I suppose I could rant this is too late, but better late than never. This could have been better controlled if Smithfield’s would have asked for the help of the Feds and the state and city health directors to help control the spread in the plant. If they would have told officials back in March, they may have gotten it under control and they may not have to close. But that hog has already left the pen, and now it is spreading in our community.
Increasingly exasperated local leaders, public health experts and front-line medical workers begged Noem to intervene Monday with a more aggressive state response.
“A shelter-in-place order is needed now. It is needed today,†said Sioux Falls Mayor Paul TenHaken, whose city is at the center of South Dakota’s outbreak and who has had to improvise with voluntary recommendations in the absence of statewide action.
I found out today that on March 30th, the drunken sailors we call our state legislature tied the city’s hands. This is out of their control, and now it may be another 10 days before any action can be taken. But I hope not.
I would suggest that Paul ignore the legislature and use every legal trick he can to get a shelter in place order put in place by Friday or before. Let the AG sue us later, this is no time to worry about legal repercussions.
I stand with the Mayor and City Council on this, it’s time to defy the Governor’s office and take action. We can handle her crying on Fox about it later while we are all watching safely from home. Paul, show the citizens of Sioux Falls you have it in you – I think you do.
Like a well played out stage performance, one has to wonder if the 14 day closure was already agreed to?
There seemed to be a lot of confidence yesterday between Noem and TenHaken in sending this supposed letter. The media wondered why there was no representation from Smithfield’s or the Union. They didn’t seemed to concerned about it. Is it because they already talked to them and the letter was simply icing on the cake of this nice little package?
I think the real media, not just some loud mouth blogger, needs to do some digging.
Here are some things that may further back up my theory;
• A letter? When there is a public health crisis, most people pick up the phone and have discussions in real time. I found this letter (that no one knows how it was sent) to be an afterthought. I think there was very serious conversations behind the scenes and I think Noem and TenHaken (mostly Paul) threatened serious repercussions if this wasn’t done, and in the face of both parties looking very bad an agreement was probably made. Smithfield’s looks good for complying without messy legal problems, and Noem and PTH look good because they got them to comply by sending a ‘letter’ with no legal teeth. Both parties win.
• No public discussion was had before the announcement of the letter. The city council was notified only 1 1/2 hours before the Governor’s press conference in an email about this letter.
• Timed press conferences. How odd that they were just a half hour apart and almost timed to the minute with a coordinated well planned out statements.
• What if they would not have complied? Remember how both Noem and TenHaken were very smug about the idea if they would not have complied. It seemed they had no further plans, because they already knew they would probably comply.
• Another suspicious timing is how Smithfield magically complied in 24 hours, on Easter Sunday no less. Just in time for your Easter Ham.
• No representation from the Union or Smithfield’s was present at these press conferences. They didn’t need to be there, the script was probably already written.
Don’t be fooled by this display of supposed leadership, this seemed to be a well played out act. Don’t get me wrong, closing for 14 days (or more) should be done, it should have been done on March 26 when the first case appeared. We should be thankful a deal was cut, even if it is a little late. What we should not be thankful for is all the games being played behind the scenes. Why can’t our elected leaders just do these things in the open? How simple it would have been for Noem and PTH to just say, “We had a conversation with Smithfield’s that if they didn’t close for 14 days there would be legal intervention.” Seems pretty simple to me. But as an elected official said to me today, Noem and TenHaken would not have wanted to piss off their big money donors.
A better question that was raised in a call to me today.
When did the Governor first know about the 80 cases at Smithfield? And even more, why did she not report it on the daily State page — that many of us follow carefully? Surely all of these did not occur in ONE day!
Then a final question is from me. Does Kristi Noem care about the health of South Dakotans? Why were the people of Minnehaha and Lincoln Counties NOT warned of the danger of 80 new cases –
Eighty!! Is she lacking in the knowledge that one case – as widely discussed in the news, TV and radio — that one case usually is spread to 10 people???
Why, indeed was NO ONE warned? What about people from the Hills that have visited Sioux Falls, or even planning to go there, where UNLIKE Rapid City there are numerous restaurants and bars open
The Mayor of Sioux Falls just announced (almost proudly) that his community has 182.2 infections per 100 thousand people.
And, strangely he almost boasted “more than Seattle!”
Why, oh why has he not done what Mayor Steve Allender and our Council have done. After his exclamation it occurred to my ridiculous engineer mind we have less than 8 infections per hundred thousand.
In fact last night, looking at the US Census county population count, Lincoln and Minnehaha have a population of 192 thousand to Pennington’s 112 thousand. 2.24 times more, that means at 10 infection spreaders 174 more chances of someone getting pain, suffering or death.
And this was hidden?? For how long?? And WHY for G-d”s name????
Some surprise holiday gift from the Mayor and Governor, I suppose.
Stan Adelstein – finish my third week in isolation in Keystone yesterday.
