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NMLS 409296. 0:32 If you wanna understand what's really happening in South Dakota, start with The Dakota Scout, South Dakota's leading journal of politics and culture, locally owned and printed in Sioux Falls. 0:45 Founded in 2022 by veteran reporters Jonathan Ellis and Joe Sneve, the Scout brings more than 40 years of combined experience and a reputation for relentless, fair-minded reporting. 0:57 From Sioux Falls City Hall to the state capital in Pierre, The Dakota Scout delivers breaking news, investigative reporting, and serious political coverage without the spin. 1:07 Its Lewis and Clark inspired logo reflects its mission, charting new territory in a new era of South Dakota journalism. 1:16 Subscribe today for full access to stories delivered straight to your inbox, plus the Scouting Lounge podcast. $7 a month at thedakotascout.com. The Dakota Scout, stay informed. Let me grab my car keys and we'll roll. 1:34 We still going to that new bar downtown? Yeah, it's supposed to be fun. Lexi, give me driving directions from home to downtown bar district. Autocorrect. Suggest Uber. Pick up home. Drop off downtown bar district. 1:46 No, I'm driving. Suggest the metro bus departing in 12 minutes. Huh. Point taken, Lexi. We'll grab a ride. If you drink, don't drive. 1:55 Decide to ride, brought to you in partnership by Anheuser-Busch, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, and Uber. This message brought to you by Beale Distributing of Sioux Falls. Ryan, come smell this. 2:04 I'm not falling for that again. Hey, folks, have you ever had the displeasure of opening up a bed in a box? It's really stinky. Why? Because of all the toxicity in the foams they use. 2:16 At Juna, we only use safe, hypoallergenic, non-toxic materials. Even the glue we use between our foam layers is safe. A lot of companies use aerosol glues that are banned in over 17 states. 2:28 And have you ever slept on a foam or hybrid mattress and just kept sinking, and then kept getting hotter and hotter throughout the night? Our beds don't do that. 2:37 A Juna mattress supports you properly and actually pulls heat away from your body naturally. When we say we use the best materials, we mean it. Come try one out. There's never any pressure to buy, not one ounce. 2:49 'Cause that, well, it'd be pretty stinky. We build them by hand and deliver with love. Juna Sleep Systems, 41st and Grange in Sioux Falls. You're gonna love the way you sleep. We guarantee it. We guarantee it. Juna. 3:02 [upbeat music] Welcome to The Scouting Lounge, a podcast of The Dakota Scout newspaper based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. 3:24 My name's Jonathan Ellis, and that's my Beale distributed product. And that's another Beale distributed product with our special guest from, James Oppenheimer, one of 3:38 three new city councilors on the Sioux Falls City Council. Welcome. Thank you for having me. Yeah. Yeah. New city councilor, new administration, all kinds of fun going on already. All kinds of fun stuff. 3:47 And thank you for the drink. Yes, you're welcome. Uh, thanks to Beale, thanks to Juna Sleep Systems, and, and, um, another one of our new sponsors is First Bank and Trust. Thanks to them. 3:57 So they're helping, uh, keep this podcast going, and they're supplying us with Beale distributed products. So- Yes... welcome on in. Um, you and I have known each other for quite a while. Yes, we have. 4:10 I was fortunate enough to teach your, to coach your oldest daughter- Yes... when she was nine years old. How old is she now? Uh, she is what? 20... Gonna be 22. So a little while. It's been a while. Yeah, that's right. 4:23 We coached in the same club for a long time. How's Chelsea doing? Big- Ch- Chelsea are doing great. Yeah? Are they gonna win it this year? I hope so. First two wins. F- won their first three games of the season. Okay. 4:33 Things are getting exciting. Xabi Alonso's getting it going. Okay. All right. Well, are you gonna get back to watch any games this year or...? I... Unfortunately not this year. 4:41 I went back last year, and we went to a couple of games over Christmas. This year it's not gonna happen, but- Okay... uh, we still have... My father has... 4:51 We've had season tickets at Stamford Bridge for 35 years now, and he still goes to every game, but- Oh... I'll be there one day again. Yeah. Well, so probably, uh, listeners will... 5:04 Perceptive, perceptive listeners will, will detect an accent. Just a slight one. Yeah. So where are you from originally? Uh, I am from slightly east of Sioux Falls. Uh, which, not Brandon. Further east than that. Yep. 5:17 I'm from a town called Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire in England. I've been in the US since 2000, and Berkhamsted is a small town just outside of London. 5:28 It's best known for its castle, which is where William the Conqueror was crowned King of England in 106- Ah, 1066... that... Yeah, he was crowned... I think he was crowned in 1068 in- Okay... 5:38 but in that- Pretty- There, but yes... he kicks some ass in 1066 in order to- Yes... thread... made things happen and that's what it's known for. 5:44 I've been here since 2000 and lived in, went to Moorhead State or Minnesota State University Moorhead, and bounced around a little bit. I went, graduated, and Marissa, my wife, and I-... 5:56 moved to Minneapolis for a few years, then we lived in Grand Forks for a year and a half, which is where the area she's from, and work moved me in 2008 to beautiful Sioux Falls. 6:07 I was meant to be here for a couple of years before moving on, and- And here you are... 18 years later I'm on the city council, so something's changed. [laughs] No kidding. 6:14 Um, well something and, and we'll get to some city council, boring city council stuff here in a minute, but, um, something that, uh, you mentioned earlier that you'd coached my daughter. 