Zoo

SF City Council Sioux Falls Washington Pavilion Zoo

When is the Washington Pavilion going to present the 2019 & 2020 Annual Report to the Sioux Falls City Council?

l3wis October 19, 2021 3Comments

The last report to show up on the Pavilion’s site is 2018. If you do a search of city council informational meetings you are unable to find the last time the Pavilion has presented an annual report to the City Council. I guess I’m curious why the 2019 and 2020 annual reports are missing? The Great Plains Zoo will be presenting their annual report to the Parks Board on Wednesday (no supporting docs).

I would also like to see what the financials are for the Levitt from this past season (we may not see those until next spring).

I am often curious how organizations that receive millions in tax dollars to subsidize and provide maintenance to their facilities can just skirt providing financial reports to the citizens or don’t even post them online to at least view. This is what happens when you have a city ran by a cruise control mayor who hates open and transparent government, or maybe he just doesn’t understand it?

CHIEF CULTURAL OFFICER RESIGNS?

In more cruise control government ineptness, the rumor is that the Chief Cultural Officer that the Mayor so desperately needed has resigned and leaving the city this week. If true, I find the timing ironic considering several councilors have asked publicly at meetings when they will get a review about what she has contributed to the city since her position was created. I guess the best way to get out of giving a report is to quit. LOL.

Elections Event Center Gregg Jamison Mayor Hubris Mayor Subprime Mike Huether Mike Huether SF City Council sfmonkey.org Sioux Falls Sioux Falls Airport Zoo

Part III of Jamison’s ‘People (Monkeys) First Initiative’

l3wis February 7, 2014 5Comments

Sioux Falls – Jamison, on Monday will announce part III of his People (Monkey’s) First Initiative, which will release the (snow) monkeys at the Great Plains Zoo. Jamison’s plan will be allowing the monkeys to either find a place down by the Big Sioux River on their own, or they can couch surf as long as they like.

Jamison feels it is time to ‘Release the Monkeys’ and give them the freedoms their descendants have (no offense Manny Steele).

Of course, the Huether campaign was quick to respond. Huether said, “I have been planning the release of the snow monkeys for a couple of months, ever since I took them on an ice fishing trip out at my lake home on Diamond Lake. Heck, I would go even a step further, and let them stay at my lake home, of course, if they don’t throw any crap, because, you know, I don’t like CRAP.”

Jamison also said that Huether missed the 2nd and 3rd tier of this initiative, allowing squirrels to maintain several nests on different properties within the city limits.

Huether responded by saying, “I have been allowing the cottontails AND squirrels to do that for several years through an executive order, and you can bet a snowgate tour of the event center for affordable airfares on it that the squirrels and rabbits are happy about it, but the chickens, not so much.”

Stay tuned, Jamison plans to announce his ‘No crying at press conferences’ initiative next week. Don’t bring tissues to the press conference, just your big boy/girl pants.

sfmonkey.org Sioux Falls Zoo

See your taxdollars hard at work this Saturday!

l3wis June 25, 2013 5Comments

Monkeys, Magic & More! will have their grand opening this Saturday (29th) at the Great Plains Zoo. FREE Admission from 9-11 AM.

The whole concept of Zamby and sfmonkey.org was based on the city subsidies to the Zoo and the monkey spas. Well at least you can go see your investment for FREE for about 2 hours. After you hit the Zoo, I also suggest you head over to the Pavilion and peruse the galleries FREE for the last time.

sfmonkey.org Sioux Falls Zoo

Who is Zamby?

l3wis April 28, 2013 22Comments

After seeing the above billboard last week (and laughing my ass off) I figured out that Dan Daily is behind sfmonkey.org

At a recent South DaCola Fest he told the attendees he ‘MAY’ be buying billboards. I called him and asked about the billboards. All he said to me is that he did purchase them and they have been running for a few weeks, but he wouldn’t tell me how long they would run or what was going to be on them. He did say though that they will change weekly and so does the location. I guess it is a ‘work in progress’.

Sioux Falls Zoo

City moves forward on monkey hot tubs and texting ban

l3wis June 8, 2012 9Comments

The new photo of our current city council

You sometimes wonder if anyone at city hall is in touch with the local-yokals. This was pretty evident at the ribbon cutting today of the River ‘Millions over budget’ Greenway project. But I am going to give that it’s own post.

Second reading of spending the 4 million dollar surplus is on Tuesday’s agenda;

This of course includes the expenditure for the monkey hot tubs (that should be privately funded);

Apparently we have so much money sitting around in Sioux Falls, this seems like a great way to spend it. Here’s the deal. Nothing against zoos or young families, but when I see lines of people outside of food banks and food giveaways at churches I think using taxpayer money to build spas for monkeys is ludicrous and ridiculous. Like I said, I think the snow monkey exhibit will be awesome, but it should be privately sponsored. If you disagree with me, I ask you, how much have you donated privately to the zoo? I wonder if Darrin Smith also screwed up this naming rights deal?

I also see the Public Services Committee is exploring the texting ban, even though several educated law enforcement officials have told them this is a state law issue;

(a) No person shall use or have in their immediate physical possession a handheld electronic communication device while operating a motor vehicle or a bicycle on a street or highway within the city limits of Sioux Falls.

Like I have said in the past, I dislike people who do this kind of stuff, but this is a state law issue, not a local issue.

When is the Washington Pavilion going to present the 2019 & 2020 Annual Report to the Sioux Falls City Council?

Part III of Jamison’s ‘People (Monkeys) First Initiative’

See your taxdollars hard at work this Saturday!

Who is Zamby?

City moves forward on monkey hot tubs and texting ban

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Sioux Falls is hostile towards bicyclists and peds

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The Color of Sound

Merry Christmas!