South DaCola

Editorial Cartoonist from South Dakota

Downtown Sioux Falls Sioux Falls

UPDATE: What’s going on with the tallest hotel in South Dakota?

l3wis 6Comments

UPDATE: I guess someone in the SF MSM is working on a story about this, this should be interesting.

If you drive by the downtown parking ramp that is being constructed you will notice that most of that structure is completed (besides the outer façade).

So when will the beams start going up for South Dakota’s largest building?

There has been a lot of chatter in the Downtowner gossip circles that it may not happen.

I’m not sure why? But it could be anything from the ongoing Federal investigation into Legacy and the Copper Lounge collapse to the lack of investors (in which the investigation could be hindering investors).

We haven’t heard a peep from Lamont Companies since they bought a liquor license. It was their last appearance in a public meeting updating us on the progress of the project.

Sioux Falls Sioux Falls Parks and Rec

Golf Cart Shed fire investigation concluded – So what happened?

l3wis 4Comments

So if you click on this meeting you will notice this on the agenda;

Kearney shared updates pertaining to the recent fire at Elmwood Golf Course. The inspectors have concluded their investigation. The damaged area has been cleared, the new fencing is up, and the new carts are being stored in that location.

So I watched the meeting (in which I had to put the speaker to my ear because the audio was so bad) and when this came up on the agenda, Kearney never said what they concluded.

Why is it such a grand mystery the cause of a shed fire? It was either arson, accidental, electrical, etc. Why isn’t the Parks Department or SFFD sharing the details with the public? It was a taxpayer owned shed.

Things that make you go hmmm.

Planning Commission Sioux Falls

Sioux Falls Planning Commission’s biggest Rubberstamper has left the building

l3wis 2Comments

I didn’t know whether to clap, cry, laugh, or scream out loud last night when I saw after a decade of rubber-stamping and ignoring citizens and small business owner’s pleas, Planning Commission member Nick ‘Know-it-All’ Sershen has ended his service to the fine citizens (I mean wealthy developers) of Sioux Falls. It’s all about who you know in Sioux Falls, and the fat cats loved Nick.

AMEN!

Over the past decade, Nick has always laid his stamp of approval on re-zones and plans that benefit the rich and powerful developers in town in spite of neighbors disapproval. He also was good at denying any small business owner the same rights of passage he let the big guys have.

Nick’s actions actually helped me coin the phrase that the Planning Commission was “throwing a flaming football” at the city council.

Nick always had an excuse, “I have to approve this because it is within our zoning standards.” No, Nick, you approved it because of who it was for without any re-guard for the neighbors. He was also so smug about it during the meetings that I was surprised he didn’t have his own security detail to walk him to his car after the meetings.

He will NOT be missed.

Elections SF City Council Sioux Falls Theresa Stehly

Does Sioux Falls City Councilor Stehly already have a challenger?

l3wis 14Comments

I know, pretty crazy considering a Sioux Falls City Council election is about a year away. Besides that, Stehly hasn’t decided whether she will run for a second term, she has a long time to decide.

This all started about a month ago when a new comer to city politics who worships the ground PTH walks on and is a local entrepreneur (or something) said he would raise $100K to whoever would run against Stehly.

It seems he has found his guinea pig.

Until I get it confirmed from a couple more sources, I will only say this prospect is a young professional in the community (30’s) who had a short stint in the SD legislature and is a devote Republican.

I know them, and they are intelligent and very capable of giving Stehly a run for her money. But I also think there will be other challengers.

Never thought I would be talking about the the 2020 city election this early, but it also doesn’t surprise me with how this current council and mayor has been performing.

Cleveland Abbott

SDPB Prairie Doc highlights Cleveland Abbott

l3wis 1Comments

This Thursday, May 2, 2019, 7:00pm South Dakota Public Broadcasting’s On Call with the Prairie Doc® “A Different Approach to Pain Than Surgery or Medication” will also feature a segment on 2018 South Dakota Hall of Fame inductee, Cleveland Abbott.

Bruce Danielson of Sioux Falls will highlight how Cleveland Abbott’s life was a microcosm of America’s 20th century story of changes. Abbott was one of the people responsible for many social changes we now take for granted in our everyday life. The Cleveland Abbott story is one of excellence in character, personality and perseverance.

In a time of great hardships for his race, he found ways to accomplish the mission Tuskegee Institute’s Booker T. Washington asked of his followers, to prove the worth of a man is not color based.

We in South Dakota can point with pride to the man who overcame the discrimination of his birth, hardships of the South Dakota prairie, to be accepted by our ancestors who then helped shape Abbott’s early life, so he could take on challenges few of us could.

Cleveland Abbott was a leader his entire life. He showed a steady growth of lifetime leadership skills starting with his Watertown boyhood, academic and sport greatness then on World War One French battlefields followed by the Tuskegee Institute and then onto the world stage.

“I believe everyone owes Cleveland Abbott a thank you for opening the world of sports and equal rights to all people of every sex, color or creed” said Danielson.

Thousands of individuals directly benefited during his life and there millions who today, living the benefits of his work in:

  • Equal Rights
  • Civil Rights
  • Women’s athletic breakthroughs
  • Leader in modern NCAA athletics for all students
  • First black member of USA Track & Field board
  • First Black member of US Olympic Organizing Committee
  • Champion of player safety

Cleveland Abbott’s approach to pain and suffering was to get into the arena quietly, with determination and South Dakota spirit to overcome life enormous obstacles.

For more information on Cleveland Abbott, please visit the highlighted exhibit in the South Dakota African American History located in the Sioux Falls Washington Pavilion or contact Bruce Danielson.

Click here to view Cleveland Abbott YouTube videos

Bruce Danielson

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