6:24 You're actually arguably probably, um, in the youth soccer world, probably one of the most successful, uh, if not the most successful youth soccer coach in state history. 6:36 And I judge that by some of the, uh, titles you won. What are, what were, what were the most impressive- [laughs]... ones in your eyes? 6:44 We've had, I've had some success as a coach, uh, at the collegiate, the high school, and the club level. I coached with Dakota Alliance since 2009 when Gemma was born, who is now 17. 6:57 And the goal was at that point I was coaching rec soccer to try and, like, get out of the house a little bit- Sure... and that became more. 7:04 Uh, success-wise, I was an assistant coach at Augustana the one year they won the NSIC, which is 2015. I've been coach of the year twice and won the inaugural South Dakota Youth Soccer Spirit of South Dakota Award. 7:18 And I have coached either as a head or an assistant coach in three high school semifinals, and zero finals, which will tell you how well they went. [laughs] Yeah. But, um, the, at the club level, 7:31 uh, Dakota Alliance has had three teams that has won the US Youth Presidents Cup. I have coached two of them, and then my daughter played on the other one. Oh. 7:42 And then we had one team, prior to the current setup when you used to have to go through a state cup, a regionals, and then nationals, we had one team, a 2006 girls team, that had ever got to nationals. 7:54 I coached them the first time when they got through regionals, and then we got to the national semifinal. And a year later, I left the club in March, and in July of that year the same team won the national championship. 8:08 Yep. I did get a medal, but I was not there when it happened. Well, it was- So a lot of g- but most importantly, positive influence on a lot of kids. 8:16 A lot of girls went on to college to either play soccer or do other things, and hopefully I've had some positive influence on youth. Yeah. Well, it's, uh... 8:24 And you're, and you're at, you're at Lincoln High School now, and, uh- Yes... you've been there for a while too. Uh, this is the second year this time around. I helped Kelly Herman in 2021, I believe it was. 8:39 It was Grace's senior year. Yeah. '21? I believe that's right, yeah. And then I've come back and helped last year and this year with Lincoln again. And 8:50 it's all, those have been kind of on a volunteer basis just to help some coaches out and see what we can do. So do you think it's m- it is the, uh, the success you've had, uh, uh, because you're English? 9:02 You just know how to coach better than- That must be it. [laughs] Come here, that's the only reason. People think I know what I'm talking about 'cause I s- speak with a British accent. 9:10 Uh, no, there's been a lot of work go into it and there's been some- Sure... some great people along the way, some great mentors and honest- I mean, more than anything, great players. 9:19 You don't, you can have a great coach and not a great team, it's not gonna... If you don't have the talent you're not gonna go anywhere. Yeah. As- as the men's national team here, right? Yeah. 9:27 [laughs] It doesn't matter how good the coach is. If, if Messi's on your team it helps. Yeah, for sure. [laughs] Well, okay. 9:34 So we got off the side, and everybody that's probably lis- listening, you gotta be, an acquired taste for soccer- Yeah... which you and I have. Um, uh, but you have a day job and you're at the YMCA. Yes. 9:47 What's going on at the Y? The Y is going a good direction. I'm the CEO of the YMCA. I've been doing it for just under two years now. Uh, the Y is really focusing on kids right now. 9:58 That's been what we have found in Sioux Falls is our niche. Uh, through our afterschool program, we're in eight elementary schools providing afterschool programming, 10:10 most of which are in Sioux Falls and then Baltic and Hartford. We are, we're providing Y Force Basketball, newly rebranded. Our youth basketball, rec basketball program is partnered with the Sky Force. 10:23 It's now called Y Force Basketball. That's gonna be going on with lacrosse. And then Camp Lee Feregson. 10:28 And the big thing we have going on is out at Camp Lee Feregson we're build- we are about to start a campaign to build a tree house out there, a 16,000 square foot facility. Did you say 16,000? Yes. It's a tree house. 10:42 Yes. It, it's r- literally gonna be- [laughs]... in the trees. Well, it's, it'll be 12 feet elevated, which really- Oh... just puts it above the floodplain- Oh, sure... 10:50 which is really what everyone worries about out there. Yeah. Well, I mean, it does flood out there. Yeah. 10:54 So a timber facility out there that's gonna be able to let us expand camp, do year-round programming, and stay on campus when it does get a little wet out there. 11:05 But- Hmm, 'cause right now you, uh, oftentimes they have to be bused to the Y, don't they? Yep. They can spend their overnights at the Y or we, we distribute out to other areas. 11:13 Places like, places support us like the Scouting America's building and the Washington Pavilion. They're our rain sites, and it will be nice to be able to keep them on campus. 11:24 Well, okay, so that's, that's quite the project. And then you're starting that, the capital campaign is starting out with, starting off for that? Yes. It's getting, getting moving. It's really gonna... 11:34 W- we have the plans right now. It's really gonna get going in spring of 2027. Okay. That's when you'll start hearing more about it. And obviously we have our membership as well at the YMC- at the YMCA- Oh... 11:46 which I think you're a member. I am, yep. Yeah. I've been there a long time. With the exception of, like, the, there was a brief period where the Y divorced us for a while. 