UPDATE: Governor Noem just announced Paul and her are asking for a 14 day closure and pay the workers during this time period. And how are they proposing this to Smithfield? In a letter.
A letter doesn’t mean squat. They have the power to use the state and city health departments to force a closure LEGALLY!
If they don’t want to pay the workers, they can collect unemployment. Why is it so hard for these people to figure this out?! Letters and stern requests don’thold up in court and don’t mean a pile of hog crap.
Noem was asked by Bob Mercer, what would happen if they reject the letter. Noem said they will take ‘further action’. Which means they will do nothing.
Another reporter asked if the State would be financially supporting the workers if Smithfield decides not to. She smugly said ‘NO’. What great Christian values a day before Easter.
Paul said the letter was ‘stiffer’. Stiffer than what? A wet paper bag?
PTH keeps pushing this idea, that he kind of vaguely revealed came from Smithfield management, that the employees have been spreading this virus amongst themselves outside of the plant. Sure, if all the employees lived in barracks together. They don’t. We know this is being spread at the workplace in close working conditions. I’m not a scientist, but I think I know how viruses are transmitted easily. To keep pushing this, now twice, is irresponsible.Knock it off!
Paul was asked the same question about if they rejected the letter. He said he hopes they do and brings up that they cannot in a Democracy legally shut them down. They can, this is poppycock.
Todd Epp asks if Smithfield has been a good corporate partner by not being transparent. Paul goes into a rant about how this is the Union’s duty to protect the workers. Hey Paul, they have been trying for weeks, and you have done nothing.
Epp also asked why isn’t Smithfield at these press conferences being transparent? I will answer that question. It is NOT in their best interest.
The hospitals clarified you cannot get a test unless you have a doctor’s order. WTF!!!!!!!Trump has said anyone can get a test. Really?
Paul went into a strange rant about how if someone has Covid, authorities have the power to make them quarantine, but somehow they don’t have the power to close businesses. Huh? That makes no sense at all.If you legally force individual people to stay home, you can legally shut down businesses. In fact I would argue, individuals have more constitutional rights than privately owned companies, especially ones owned by foreign communists.
BTW, no one was wearing masks at the presser.
Another reporter asks when they expect to hear an answer from Smithfield. I guess I would have gave them a call instead of sending a ‘letter’. And PTH says he didn’t talk to the CEO of Smithfield’s today. Huh?
I think that closing the plant for 3 days is some kind of sick joke (no pun intended). The plant not only needs to close indefinately until the virus passes, it needs to pay all of it’s employees during that time period and cover all medical expenses associated with covid treatment and care.
As you can see from this story, workers have been begging anyone who would listen that there needed to be an intervention at the plant;
Weeks before the announcement that Smithfield foods had become a coronavirus hot spot, employees were asking for more protection during the pandemic. Kooper Caraway is the President of the Sioux Falls AFLCIO.
“Secondary screening for folks with elevated temperatures, staggered lunch schedule, practicing social distancing on different shifts, and whatnot. The workers and their local union leadership have been pushing for these things for a month and it hasn’t been until the last week since management has started to implement these things,” said Caraway.
South Dakota Voices for Peace Attorney Taneeza Islam says most employees don’t see an option to walk away.
“They live paycheck to paycheck. If they quit or walk out they are not eligible for unemployment assistance, and that’s really what the choice is, right? Do I feed my family, or do I expose myself to COVID and then go home and expose my family to COVID,” said Islam.
As you can see, people have been trying to mitigate a pending crisis. Where was our governor and mayor? They have argued that Homeland Security has classified them as ‘essential’ but we all know, that Noem and Thune have a direct line to the president’s desk and could have closed the plant weeks ago or at the very least make them (and other manufacturers in SF) to implement strict safety precautions outlined by the CDC and Union reps.
This mess (which will soon spread to other manufactures and families throughout our city) shows the utter lack of leadership on a local level, something I have warned about for the last month.
Mayor TenHaken could have made a directive to have the health department go around to these businesses and implement strict guidelines, but instead he decided to tweet about people having a few beers at The Barrel House. He could have also begged the Governor to contact the president and Homeland Security to intervene. In this video, Paul even suggested that the spread may have happened outside of the plant, WHAT!
The governor could have intervened also with strict guidelines or could have called the president and Thune to intervene. Instead, Thune faked covid so he could get out of voting on the stimulus bill (that’s the rumor going around) and has done nothing to protect South Dakotans, but that’s normal for him, the biggest do nothing senator in the history of the state.
But what makes this even more egregious is that we are allowing a company owned by Chinese investors from a communist nation tell our government what they are going to do. The irony is that Noem has argued putting in a directive to stay at home would look communist, all the while communists are running the show. I know, if it weren’t tragic it would be laughable.
I’m asking everyone to boycott pork products until the crisis is over. Sorry, but bacon isn’t an essential to the security and safety of our country. Unfortunately our local elected leaders are proving they are the real threat to our safety and security.
