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SF City Council

Affordable Housing Alex Jensen Count-cilor Alex Jensen Developers Development SF City Council Sioux Falls

Sioux Falls CountCilor Jensen continues to push useless trickle-down policies when it comes to housing

l3wis 6Comments

You know what they say, even if you know your are wrong, never admit it, just dig in deeper. During the latest episode of Inside Town Hall in which Councilor Brekke tells us to eat more vegetables and drive electric cars, Jensen continues to push the narrative that if we just give contractors and developers even more tax breaks we will get more housing (he supports legislative proposals that would create entire neighborhood TIFs, instead of individual homeowners and a rebate of excise taxes to contractors). While at the same time promoting (low-wage) workers to live someplace else. When it comes to affordable and accessible housing, it starts at the bottom, not at the top. But not in Sioux Falls, hand all the TIFilicious goodies to the ones at the top hoping they will throw us some crumbs while spray painting the poorer neighborhoods sidewalks.

And why would we NOT think Alex’s plan wouldn’t work? He works at the number #1 bank in the Nation, and he had no problem advertising the place while appearing on a tax payer funded program. Actually surprised me because every time he sits on the dais at Carnegie he has no problem flaunting his SF City Council logo wear puffy vest we all paid for (even though I suggested they just all get magnetic badges instead). It must have been at the cleaners when he recorded this show so he had to wear his primary employer’s vest instead.

Mayor TenHaken Medical Mary Jane SF City Council

Mayor TenHaken continues to push the false narrative of Med MJ being dangerous

l3wis 5Comments

In a recent email Mayor Poops told the council this;

Council-

Sharing this task force report as an FYI – very relevant info on ND, IA, and MO. This is important data to be familiar with for if/when we move into the recreational realm.

The message was sent a couple of days ago after the SD Supreme Court decision that told voters to GFY. Does he know something I we don’t know? Also, one councilor told me this was the first time since Poops has been in office that he sent the council any thoughts on policy. I breezed thru the (slanted) 82 page report that contradicts itself on many levels. But this sentence stood out to me;

• Marijuana represented 89 percent of the total drug weight seized by Midwest HIDTA enforcement initiatives in 2020.

Well, doesn’t that tell you something? STOP SEIZING IT AND FOCUS ON OTHER CRIMES!

The whole point of the report is that illegal cannabis use went up after the legalization of Med MJ in these states. That you should also tell you the same thing, make it legal for every adult.

Besides the beneficial tax revenue we would gain from Rec MJ there is the millions upon millions we would save in justice costs. I couldn’t find any references to that in the report, just that more people are using Medical Cannabis after legalization. Shocker, I know.

Mayor TenHaken SF City Council Sioux Falls Zoo

The Zoo & Butterfly House are considering a merger

l3wis 11Comments

When I saw this press conference yesterday I was confused about this possible merger, Thanks to SF Bizzo for some clarification;

The Butterfly House & Aquarium and Great Plains Zoo & Delbridge Museum of Natural History might be joining forces.


The boards of both organizations have approved entering formal discussions to determine whether it makes sense to combine.


A joint exploration committee will be working with a consultant to determine whether to recommend the organizations combine. The process was endorsed by Mayor Paul TenHaken, who held a joint announcement with the organizations today at City Hall.


The mayor can endorse this all he wants, but it is the city council that will have final approval. A city councilor told me today that they were not informed about this consideration until last week. However, I do think it is worth exploring and would be a good match. But I do have some questions.

What is the financial strength of the Butterfly House? Are they just struggling so they saw this as an opportunity for a tax payer bailout? What is the financial strength of the Zoo? How about exploring another option like merging and becoming a private non-profit all together and have the Zoo lease land from the city and let taxpayers off the hook?


I have heard since they terminated Ms. Whalen things haven’t been going as well (though the employees may be happier). Why is it that the first option is the taxpayers bailing both of them out? Why create this monster and take on more Capital Improvement Debt? Also, like the Pavilion and Events Center, while we all subsidize the venues with our 2nd and 3rd pennies, we still have to pay to walk through the doors. What percentage of people who pay taxes in Sioux Falls can afford to pay admission at the zoo or even go there? Should we be subsidizing the place?