11:54 I was at MB for a couple years, and then- Okay... we came back. But yeah, I've been there since 2005. Right. A lot of change. Yes, and there's continued change going on. Our membership is, it's staying at a steady pace. 12:08 We have some boxers in there now, and some jujitsu, and some, uh, racquetball and all kinds of fun stuff going on. Well, so the, uh, so how much... Uh, going back to the tree house- Yes... 12:19 what, uh, what, like, what, what are you thinking in terms of how much money is that gonna cost? Is there- To do the overall development's gonna be about a $10 million ask. Okay. 12:30 We are the Chamber Appeals Project, I think that's what they call it- Yeah... for fall of 2027. So that's when the big push is gonna be. We got approved and won the vote for that. 12:44 And we're, we're in the process right now of getting designs together, starting to talk to some people quietly and getting our story together. But now you're doing it, now you're not, it's not so quiet when on the show. 12:54 No, I know. You're on the podcast. I've gotta make sure people know about it. [laughs] Yeah. Well, I might have to write a news story about that. Yeah. Um, well, interesting. So, okay. So the, the... 13:02 And how long you've been at the Y, for a couple years now? Two years. Two years. It'll be two years in October. Okay. Humane Society before that. Right. Okay. Animals to kids. Yeah, animals to kids, right. 13:12 Which, which do you like better? [laughs] It's not a lot of difference some days. [laughs] I loved working with animals. It really, it was really fulfilling working with the Humane Society. Yeah. 13:26 But what was great was on a stressful day, if you go and spend 10 minutes in the cat room after you're stressed out, suddenly it's not very s- you, it reduces your stress level significantly. Yeah. 13:36 And so that was wonderful, and it's a great organization. I really enjoy the Y though. It's, we've, we're working with 10,000 kids on an annual basis and- Yeah... it's been a positive. 13:46 Well, speaking of stress levels, you walked in carrying a manila folder that says data center. [laughs] I did. We're, we're, we're pivoting now to your, your city council duties. Yes. 13:58 What, so what, why did you wanna run for the city council? I wanted to be part of the solution rather than part of the problem. 14:06 I, the, the original motivation- Wait, so if anybody who's not on the city council, are we all part of the problem? Absolutely. Okay. I mean, [laughs] no, that is not the case. No, I, 14:17 the motivation started when I attended a city council meeting back in the days of people arguing about masks during the, during the COVID days. 14:30 And I, I was in a meeting with, actually with Frank Guernick, someone who we both know, and 14:36 there was person after person came up complaining about things, but not a single person coming up with a solution of, "Well, maybe we wanna do it this way," or maybe, 14:47 if you remember the mask debate, it was do you wear them or do you not wear them? No one had an idea of, "Well, maybe we give an option, or we do something differently within the city." 14:57 And it got me thinking as I started to watch more and more, there's a lot of complaining without a lot of actual solu- people wanting to come up with something different, 'cause there's always some kind of a middle ground that you can work with. 15:09 And that turned into, as I went forward, more of a motivation to get involved, and I was part of Leadership Sioux Falls in 2022- Mm-hmm... at, where Paul TenHaken spoke to us. So it was '21. 15:23 But he spoke to us and said, "If you're really getting involved with the city, think about running." And at that point in '22, there was a couple of unopposed seats. Yeah. 15:31 Uh, Councilor Siggardy and Spellebo went unopposed, and he was trying to tell people, "Try to get involved with civic service and civil service." 15:39 And I had thought about '22, and I wasn't connected enough, and I just really honestly didn't understand things fully enough. But I kind of looked at '26 as maybe that's a time I think about running, 15:51 and just slowly got more involved and realized I see where Sioux Falls is going, and I would like to be part of helping lead it forward, making this a welcoming, affordable, safe city where families can thrive. 16:04 That's been my- Mm-hmm... my catchphrase, and that's what I've kind of referred everything back to. 16:10 And momentum starts going, and people, you start telling one or two people, and that turns into more and more people, and you started to realize it was, maybe I would be a good person for this and- 16:22 How, how's that proving out? I'm here. Is it true? Has, has that- Sure. [laughs] You haven't been on that long, but, but, like, so you took office in, uh... 16:28 'Cause you had a, uh, what, uh, going back to 2022 where there was a couple unopposed races- Yeah... that was not the case this year. Right. There were plenty of candidates. Um, you ended up in a runoff, right? 16:39 Yes, with Vince Stahn- Yeah... who is about two floors above us right now. He's two floors above us right now, yeah. Small, small town. Um, so you ended up in the runoff. You win. Yeah. Um, and there was, uh... 16:51 So there's, like as we said earlier, three of you, um, Zach and Sarah, right? The, and you. Yes. Um, so we, yeah, we, uh... And you're representing the, um- I'm at large. At large, okay. 17:06 And I, it was fascinating coming in. Yeah. So I came, came in with a large number of votes. I got more votes than either mayoral candidate, which I love to rub in Christine's face when I can. And I, 17:24 the other two candidates that came in, Zach and Sarah, I think there was somewhat of a... I'm not gonna say it was a surprise that they won, but they, they came... 17:34 I had, I had been expected to win, I think, during- Mm-hmm... my race, and it's been a fascinating learning curve since then, how the council works as far as how internal politics work, and how 17:49 you want to get, how to get things done, and how just everything works with the p- influence from the public and- Mm-hmm... different directors. It's been a fascinating learning curve so far. 18:02 Well, and you, uh, speaking of directors, I mean, there are several director, high, high-profile positions that need to be filled- Yes... uh, in that administration, so... 18:11 And within the council there's some, you know, I think you h- uh, you have a position or two to fill yourself on the council, correct? 