I have an unique exhibit coming on August 4, First Friday at Van Art Studios, 5-9 PM (across the street from Wells Fargo DTSF). I will be exhibiting graffiti photos I have taken over the past 3 years and some paintings and smaller collage pieces.
EVERYTHING IS FOR SALE, NO REASONABLE OFFER WILL BE REFUSED!
Recently I mentioned what the business elite call pro-democracy, politically involved, regular middle class folks; special interests. It was startling because the mayor recently used the term to describe certain folks who were promoting the original sustainability program. There have been other regular folks who have individually advocated for changes to 14th street, public art, and even riding E2s on the bike trail. While I have no problem with being called a special interest (I have always thought I was special 🙂 I am only an individual looking out for my personal interest, so am I really a special interest?;
What are considered special interest groups?
A special interest group (SIG) is a community within a larger organization with a shared interest in advancing a specific area of knowledge, learning or technology where members cooperate to affect or to produce solutions within their particular field, and may communicate, meet, and organize conferences.
There are broader explanations of the specific groups, but nowhere does it say an individual who walks to the podium at a council meeting an airs their views about a city issue makes them a special interest.
A better term would be citizen advocate;
Citizen advocacy is when you work with a member of the community who volunteers their time to advocate for local people. Citizen advocates usually work with those who would otherwise find it challenging to speak up for their own rights, views and wishes. Your relationship with a citizen advocate can be long-term.
So why is this important? Many times elected leaders put labels on people who just want the city to be better. They don’t belong to some group that is trying to undermine the government of Sioux Falls, the politicians are already doing a fine job of that themselves. They are just practicing their 1st Amendment Rights of dissenting the government.
So do we have a special interest problem in Sioux Falls? We do. But it has nothing to do with Gladys complaining about loud music at the park, they have specific names like the Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce, Sanford Hospital, Development Foundation, Housing Association, Retailers Association, etc.
The mayor is calling Gladys a special interest because he is trying to deflect the REAL issue with REAL special interests in our community, like developers giving thousands of dollars to PACS which get funneled to the special candidates (rubber stampers).
So in conclusion, Gladys is a citizen advocate, banking executives and development company owners are special interests. Don’t believe what the Dutch Mafia tells you.
UPDATE II: PLANNING DEPARTMENT (MAYOR) PROPOSES CHANGES TO HALFWAY HOUSE DEFINITIONS
UPDATE II: I was told that this is just cleanup language and been planned to change for a few months before Kingdom Boundaries even submitted a rezone. I guess we will hear a longer explanation on Thursday night at the Planning Meeting. But it is still a bad way to form policy.
The timing of these changes are interesting considering the kerfuffle over the Kingdom Boundaries rezone which the council says they will likely defer on Wednesday (Item 46-meeting is a day later this week due to National Night Out). As I understand it, the council may defer the rezone so they can update these changes. What amazes me is that I have been asking for over 2 years that the rec trail ordinance changes to allow E2s and not until the SFPD does a FB post councilor Neitzert took action. It looks like the applicant saw a problem with current statute and without any public informational on the ordinance change they are moving forward, on the consent agenda. This is a very backdoor way of creating public policy. I am not sure how the administration can justify making PUBLIC POLICY changes like this while keeping the very public it affects in the dark on the process.
SANFORD MERGER FAILS
While this may be the big news story going around this weekend;
Although both health systems saw “significant benefits” to the merger that led them to “exhaust all potential pathways,” the merger was ultimately scrapped because of challenges that could not be overcome with “certain Minnesota stakeholders.”
It was no surprise to me. When they first announced the merger negotiations I emailed a local well known journalist and told them it will never happen (even if it was a good thing) because of the last time around. The former AG of Minnesota, Lori Swanson, made a good case the first time and I can guarantee those case files were pulled to assist in killing it this time. As I understand it Fairview may have to be bailed out from the state, but apparently they prefer that over Sanford.
CITY OF SIOUX FALLS HIRES LINCOLN COUNTY’S DEPUTY STATE’S ATTORNEY BILL GOLDEN
This isn’t some big newsflash;
The Lincoln County Commission’s legal counsel has resigned and will continue his public service to the county’s north.
Deputy State’s Attorney Bill Golden has accepted a position with the City of Sioux Falls as an assistant city attorney. He will leave his post in Lincoln County on July 28.
Commissioner Tiffani Landeen added that Golden will be greatly missed, while Commissioner Michael Poppens joked that he hoped Golden would consider staying.
For full disclosure I worked for the Stewart family the same time Mr. Golden did. Bill is married to Kristi ‘Stewart’ Golden, Gordon Stewart’s daughter. Kristi is a former Pressler staffer and not to long ago I think I heard her on KELO AM doing the news.
I have not heard much about the legal talents of Mr. Golden over the years, including when we both worked for the family (sometimes that is good, and sometimes that is very, very, very bad).
We will see what kind of dirty work Mr. Faddle has for his new errand boy.
SIOUX FALLS CITY COUNCILOR ALEX JENSEN GETS APPOINTED TO SOUTH DAKOTA HOUSING DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
Executive Director Olson also reported that a new board member, Alex Jensen, was appointed on Friday and onboarding will ensue.
I find this appointment interesting considering Mr. Jensen only has a few months left in his 1st term on City Council and has not announced if he will run for re-election or run for the legislature (so he can incubate for 2 years and then run for mayor). With this appointment it seems Alex is very confused. The rumor mill says he has resisted announcing for a council re-bid because he is scared Stehly may challenge him, and he may be right.
ARTS COMMISSION PROPOSAL AN ABSOLUTE MESS!