While this needs a lot more studying, I suggest the City Council get involved and have the consultant look at them merging and become a Private Non-Profit. It’s time we start spending tax dollars on infrastructure instead of bears and butterflies.

Liquor Licenses Media Open Government Open Meetings SF City Council Sioux Falls Tom Greco

Is the lazy local Sioux Falls Media blowing off the City’s open meetings violations?

l3wis 2Comments

Of course they are. They don’t understand it (we will get to that in a moment) and they don’t want to ruffle feathers. It reminds of what Greg Belfrage said this morning on his show, about talking about politics at family events, he says he doesn’t. I believe him, because he doesn’t know a damn thing about politics and he is probably afraid he would embarrass himself, and he couldn’t hide from his liberal uncle by hanging up the phone on him while passing the gravy.

Many in the media have chosen to not talk about the open meetings violation because they have told the complainant that it is ‘too complicated’. A city official said that it is NOT a big deal and just an ‘ordinance violation’.

First it is NOT complicated and secondly, an open meetings violation is a big deal.

The city is required to have public input on items that are pulled from the consent agenda. Now mind you, if it is about spending $33 on a squirrel feeder at a park, probably NOT pressing, but still required, but this was about a liquor license for a bar with several questionable police calls and underage violations (the real story here), and the fact that the complainant had told many city officials she was going to speak about the item when pulled days in advance. I think the Chair of the meeting, Mayor Paul TenHaken did not call public input on purpose, because he didn’t want to hear what she had to say.

This is why this is IMPORTANT and should be shared in the media. You may not always agree with freedom of speech, but it is equal for all of us whether you want to talk about a gun stuck up your butt all day, a fertilized egg that has a heartbeat, that AR-15s are standard for EMTs, defunding the police or bars that are allowing teenagers to get pistol whipped when they illegally came into the adult establishment.

The simple, real story here is that the Mayor, Paul ‘Poops’ TenHaken violated the law by not allowing public input and a bar skirted any public rebuke because of a lazy, cowardly city staff and council and an oblivious media that doesn’t want to work to hard, if at all.

Is the infrastructure bill and January 6th investigations complicated? YES. And we have thousands of reports about them we can read every day. Is censoring public input complicated? F’CK NO! And we should have at least 2-3 local media reports about it. But we don’t.

Maybe if the meeting was held in a food truck?

Ethics Greg Neitzert Mayor TenHaken SF City Council Sioux Falls

Appeal of Neitzert’s Ethics Hearing in Circuit Court gets thrown out

l3wis 3Comments

Remember this Delightful Hearing?

And the obvious and awful bias the chair of the meeting, Mayor TenHaken, had towards Greg and Greg’s detractors. Paul routinely cut off John, Janet and Pat while letting Greg’s 5 best friends make statements and cut off answers from John before he could finish. His performance that night should be a clear ethics violation.

Basically the judge threw out the petitioner’s complaint with a summary judgement saying he had plenty of opportunity to present evidence throughout the hearing (I wonder if she even watched the hearing?)

While the city council member against whom a complaint has been filed may be represented by their own attorney, may call witnesses and may present evidence, there is no requirement that the complainant has the same rights. Instead, the Ordinance requires the city council to “receive evidence” from the person making the ethics complaint. The record is clear that the council “received evidence” from the Petitioner. Petitioner had a right to participate in the process as set forth in the Ordinance. He did not have a right to dictate the procedure contrary to the Ordinance.

In other words the judge is saying that the city council has the right to act as a Kangaroo Kourt, as they do every Tuesday evening 🙂

Read the judgement HERE.

I also liked this under the profile of the (private) attorney representing the city on the issue;

Melissa successfully defended her clients in the following reported matters: 

• McDowell v. Sapienza and the City of Sioux Falls, 2018 SD 1, — N.W.2d —

If you fight city hall, good luck getting any legal or judicial deference in this town.

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