18:19 As far as- Staff, staff-wise Yes, yes Yeah Uh, Jim David Jim David is gone Christine poached Jim David- Right... from the council and- Right... which was a great hire. Yeah. He's gonna be a really solid chief of staff. 18:30 But yes, we need a chief administrative officer. And, uh, yeah, there's... I'm on the hiring committee for HR, for the HR director. 18:40 Okay And I'm on an affordable housing committee that I got to meet with for the first time the other day, and had to- got to be involved with a lot of different meetings. They've been... It's been fascinating- Mm-hmm... 18:52 just seeing some of the stuff with the council, hearing, hearing some of the things that have come to light. 18:58 Like you said, data centers, I had a meeting with a group right before this that just want to get their point across about their thoughts on data centers and would like to know how things are gonna progress forwards. 19:10 Is this a group that, um, is in favor or opposed to data centers? Uh, they're not a huge fan of data centers. Yeah. So they don't want them in the town at all, or? They're, there's... 19:21 It was a mixture of three dif- it was three different groups that came- Mm... together, and they wanted me to have some information. 19:26 They wanted to know their point of view, but also were curious on where, where things were going with the council with data centers. 19:35 And they're trying to make sure that, to their credit, they're ma- trying to make sure that every councilor has the information they need, or that they believe they need. 19:45 Now, I'm sure there's gonna be a pro data center group that is gonna give me similar, similar s- chunk of information that says the exact opposite thing, and then it may be a case of making a, making some decisions from there. 19:57 You have to do your own research then. Right It's like, I mean, I've heard some wild stuff about data c- not, you know, I won't go down this- Yeah... but there are some wild, uh, 20:06 rumors about what data, you know, about data centers that you just, if you look into them, you're like, "That's not true." Um, but anyway, nonetheless- Right... 20:14 so that you have to do some of your own research and, um, and, a- and I suppose groups are coming in with a, with a, a point of view, and you've gotta kinda be able to- Everyone has an agenda. That's part of the- Yeah... 20:26 it's really difficult if you start researching to find unbiased research on anything data center related. Everything is one way or the oth- arguing one way or the other. Yeah. Hmm, well- That's actually [laughs]... 20:39 I don't envy you. Um, I'll just give you a call and ask you, ask for your opinion. [laughs] I, I, my, I mean, personally, I think we need data centers. 20:48 Um, now I don't know that they're right for every community, um, but, or right for ev- other, you know, if they are in certain communities that there's certain areas where they belong and they don't. 20:58 But from a, from a technological and advancement s- uh, th- I think we need them, uh, especially when you, um, you know, look at where we're going and, and who our adversaries are on the international scene. 21:11 Uh, China, I mean, they're not gonna have, you know, they're not gonna not build data centers, and they're gonna need them. And from a national security perspective, they're gonna be very important- Mm... 21:20 in terms of arti- artificial intelligence used militarily and things like that. 21:24 So yeah, we absolutely need them, but again, as, uh, I, I understand, I've talked to people who out in, you know, rural, rural South Dakota who, um, they don't want one in, in the middle of their farmland, you know? 21:37 And I, and I get that. I, I totally understand that. Um, you know, it's, I think it's a community by community issue. Um, and that's kinda where you're at the, the point of the, the tip of the spear here- Yeah... 21:47 i- in Sioux Falls having to make those decisions on data centers. 21:50 But absolutely we need them, and I'm not scared of them or anything like that, and I'm, I would rather have a data center than an, some, a lot of other businesses, uh, around. Yeah. 21:58 But, but again, it's community by community, and, uh, I think there's a lot of, a lot of, uh, myth and fears, uh, about data centers that are very unfounded. 22:09 But, uh, um, you know, hopefully all of that gets sorted out when these, when these communities have to, uh, address the issue. 22:17 And, uh, we can hopefully get through some of the fact, get through, get to some of the facts, uh, versus some of the fiction. Um, but you know, again, I don't envy you having to be, you know, sit- Right... 22:30 a- and have it, you know, to hear all these different sides about the issues like... And this is only just one issue. I mean, you're gonna have other... I mean, I don't know, have you guys had to take up flock cameras? 22:38 [laughs] I got a few emails about it. Have you? Yes. It's, uh, I, yeah, people are worried about Big Brother overseeing things with flock cameras and what's done with that data. And I, I have a, 22:55 I have an opinion on it right now, and I don't know if it's gonna get changed or not, but based on what I can see, I, to me, flock cameras are a s- are a positive thing. If I'm cam- if I- Well, you're English though. 