South DaCola

Editorial Cartoonist from South Dakota

Sioux Falls

SFPD Sioux Falls supreme Court

UPDATE: SD Supreme Court rules excessive force case against Sioux Falls police officers can continue

l3wis 9Comments

UPDATE: Link to oral arguments, what is so crazy about listening to this is that 17 officers showed up over 5 drops of blood on a sidewalk to watch an officer slip on a rug . . . and they say they are understaffed. LMFAO.

While I was disappointed that the court supported the warrantless search they did say the trial for excessive force can move forward;

In its recently released opinion, Supreme Court justices agree that circumstances at the time created an exception to the Fourth Amendment ban on unreasonable searches.

If you read the CASE you will see while the officers may have had a right to enter the apartment since they saw blood and heard people fighting throwing Ms. Boggs to the ground was not needed. It seems the only defense the police have is that they didn’t do what she claims. So where did her injuries come from? This is a perfect example of why body cameras are needed.

According to the 2021 salary listing both officers still work for the City of Sioux Falls as of January 1st. Officers Mark Toland and Andrew Pearson both make about $72K a year in hourly pay plus benefits.

I hope to have audio of the oral arguments soon.

Minnehaha County Sioux Falls

Is the Minnehaha County Jail still flooding?

l3wis 3Comments

This is an UPDATE from a story I did in March. I thought by now the wrangling between the County and the City was solved. I guess not. According to one of my moles they still haven’t figured out a solution and who should pay for it. I guess the jail continues to flood and it is getting worse. Now some of the windows are also supposedly damaged from the flooding and it is getting worse.

While it certainly doesn’t surprise me that local governments want to squabble over who is at fault and who should pay for this, I am wondering if they both understand that the money comes from the same pot, but like I said back in March, the engineer and contractor of this project are certainly the ones that should pony up.

This update also surprises me because for months our local media has been silent about it, though when you talk to people who work at the jail or even former inmates ‘everybody knows’ it is a problem.

Sioux Falls Sioux Falls Parks and Rec

City of Sioux Falls could make small changes to the bike trail to make it safer

l3wis 6Comments

I have argued for years that the Sioux Falls bike trail is unsafe and simple things could be done to make it safer and some wouldn’t cost that much to implement;

Signage. The city has it’s own sign department, so making some simple signs on the trail every ¼ to ½ mile would be very cost effective. They could remind people to stay to the right of the trail, yielding to bicyclists, etc.

Painted Lines. This would cost a little more, but by simply painting a line down the center with directional arrows you could gently remind people to stay in their lanes.

Separate Walking trail. In larger cities they have a separate, narrower walking trail about 4 to 2 feet parallel from the main bike trail. We could do something like this in the higher traffic areas.

Lighting. I have recommended that the trail go 24/7 by installing solar lighting in the darker areas that have tree cover so more people could utilize at night safely.

Electric vehicle enforcement. The police need to do a better job of enforcing this. I ride the trail almost every day during the summer, I will encounter multiple electric vehicles at dangerous speeds. Foot scooters, one wheels, and skate boards doing close to 20 MPH. I have even encountered a couple of smaller ATV’s and mopeds.

High Speeds. To bicyclists and E-Bike riders that like to go fast, may I suggest you ride on the shoulder of a country road. It is not the peds you are zooming by that make the trail unsafe, it is you. Technically the bike trail is really a recreational trail and everyone has a right to it, so if you are training for the Tour De France, do it somewhere else. I do ride my bike on the trail, but I only ride one-speed bikes, so keep my speed down. I also drive defensively.

Clean up homeless camps. I know it is probably hard to see from the trail, but there are several homeless camps, tents, clothing and blankets strewn along the river banks. The city should clean this up and cut back some of the weeds and dead trees.

I have felt for a long time that the bike trail in Sioux Falls is our greatest investment and asset. It is FREE to use, it promotes good health and it is a safe way to commute to work. We have given away almost $200 Million this year in tax breaks to big development, just imagine spending just a portion of that money to improve the trail. That of course would take leadership.

Public Utilities Public Works SF City Council Sioux Falls

City of Sioux Falls puts out Garbage Survey

l3wis 8Comments

I find this SURVEY to be a bit odd. We have had a rule in Sioux Falls that haulers must pick up your cans next to your home for years, during they Covid they got an emergency exception, which was fine, but now it needs to go back. The issue I have is that they are giving NO discounts to the customers for saving labor costs at curbside. I have argued we need a municipal garbage system that contracts about 4 private haulers that split the city into 4 sections so all the garbage on your block can be picked up the same day by the same hauler which would save us significant money, not to mention tipping costs. It would also allow the city to cap the fees so we all pay the same. It could also consolidate those charges on your water and sewer bill.

I encourage you to take the survey.

Medical Mary Jane Planning Commission Sioux Falls

Sioux Falls Planning Commission Member Ervin suddenly concerned about Public Input

l3wis 8Comments

While it is no surprise the Planning Commission approved (6-0, 3 absent) the ridiculous Med MJ zoning ordinance with comments about the ‘Safety of the Community’ even though a large majority of Sioux Falls voters supported this, the most humorous statement was from Sean Ervin who suddenly seemed to be concerned about having public input on zoning and planning issues when it comes to selling a harmless plant. In reference to the conditional use process these dispensary owners will have to go through he said this;

‘ . . . there is public input. That’s a real important step for the city of Sioux Falls, it allows people to come and address us . . . and wisdom that comes from this public input for these officials who have to make these tough decisions (councilors) for the whole community, we are trying to protect the community . . .’

I found it a bit ironic that when it comes to a law that was passed by over 70% of Sioux Falls voters and is only approved for medical use, they seem to be trying to ‘protect’ someone with this process. Who?! Yet when it comes to TIFs, tax rebates and handouts and letting developers build whatever they damn well please, where are those protections?

See, Sean, you can’t have it both ways. If you are for Public Input, let’s do it all the way, why not make every single business in this town whether they are selling Med MJ or Cotton Candy come in front of these two bodies and beg for approval, you know, for the safety of the community. I would even argue that Cotton Candy is probably more harmful than MJ.

The rank hypocrisy I see at some of these city meetings is mind boggling. Ironically, I just told Sean and the rest of the Commission at last month’s meeting that their meetings are just some kind of rubber stamp circus, and they didn’t disappoint tonight.

« Previous Page — Next Page »

You Missed

Uncategorized

It was only a matter of time

Uncategorized

Internal audit has a busy schedule

Uncategorized

Every Single South Dakota Democrat shows up to the convention

Cartoon Miranda Bayse SF City Council Sioux Falls

Beyond Help