Badlands Buffoonery?

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I’m sure you all received the first pressing of ‘Badlands Monthly’ (I’m going to try to get mine signed by Captain Caribou himself). One of my more conservative friends referred to the magazine that was cluttered with ‘Skulls and Flames’ as ‘Icky’. I’m an old school punk rock kid, so I think that stuff is cool (If I was still 17) and many of my paintings are themed in the car culture and pop art subject matter. I hold skulls and flames near and dear to my heart. My good friend (bless her butterfly and flower heart) went on to talk about the photo of the building. She said something like, “. . . with this building being in the backdrop of the Events Center and to have this photo of the pawn shop in this desolate setting is peculiar.” But hey, not to far off mark. It is pretty desolate out there.

Just what kind of development is happening around the Denny Dome? We have a bar sitting empty that has changed more hands then a 1992 Pontiac grand prix, the remains of an old hotel and a newly remodeled Rolling Pin (which looks nice, BTW). But other then that, not much happening (as promised to us in the Build it Now campaign). Heck, we haven’t even heard about a hotel, except for one the tax payers are going to subsidize at Elmwood. And what about all those shuttle rides from Downtown to events? Argus Leader reporter Joe Snevelmarvelous has a story coming out in the Sunday edition about the (lack of) development. As he said to me yesterday, “It’s good.”

Back to Captain Caribou. I think Badlands Pawn will be highly successful. Why? As I explained to Ms. Butterfly, we have two essential classes in Sioux Falls, the Rich and Wannabe Rich and the trailer park poor who will spend their last dollar on a pack of Camels and a used rifle. This is where the pawn shop steps in. Chuck knows his clientele, he has been making millions from them for years in Sioux Falls lending them money, he now can take it a step further and get them to spend that money at his heavy metal carnival center.

And Mayor Huether was worried about Royal River wanting to build a Casino here . . . geesh!

Mayor Huether’s ‘speculative’ appearance on SuFuStu

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I was honored that the Mayor called me a ‘speculator’ on Stu’s show yesterday, right before he didn’t really answer the question I asked, but danced around it for about 5 minutes (he wouldn’t say if he would vote for or against a cell phone ban if it came back to the council and he had to break the tie) yet he did say he thinks the ordinance should be voted on by citizens via an initiative process (wouldn’t that mean you would vote no?) I guess I will have to go back to ‘speculating’. Maybe I will strike gold one of these days.

The mayor also absolutely refuses to release the Events Center ‘paneling’ settlement, saying that they are protecting the private businesses involved. More like protecting your ass. Mike went on a mini-rant about how nobody talks about the ‘paneling’ to him. Well Mike, if I was a speculator, which you think I am, there are probably two reasons people don’t talk to you about it. First off, you are probably lying about those interactions, or secondly, people know if they ask you about it, you will just lie about it anyway. But like I said, I am just ‘speculating’.

In one of his funnier moments (even though Stu said they wouldn’t have ‘word play’ in this episode) the mayor said the work he used to do marketing the nation’s worst and most predatory sub-prime credit card, as NON-PRIME lending. Huh?

And since Stu decided to skip word play, I thought I would ‘speculate’ what the mayor would say if they did do the game.

The truth?

I believe what I believe

Transparency?

Dark

Micro-Manage?

Getting things done

City Council?

Pointless

Mortenson does it again . . .

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It seems Mortenson likes to make a habit out of shorting subcontractors;

A key subcontractor on the Cheney Stadium renovation project has sued the City of Tacoma and its general contractor, the M.A. Mortenson Company, amid claims it’s still owed more than $400,000 for work on the ballpark.

Roscoe Steel and Culvert Co. of Billings Mont. — which provided steel framing, decking and joists for the $30 million stadium project — claims Mortenson failed to cover “unpaid base contract amounts and change orders” for work and materials provided during ballpark renovations.

Well, Well, Well, kind of sounds like the situation MJ Dalsin was in about a year ago. And the mayor seems to be baffled why we want to know the terms of the settlement?

The Sooper Dooper Denny Secret Siding Settlement

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Snevilicious at the Argus Leader did a story today about how the city is still refusing to release the settlement (Because Loophole David Fiddle-Faddle has pulled another one from his rear end). But the open records peeps seem to disagree;

(Argus attorney) Arneson said a case could be made that any Sioux Falls taxpayer is eligible to view the settlement without violating the confidentiality clause because they are members of the city and, arguably, a party in the settlement.

I like attorney Arneson’s argument. Something we have been saying all along, we paid for the building, we own it, we have a right to know what is in that settlement.

But I will also say, there are many ways to skin a cat.

While the Argus and other media outlets have taken the avenue of asking the city for the settlement head on and deciphering Fiddle’s  Loop Hole code, DaCola has been sharpening our skinning knife.

While DaCola has been kind of quiet as of late about this issue, we are taking a different approach when it comes to the iron clad settlement.

Stay tuned.

Price discrepancies at the Events Center?

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As we all know, the Events Center is NEW and very popular. Something else is evident from this ‘newness’ the high prices of concerts. On Sunday I was talking to a friend who said him and some other folks were taking a carload to Lincoln to see Def Leppard at the Pinnacle. I asked why he didn’t see them when they were at the Denny. He told me he was going to, but the seats he wanted were between $100-125. He told me he got comparable seats at the Pinnacle for $40. I still think he went to Lincoln so his friends wouldn’t see him in town going to see Def Leppard, because to be honest with you, $40 is about $39 more than I would pay to see Def Leppard.

The surprising part about this is that the Pinnacle isn’t that much older than the Denny, and tickets are $60 less for the same show? Do Sioux Falls taxpayers have a rude awakening coming in a couple of years when the newness of the Denny wears off and we are subsidizing it more? Kind of reminds you of another entertainment facility in Sioux Falls that we are constantly throwing money at and putting bandages on.