I think the city council needs to kill this until the next mayor rolls in;
The new commission would be charged with, among other things, reviewing works of art acquired by the city and developing the criteria under which they will be placed.
The panel would also set criteria for awarding funding for public projects.
While I support certain aspects of the commission and a full-time director, I don’t trust it under this administration that has an authoritarian slant towards just about everything, including public art. I have suggested besides the commissioners be made up of a broad group of people, that instead of a full-time coordinator, you have a mid-manager from EACH city department serve on an internal arts commission that reports to the volunteer commission monthly. If we really want to promote the arts in Sioux Falls we have to have every city department involved in those actions and not some court jester from the mayor’s office who will likely quit when he is done in 2026.
The Pavilion turned down the ‘opportunity’ to manage the arts for the city, but it seems they have the budget for a NEW full-time position;
Margaret Carmody has been selected as the new Chief Strategy Officer of Washington Pavilion Management Inc.
Carmody previously served as an executive for Raven Industries, where she led organizational culture, marketing, brand, internal and external communications, community and public relations, administrative services and facilities at one time.
She will vacate her role as a member of the Board of Trustees prior to joining the organization as an employee.
The Pavilion is ran by a private management company so they can throw their money at whatever word-game position they want to create, but it reminds of when Doug Morrison ‘retired’ from his banking career while he was serving as School Board President and after leaving the board gets a job created for him by the district. He is in charge of saving the district money 🙂
I am not sure why Carmody is leaving Raven, maybe she saw a better opportunity at the Pavilion, but it seems a little odd that after serving on the board she is offered a new position with the Pavilion. I often tell young professionals in Sioux Falls who are trying to get ahead in their careers it’s ‘who you know, not what you know’ in this town. I have met 30 year olds that are brilliant in Sioux Falls but get passed up for promotions because they are not ass kissers and don’t get fit the ‘look’ and these are white males I am talking about.
Don’t even get me started how you are treated as a female or a minority.
When a friend of mine was starting her career in technical writing she moved BACK to Sioux Falls after receiving top honors and graduating from an Austin, TX university. She sent her resume everywhere and couldn’t even get a call for an interview until she started putting a photo of herself on the resume (she is white). We could never prove it, but we think she was denied interviews because of her name. If you read her first and last name on a resume you would make the stereotypical assumption she is black, as soon as her photo appeared on her resume she started getting interviews and offers.
RECYCLING ISSUES CAN BE RESOLVED AND MANDATED WITH A MUNICIPAL GARBAGE SERVICE
Whenever I read an article like this, I just shake my head and wonder why people are so opposed to municipal garbage service;
About a quarter of all waste going to the Sioux Falls Regional Sanitary Landfill could have been diverted or recycled, the results of a new study found, pointing to a problem that could prove costly.
I often laugh when people make comments like this;
The garbage hauling system in this city is private versus public which keeps costs down and competitive.
I had to adjust myself for a moment there while a monkey exited my butt.
I am for the free market system, which works well in many aspects of the private sector vs. the public sector, but I still don’t know how you think the private system is cheaper? They use more gas, they deteriorate more roads and they have to pay tipping fees. The math isn’t there. You could contract with 2-3 private haulers, give them each a sector of the city, eliminate tipping fees, bill people monthly in their water and sewer bill, and have the city provide the fuel for the trucks.
Heck, the little town of Canton knew this and were going to use the cost savings to build a pool, while I disagree my garbage fees should go towards a pool, it obvious that they saw a cost savings (albeit they were taking that savings away with a pool fee). While many cities have done the system wrong (like Canton was proposing), we have an opportunity to build it from scratch and can learn what NOT to do from other cities.
The mansion has been saved! The mansion has been saved! FREE Borscht and Cabbage Rolls for all! Okay, that was kind of a stereotype, but if you have ever visited a Ukrainian’s home you will likely leave with a red stain on your shirt.
The settlement is exactly of what has been circling in the rumor mills, even this part;
“The allegations by the Strizheuses and their counsel that the city, mayor TenHaken, and all other named and unnamed city officials discriminated against them on the basis of their national origin were unfounded and such allegations did not have a good faith basis in fact or law,” read the statement. “The Strizheuses and their counsel retract any claims of discrimination against the city, Mayor TenHaken, and all other named and unnamed city officials. These claims were voluntarily dismissed by the Strizheuses and their counsel.”
The settlement also included a non-disparagement clause, which prohibits the city and the Strizheuses from making negative comments regarding one another or the dispute.
WOW! Not sure if it is ego, arrogance, cowardice or ignorance (a little combination of all factors I presume) but when I had first heard rumblings of this part of the settlement I thought it was some kind of a joke. The city, it’s elected leaders and city employees are named in lawsuits all the time. Any good attorney will direct you to throw everything at your defense and obviously Strizheuse felt that he was discriminated against. It was just another legal argument not to be taken personally. But apparently someone did.
If you are requesting a letter or some other form of documentation from someone confirming you are NOT a racist, well, you know . . .
I was very saddened by the death of Sinead O’Connor. An incredible singer and advocate of all of us in the lower bracket (Sinead’s SNL performance in which she tore up a picture of the Pope actually brought forth investigations of the Catholic Church and child abuse, molestation and sex abuse).
It had me thinking it is time to do a tribute to my favorite Irish Female Singers, Sandy, Lisa, Delores and now Sinead.
I do have a bit of fighting Irish in me, my great grandmother was half Irish and half French (which explains why I like cheese and beer so much).
And while Sinead can sing her way out of any situation, she got a lot of pans about her Reggae album, but it is actually my favorite stuff she ever did, so out of place but she made it work, I love the whole album, but this cover is amazing ; ‘If you run to the rocks, the rocks will be melting’;
l3wis