I guess I better get around to this stuff. The BIGGEST STORY IMO IS THE WAR ON OPEN GOVERNMENT. Mayor TenHaken has left the council out of key decisions (Bunker Bridge, Dead Animals, The Link Contract, Mural, and many more). He has also gotten more brazen about interrupting people during public input, violating their 1st Amendment Rights. His authoritarian colors are showing.
Here is what I came up with for poignant news stories of 2023 (some of these never saw the light of day from the local news, or some of them just nabbed it from my site, which I always say, sharing is caring.)
Maybe one of the reasons people are not listening to Anderson is because when she has a chance to make a difference she sends her minions to fight for a pay increase. Maybe people are NOT discriminating against you because of your gender, but because of your (lack of) intelligence.
If I was a betting man, I would say she probably will. After her freedom loving friends decided to defend her while she is on vacation at the latest session of the ‘Election was stolen’ meeting (MCC meeting) where they felt she deserved more money and that the machines could be corrupt (even though she knows nothing about how the machines work).
Most people in the political realm who make accusations without data and proof to back up the claims will find themselves in a very miserable position. Welcome to that position Leah.
I suspect we will see her tender resignation sometime in January.
THERE IS STILL AN OPPORTUNITY TO PUT THE PARKS AND REC BONDS ON THE SPRING BALLOT
After pressure from the city council to up the timeline on the Parks and Rec bonds it seems the finance department has answered their request;
This would be a great opportunity for the city council to move the bond question to the ballot. I have no doubt it would garner over 70% of the vote, but more importantly it would present openness by the city council to allow citizens to make decisions on big ticket items. Bond elections require 60% of the vote to pass.
There has been a lot of talk on the Left and the Right about ‘Evil’ politicians. Both sides throw it around like a hot potato because it instills this belief that a person’s actions in the name of evil is somehow something deep inside their souls that they cannot control, ‘They were born evil’.
Are some politicians evil? Sure. But not by the religious definition.
Plato and Socrates agree, that evil doesn’t stem from dark shadows or religious dark spirits but from the choices we make, or don’t make.
Plato asserted that it is the innate laziness, ignorance and lack of attention to pursuing good that, in the beginning, leads humans to fall into “the first lie, of the soul” that then often leads to self-indulgence and evil.
Socrates said that the only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing. The unexamined life is not worth living. There is only one good, knowledge, and one evil, ignorance. Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.
While I wouldn’t call any of our local elected officials ‘Evil’ because it just sounds like some foolish Old Testament babble some MAGAt would fart out, but within in the confines of the great philosopher’s opines, I would say they are participating in evil (corrupt) acts due to their lack of empathy and ignorance.
So just remember the next time you see a politician do something ‘evil’ it’s not the dark lord forcing the hand, it is mostly likely money.
We’ve heard all the excuses, time and time again, that Mayor TenHaken was handed this mess and had his hands tied. Hogwash. They could of canceled the bond for the Bunker Ramp (which probably would have resulted in a hefty fee of around $1 million) but in the end would have saved us this nightmare scenario and millions in bond payments.
At thecity council informational on Tuesday, the finance director has finally admitted that the debt service on this POS is dragging the system down;
The solution? Well the first thing I would not have done was give $50 million dollars in tax breaks for 2 parking ramps attached to luxury condos and offices. Why would we subsidize private parking structures when ours are not full?
It’s possible drivers may need to pay for metered parking in downtown Sioux Falls on evenings and Saturdays in the future.
I am on the fence about this. On one hand other cities do this and if the parking ramps remain free on nights and weekends, it could be okay. I also like the fact that it encourages people to either ride share or take other forms of transportation (like an E-Bike) to get DTSF. While I go DTSF almost every day for some kind of errand, I can’t tell you the last time I fed a meter or parked on Phillips Ave. There are FREE parking options DTSF, you just gotta walk a little.
I just wonder who the city thinks they will recruit to be a meter maid on Friday and Saturday nights? No thank you! Enforcement will be the biggest hurdle.
This is what happens when we have feckless leaders in city hall and on the city council dais. They knew it was a bad idea to move forward, the warning sirens were louder then a train whistle, but they were too gutless to tell the public, so now we are paying for it . . . in dimes and quarters.
l3wis 
