Thank you, Mike. I was born and raised in Belle Fourche, have lived here sixty years, and I totally agree. Some say we should've had East Dakota and West Dakota instead of North Dakota and South Dakota. Moving the capitol to Sioux Falls would ruin Pierre's economy while doing West River residents a great injustice.
Although I think that changing the city of South Dakota's capitol would be more effort than it's worth, let's not pretend that Pierre doesn't have problems. It does, and the fact that the people of Pierre don't have the gumption to fix its problems does not say anything good about the people who work for our state government. I moved away from Pierre a few months ago because the lack of get-up-and-go from people there was alarming.
There are no factories, and few places where people who do not want to work for the state government can work full-time, year-round. Getting services like having someone come out to fix a water heater takes far longer than anywhere else I've ever lived. (I ended up having to shower at the Y for three weeks.) I looked around, and saw that there were a whole lot of places that would sell me vapes and cannabis, but not a single bookstore. There was a vape shop just 1-2 blocks from the middle school -- who does that?
For such a small town, I was amazed at how many people I noticed who were indigent -- some sleeping in parks, one guy lived in a laundromat for months, some were sleeping in cars. How is it that such a small town had so many big-town problems? If you work for state government, they'll select some people and send them to a Governor's Leadership Seminar or whatever, and all of these people spend months gathering and learning about "leading," and yet, somehow, when they graduate, not a one of them has any answers about how to fix the problems in their own backyards.
The people of Pierre are nice enough. But not a single one of them had any ideas of how they could make positive changes in their town. You don't see that kind of attitude in Sioux Falls, Aberdeen, or Watertown. The people in those towns may occasionally say uncomfortable truths, but at least they're willing to make suggestions, and then roll up their sleeves and get to work.
Each human equals 1. What’s the math on total commuting hours per all humans at each location? The lowest number wins. Suspect Pierre isn’t the winner. It would likely be in the southeast because that’s where the most humans are. With the ability to go 80 on the interstate, RC folks could make it in 4.5 hours (not astronomically more than current route.)
Location in Pierre favors 2 legislators in less populated areas to the detriment of 10 from SF area (not exact but illustrates point.)
Strictly looking at where the population of South Dakota lives, Huron would rightfully be our state capital. Unfortunately a mistake was made 100 years ago that we're now stuck with. Stone's been set, and a $150 million renovation isn't a good enough reason to undo it, especially if we're talking about a move to Sioux Falls.
Thank you, Mike. I was born and raised in Belle Fourche, have lived here sixty years, and I totally agree. Some say we should've had East Dakota and West Dakota instead of North Dakota and South Dakota. Moving the capitol to Sioux Falls would ruin Pierre's economy while doing West River residents a great injustice.
Debating the relocation os the SD capital is an exercise in sophistry.
Better effort is spent debating the number of toes on a hog’s hoof.
Why? Is it hurting anyone or anything to ask the question whether a state capitol should continue to be in a relatively isolated area?
Although I think that changing the city of South Dakota's capitol would be more effort than it's worth, let's not pretend that Pierre doesn't have problems. It does, and the fact that the people of Pierre don't have the gumption to fix its problems does not say anything good about the people who work for our state government. I moved away from Pierre a few months ago because the lack of get-up-and-go from people there was alarming.
There are no factories, and few places where people who do not want to work for the state government can work full-time, year-round. Getting services like having someone come out to fix a water heater takes far longer than anywhere else I've ever lived. (I ended up having to shower at the Y for three weeks.) I looked around, and saw that there were a whole lot of places that would sell me vapes and cannabis, but not a single bookstore. There was a vape shop just 1-2 blocks from the middle school -- who does that?
For such a small town, I was amazed at how many people I noticed who were indigent -- some sleeping in parks, one guy lived in a laundromat for months, some were sleeping in cars. How is it that such a small town had so many big-town problems? If you work for state government, they'll select some people and send them to a Governor's Leadership Seminar or whatever, and all of these people spend months gathering and learning about "leading," and yet, somehow, when they graduate, not a one of them has any answers about how to fix the problems in their own backyards.
The people of Pierre are nice enough. But not a single one of them had any ideas of how they could make positive changes in their town. You don't see that kind of attitude in Sioux Falls, Aberdeen, or Watertown. The people in those towns may occasionally say uncomfortable truths, but at least they're willing to make suggestions, and then roll up their sleeves and get to work.
Each human equals 1. What’s the math on total commuting hours per all humans at each location? The lowest number wins. Suspect Pierre isn’t the winner. It would likely be in the southeast because that’s where the most humans are. With the ability to go 80 on the interstate, RC folks could make it in 4.5 hours (not astronomically more than current route.)
Location in Pierre favors 2 legislators in less populated areas to the detriment of 10 from SF area (not exact but illustrates point.)
Strictly looking at where the population of South Dakota lives, Huron would rightfully be our state capital. Unfortunately a mistake was made 100 years ago that we're now stuck with. Stone's been set, and a $150 million renovation isn't a good enough reason to undo it, especially if we're talking about a move to Sioux Falls.
During the last economic downturn every county in SD had an increase in Food-stamps except Hughes.
And who says government doesn't do anything good? Seems like it was a decent jobs program any town would love.
Pierre? I thought you said beer!