23:09 That, we wrote, we wrote the Fourth Amendment because of you guys Yeah [laughs] CCTV is everywhere in London, and you feel safer because of it. I- But you guys don't have firearms. Why do you even need that? Exactly. 23:19 That's a good point. Huh? And that's in London, I should clarify. 23:21 Yeah, CC, closed circuit television in London is on almost every corner, so you can't go almost anywhere in the city without being on some kind of a camera, and it has helped reduce crime in Britain. 23:35 However, I see, I see the worry about, well, we're being watched. Right And I think maybe there's an argument about what is done with that data, and is that data distributed? 23:48 Is it just kept for 30 days within Sioux Falls and then expunged, which is what we're told happens? I always listen to- With, with the cameras, the, the license plate readers at, in Sioux Falls- Right... 23:58 you're told that the data go, disappears after 30 days. That's my understanding. Okay. We need more data centers to keep it longer. Well, well exactly. 24:06 [laughs] If we build a data center, let's build a massive data center. No, I'm being nonsense. Right. 24:11 But- But my thought is if we want this to be a safe city, you can reduce crime, and you can redj- you can make sure people reduce hit and runs, kidnappings, things like that by having these in place. 24:23 To me, it makes Sioux Falls safer. So I, I think they're a good thing- Mm-hmm... at this point. However, I'm aware that I don't have all of the information. 24:32 We've had some people talk against flock cameras, and I need to do a little more research. But that, that's where I sit as of right now on it. Well- And we'll see going, we'll see going forward. 24:44 But I know that if my kid gets kidnapped, I'd like a flock camera to help pick up that vehicle and- Sure... help find him. Yeah. Welcome, welcome. Walked right into that one. Yeah. [laughs] The, uh... 24:58 Did you guys like get to the part where, uh- It... W- You know, if your kid was missing and you wanted flock cameras, you think we could kick every door down in the c- in the city? 25:06 [laughs] You know, uh- Well, hey, do you have a Ring doorbell? No, I don't. They, they have a camera that- I don't... I know a lot of people do, though. Yeah, and I- That's a start, right? 25:14 He, he lives, he lives in, he lives in rural South Dakota. I saw the writing on the wall. We, we should introduce you. I'm Joe Sneve. [laughs] Uh- He's been taking care of business... stressed out, pages are set. 25:25 No, but I think you guys are talking about flock, right? It's an interesting dilemma societally, right? Yeah. We've been talking about data centers and flock. 25:33 You missed the soccer stuff, though, the stuff we were- Yes, thank you for sparing me. [laughs] So- Do we need to go back to soccer, Joe? No, no, I don't wanna talk about soccer. 25:41 [laughs] I would rather live under r- uh, oppression than, than be a soccer fan. [laughs] Personally. The, uh... That is oppression. Yeah. 25:51 Y- you get to, you get to the end of regular time, and then you get extra time, but you don't know how much time. Uh, seems like there's a king that has a, a stopwatch in his pocket that he won't tell anybody about. 26:01 There's so many weird little intricacies to soccer that make no sense at all. They don't seem- Sounds like-... fair. They don't seem transparent. Sounds like baseball. No, no, we... There's 27 outs. 26:12 Uh- The invisible square that is the strike zone that no one really knows how big it is. Well, it's supposed to be... There's some arb- I get your point there. [laughs] But there's a robot coming. Don't worry. 26:20 [laughs] I'll trade you robot umpires in baseball for telling me how much- Are you-... extra time we have... do you need a data center for that robot to be able to- I think we might To process the data... process that. 26:29 He's not anti... Y- he may be an anti flock or a little bit, but not- Well, see, I'm not really anti-flock. I think, I think precedent is such that there's no question they're legal constitutionally, right? 26:43 You don't have an expectation of privacy. Out on the public streets. You're out in public. You're out in public. Uh, so I don't think there's any qualm to that. I think I can appreciate sort of... 26:54 Or would we be okay with, like, flock cameras not affixed to poles? Like flock cameras on drones driving down your neighborhood. Uh, that would be more efficient than a patrol car. Yeah. 27:07 If that's where we're headed, and facial recognition, um, that stuff's all sort of scary to think about. But I also find it a bit nauseating when law enforcement officers say, "Tool in the toolbox. 27:21 We need this technology because if we can save one child, if we can solve one crime..." Um, well, if we didn't have the Fourth Amendment, we could kick down every door in town to solve crimes, too. 27:34 I t- I told him we wrote the Fourth because of him, guys like him. [laughs] The, uh- The, the, the English guys... 27:38 thing where, I, I don't know what I'm saying s- I, so I just, I see it as something that can help reduce crime and make this a safer place. So you are for- Well, however-... kicking down doors. 27:48 Well, yeah, but we're not talking- [laughs]... about kicking down doors. We're talking about flock. 