights always makes South Dakotans and the silent majority to the streets and ballot boxes.
The gathering of our fellow citizens last Wednesday evening showed one glaring thing more than anything else, Sioux Falls city government has no leadership. None, zip, nada, black hole. What is leadership? Consider this list:
Qualities of a Great Leader
1. Vision
2. Inspiration
3. Strategic & Critical Thinking
4. Interpersonal Communication
5. Authenticity & Self-Awareness
6. Open-Mindedness & Creativity
7. Flexibility
8. Responsibility & Dependability
9. Patience & Tenacity
10. Continuous Improvement
How many of the qualities on the above list were shown last week or are shown by our officials in Sioux Falls and South Dakota?
We have elected officials who claim to be leaders but in reality they are primarily authoritarians who would rather hide in their suburban fortresses on Whitechurch Lane, in Grand Prairie or Canton.
A real leader would have immediately arrived on the scene and helped calm a situation. A real leader would have followed the April 1968 example of Senator Robert Kennedy on hearing of the murder of Martin Luther King by going into the crowd to announce it and then calm the crowd that would have emotionally grabbed it leading to a riot like what happened many other burning American cities.
Why did the police have to get out the riot gear? Why did the gathering of our fellow citizens have to rise to a heated situation where fearful police decided to put on swat gear? There will always be agitators in any crowd, but a real leader would have been creative enough to calm the noise.
Robert Kennedy showed us all what a positive leader could do, why do we have officials pretending to be leaders but are in fact authoritarian sheeple, hiding until the coast is clear?
This is to be dealt with, Sioux Falls city government has no leadership. We are a rudderless ship where the engine room is running full-bore into the iceberg because the captain is hiding. I compliment the police chief for the honesty shown after the event but where was our mayor? Our elected officials let untrained, inexperienced directors and line employees run the government while the elected officials we the people hire, are stuffing their resumes to make themselves more self-important. Whether you approve or not, riot gear against our mothers, fathers, children and grandparents who just want to express their emotions is a disgusting lack of real leadership from an absentee leader.
Did the SFPD need to don Riot Gear at last week’s protest?
I would like to start by applauding the folks (whoever they are) that organized last week’s successful abortion protest. They did it without a permit and thru private messaging. And while a handful of people got arrested, it is quite an accomplishment to pull off a protest of 1,100 people with NO injuries and NO damage to public or private property.
That is a what you call a successful protest.
We have already determined that the group did not need a permit. They were well within their constitutional rights. But what about the street incident?
I have spoken with several protesters about what really took place and why those folks were in the street to begin with. A couple of them have had experience in public safety for over 20 years and several others have been protesting since the early 70’s. They know how civil disobedience can be achieved successfully without anyone or anything getting hurt.
For the most part they said police officers were doing a good job controlling the crowd even without advance notice. The police decided they needed to move the large crowd to Lyon’s Park which required them to close 14th street. THE POLICE CLOSED THE STREET NOT THE PROTESTERS. Up until that point the crowd was moving.
Where things went awry is when the police in riot gear showed up and started forcing people to the park. One protester told me that there really was no reason to have riot gear and smoke bombs, it was just an attempt to intimidate and incite a riot.
So the next time a group of peaceful protesters show up unannounced, leave the tactical gear at the station and politely ask them to move to the other side of the street.