27:50 Well, I know, but it's, uh, it's the logical- But he- It's a comparison, though, because if, if the standard is if it can save one, it doesn't matter what it is, the tool is worth having if it can solve crimes, we might as well... 28:02 I mean, that's a pretty... That could be applied to many, many things, and I don't know that I wanna live in a world where that applies to a lot more things than that. You know what I mean? He was- So I just want... 28:11 I think people thought... need to be thoughtful about this stuff. Yeah. He, he was saying earlier, though, again, before you came in, uh, that they only keep the data, or they're told they keep the data for 30 days. 28:21 That's what I was told. Yeah. Yeah, I think those sort of policies- And it stays local... will make people feel better. Yeah. I think- And maybe some regulation around it is the way, is the way to go. Is... 28:33 And I think that's what you're seeing Jackley doing, and I think the law enforcement community needs to offer some of those concessions otherwi- 'cause the public energy around this is so anti-flock at this point. 28:46 If they don't offer some concessions, like, "Hey, we'll regulate it," you know, fines or penalties for people who abuse it, like if you're using it to stalk people or inappropriately. But 28:58 I think there could also be, you know, the police... And Marty Jackley told me, "We're not using this to solve piddly, little crimes," right? "We're only using this for serious crimes." 29:08 But I've spoken with law enforcement officers who say they've used these things to, to, to solve, uh, burglaries, like quickly. 29:16 You know, I mean, so it's not just heinous crimes that it's being used for, even though those are the ones being used to defend them. 29:23 Um, I could see a law proposed that said you can, can't use these but for violent felonies. I think that would appease the masses. Um, but I wouldn't be worried... 29:34 I mean, that's an arbitrary threshold, though, that- But-... society and your c- constituents are gonna have to decide. But right now, the person overseeing a flock camera 29:44 is in touch with Metro 911 and hears, "Hey, we're looking for this vehicle," and they can say, "It went past here- Yeah... and it went past here. It's probably heading this way," and they can find the vehicle. Yeah. 29:55 That's good. That's powerful. It is. Yeah. Now, it could, it can be, it can be, could be abused. Oh, yeah. I can see that. Everything can be. But if I'm talking... 30:03 If I've got a cop on one end that's trying to find a hit and run or something- Yeah... and I have someone saying, "Here's where it's going"- Yeah... that's gonna be, that could be extremely useful. 100%. 30:14 However, I, I see the notion of, well, what if it's abused by a police officer? What if it's... What if this information is sent off to China and is used in some way? 30:24 It will be if we don't start putting- Well, when you-... our own data centers around here. Well, when you- [laughs] When you, hey, when you, when you open up TikTok, you're sending your location- I know... 30:33 to China and all, all the other stuff. We're all carrying phones around that's- I-... sending data to certain places... I just think that the, uh, the mayor of Aberdeen, 30:42 when he, well, you know, a c- like a month ago when Aberdeen pulled its consideration for flock cameras, he said, "I don't think, I don't have any problem with how they're being used now. 30:51 It's, it's the f- it's in the future- Right... how this technology's going to evolve, and it's gonna be a data surveillance state." Um, and that's where, I mean, I can really appreciate that. 31:03 I think it's down the road where we're going, got this boiling frog thing happening. Uh, but let's face it, like, we're already in the pot that is boiling. You know? Like- [laughs]... 31:13 the NSA, I mean, ever- anybody remember Edward Snowden? 31:17 Like, I find it a little bit laughable that people who didn't bat an eye at the NSA listening to all their phone calls for the last 20 years are upset about flock cameras in public. 31:26 So, like, I know I might seem like a anti-flock camera here. I'm n- I'm not, I'm just anti-everybody, because nobody's been- [laughs] Nobody's been- Anti-everybody... nobody's been- That's the way to do it... 31:36 I'm tired of being right about this shit. [laughs] So, you know, I, it's like, if you weren't aggrieved by, um, 31:44 you know, these massive server farms in Utah holding all your phone calls for the last 20 years, then shut the hell up about flock cameras, you know? 31:50 You, you ha- you c- you carry, your argument carries no weight with me because you didn't have the foresight to... 31:56 You weren't aggrieved by an obviously more intrusive government surveillance practice, which is listening to your phone calls, which are not public, and then you're gonna be mad about flock cameras? 32:06 Well, it's similar to if you're using Chat- the free version of ChatGPT. That's public information, isn't it? Well, I think you can get, that can all come out in court if, if it has to. 32:18 I mean, it's all- You're, it's getting observed, though. It's getting stored. It's stuff that you are- Yeah. Yeah... entered. So it, this is just sort of the outrage of the week- Yeah... I think. 32:28 You know, this'll settle and it'll be- But-... something else... when I had said before Ring doorbells, I knocked on about 1,500 doors during my campaign. Yeah. 32:38 Over half of them had electronic doorbells, and that information and that camera isn't just beaming into your house. That's being stored somewhere- Yeah... probably in a data center. Yeah. 32:48 And they, people have no one, there's no discussion about it. People are not worried about that at all. But if there's a camera in the public eye, that's a big deal. Yep. 32:57 Yeah, I think, uh- I think that's something worth- Yeah. It's a- [laughs]... there's a, what would you say, the intellectual inconsistency or, you know, it just shows sort of a lack of... 33:09 They're analogous, if not just parallel. Fair. You know? And, uh, I don't know. Critical thinking- M-... is a hot commodity anymore. [laughs] So- Well, you know what you don't need critical thinking for? 33:22 You don't need critical thinking for Juna Sleep Systems. Well, you should- Beal, Beal Distributing- Yeah, 'cause it should be a no-brainer, though. Or- You should have a Juna Sleep System. 33:31 Or- And it should be no very, no brainer to Cragglebeard and somewhere else. And you should, you should be banking with First Bank and Trust. First Bank and Trust. So. Come on along, head for the mountains of Bush Beer. 33:43 Head for the mountains. It's cold and it's snowy, and it's waiting for you. Come on, head for the mountains of Bush Beer. Head for the mountains of Bush. 33:58 Head for the mountains of Bush Light Beer. Enjoy responsibly. Copyright 2022. Amos Bush, Bush and Bush Light Beer, St. Louis, Missouri. Beal Distributing, Sioux Falls, South Dakota. 34:09 We could have saved the three bears a lot of time. Just Right Mattresses, built by mattress nerds with a lifetime comfort commitment. We build them by hand and deliver with love. 34:20 Juna Sleep Systems in Sioux Falls and online at junasleep.com What's your big picture? To fix my fixer-upper. To be done renting. To make more room. 34:32 [laughs] If a great home is in your big picture, First Bank and Trust can help you navigate buying, building, or remodeling with local mortgage experts who make it easy. To give Hazel a big backyard. 34:44 [dog barks] Find out how First Bank and Trust makes home buying easier at bankeasy.com. Member FDIC, Equal Housing Lender, NMLS 409296. Thanks again to First Bank and Trust, Juna Sleep Systems, and Beal- 35:02 Distribution... Distribution. Get that right, man. God. [laughs] Distributing. Oh, that's become a, a little bit of a sticking point here because I had drank too many of these things probably sometimes. Yeah. 35:14 Um, so hey, you guys, y- y- you're, you guys have a, uh, big vote coming up, Councilman- Yes... uh, on the budget. Budget. Is it, is it gonna be more? Is it gonna be the m- historical, uh, high budget? 35:27 Is it the biggest in history? Is that the, uh- [laughs] No, it was, uh... I think it's actually less, isn't it? Yeah. Well, it was, I think it's more than last year's budget. But- But last year's budget was less. 35:39 That was like a, that, like, bucked, bucked history. That was- Yeah... inside joke that we have is that always the, is, was always the biggest budget in history until recently. Yeah. 35:47 But- Inflation has nothing to do with that... inflation has nothing to do, exactly. [laughs] But so you guys, you guys have your, a, a budget, and this budget was l- uh, largely set in place by the prior administration. 35:57 Yes. Um, has there been any tinkering by the current administration and then in the council at all on what to do with it? I don't know that there's been a ton of tinkering. 36:06 I mean, this budget, they've been putting together, putting it together since January. Right. So to come in in July and, like, change this- Like, "I know what, uh, I'm, I'm here. It's my budget." 36:16 [laughs] Especially when on like my first council meeting I got handed the 252-page budget book. Did you read the whole thing or- It's fascinating reading. 36:26 If you wanna, if you wanna give it a look, if you get tired, if you ever need to fall asleep, it's- I used to get those every year. Yeah. That's- You used to have to buy them They'd make the public- They did... buy 'em. 36:35 That's a good way of making money. We could get more money in the budget if we did that. [laughs] Yeah. But anyway- Yeah. Well... yeah, go ahead. 36:41 I- there's, to me, as a new councilor, there's not a whole lot I'm gonna do. 36:45 I'm still learning how a $700 million budget works, and so for me to walk in and say, "Change this, change this, change this," seems a little bit presumptuous. Yeah. 36:55 Uh, there's a couple of hot topics on it, people talking about, uh, the million dollars to turf the outfield at the Birdcage, the Canaries stadium, and then the zoo are asking for $4 million to c- to 37:09 unlock another 10 million from Denny Sanford within their capital campaign. Yeah. I don't know that the zoo is gonna get a ton of resistance. I- Everybody loves the zoo... it's city. Everyone loves the zoo. 37:26 It's city land. We pay to maintain it anyway, and they've raised 60-some million dollars. I mean- Yeah... Becky Dewees has done a phenomenal job out there. 37:34 But- If you give Jacobson Plaza eight, you can give- Give the zoo four... the zoo four Especially when it's unlocking 10 from the biggest- Right... philanthropist in Sioux Falls who just passed away. 37:42 There's some sentiment there as well. Yeah. The Birdcage has been a bit of an interesting back and forth. Yeah. That's kinda like, oh, what do they call that? Uh, 37:55 what Knights are used to say, what, like, when they, the sunk cost fallacy, right? Like, keep throwing money at that, when there's talks about moving it so often. 38:05 Those conversations about relocating a baseball stadium off of the Event Center campus someplace else have sort of tampered down, though. 38:13 So I suppose that's why they come back with a request, because there's really no chatter about moving the stadium now. The- Right? Yeah, I mean, the a- the argument for it is similar to that. 38:22 It's over 10 years, it more than pays for itself 'cause of the cost of irrigation and tu- taking care of the grass is as much as, if not more than, a million do- you know- Yeah... what is that? Over 10 years, 100 grand. 38:39 Yeah. The people employed to do it, and then you have a 30-year-old irrigation system underneath that's gonna need replacing at some point in time. 38:47 That's the argument for it, and you hear about can we bring more concerts there, things like Lally Kooler and Tacos and Tequila that happen there. Is there demand for more of that? That's the argument for it. Yeah. 38:59 I mean, the argument against it is not a lot of people go and see the Canaries. Yeah. There's a tax for the Canaries. Even when they're good, like they're good this year. Right. Attendance is kind of- Yeah... 39:08 we, it's stronger than it has been when, 'cause they're good, but you know. But we want a baseball team. We want a good stadium. Yeah. And I- But playing on turf sucks. Here's some money. I, I mean, it's just not as fun. 39:19 I now, now I love the idea of opening the stadium up. 39:21 So if you're gonna have turf, and it doesn't matter for wear and tear, open it up and let's do some, let's do some U5, U6 soccer out there or something else in- Yeah... the stadium, and get some more use out of it. 39:33 Mm-hmm. Do other, do the- That's an argument for that... other baseball teams use it at all, or is it just the Canaries? 39:38 They, they, the Gophers, I think, used it once or twice when they had some rain issues in Minneapolis. But it's been used for- Legion tournament... the NICC tournament. State, state tournament. Yeah. For baseball. 39:50 There are other uses of it from baseball. The argument is about the non-baseball use of it. Yeah. 39:56 But- 'Cause, 'cause you could do more stuff there on turf rather than if you had grass field and you have non-baseball events, then you're gonna rip up the fiel- outfield. Yeah. Yeah. 40:07 And the, the que- the real question is what is the long-term? Great, over 10 years it pays for itself. Are we still gonna be using that stadium in 10 years? Yeah. 40:15 Well, that kind of- Like, that's the real ou- que- question mark behind it, and, I mean, I'm still a little undecided. If, if an amendment comes about it, I don't know at this point exactly which way I'd vote on it. 40:25 Like an amendment to take it out? Yeah. Yeah. Well, it kinda lends itself to, uh, you guys also heard from Experience Sioux Falls, Teri Schmitt, this week. Um, she was showing how numbers are kinda dipped last year. 40:38 Yeah. And, or maybe it was this year that they dipped so far. What are the- It's been 25- Yeah... a little bit. '24 was big. 40:44 We hosted a massive baseball tournament and a massive soccer tournament that year that I think really helped. And then, but, you know, Teri, she's been saying for 20 years we need more convention center space. Mm. 40:55 And she made the same pitch this week, like, "Hey, we're missing out on events because we can't offer the, we don't have the flat floor space or the host facilities- Yeah... 41:05 that these conventions and trade groups need, want, demand, and our competitor, like, peer cities that we compete with have it." And, 41:15 uh, that's something anybody who's paid attention to city government and city sort of policy talk for, for the last... I mean, this, this co- this is a, a perennial issue or whatever. Um, 41:27 but with the River Line District sort of not happening now, uh, the question comes back, well, we still need more convention center space, according to Teri. Um, 41:40 so is that part of, like, are we gonna, like, move the baseball stadium, give them more convention center space, and that? I mean, how do those things i- I see... interlock or overlap? 41:50 That's a good ques- that's a good question. I [laughs] I'll give you my uninformed opinion on it. Yeah. It- Those are the best ones. 42:00 [laughs] I just know I'm gonna say some of this stuff and people are gonna be like, "You're an idiot." It's as worst, "You forgot about this, this, and this." 42:08 But that happened when I coach soccer, that happened all the time, so. [laughs] Uh, the, 42:14 my th- my thought on it is there's, I don't think the baseball stadium's going anywhere, and I don't think we're building a massive convention center out there. 42:22 Where that is located out right now is ideal for some of those trade shows, some of the smaller things that happen out there. What she's wanting to bring in is these enormous things. 42:33 I, I think of the soccer coaches convention that has 20,000 people- Yeah... come to it. Huge. 42:38 Or this, I mean, I'm going to this national uni- National League of Cities thing now in, in Tennessee that, again, has 20,000, you know-... 42:49 tons of people, these enormous conventions that you just cannot bring to Sioux Falls because we don't have- Those facilities... those facilities. So it's a separate type of fa- place that holds that. 43:01 I, I see, I mean, there's the bus depot area across from, right across from the Steel District that looks like a good area for it. Yeah. I've heard people talk about the Wells Fargo building. 43:11 I don't think that's a big enough square footage- Mm-hmm... 43:14 area-wise, but somewhere where you can put a large facility that can host these mega events and that then are accessible to downtown so all the hotels, restaurants, bars can get them. 43:26 And I mean, I've been to some big conferences professionally where I've seen these, and we could not host those. Yeah. 43:34 I, I question whether they would still come here, 'cause you're talking about stuff that would go to Omaha or Chicago or St. Louis. 43:44 If we can convince a, that group to come, those groups to come to Sioux Falls, I see a huge use for it, but- Yeah. Well, they bring a lot of money. Yeah. 43:52 But at the end of the day, like, I often wonder, I mean, Terry's great at selling Sioux Falls, and- She is... um, Sioux Falls does have a lot to offer. 44:00 But all things equal, if we did have all that space and the dates were available, and then the same dates and the, that much space was available in, let's say, Denver or New Orleans- New Orleans, yeah... 44:11 or Nashville, they're gonna go to the, one of those other cities because there's just more to do there, and there's more intrigue. 44:17 And I think you'd have more of a wow factor with your trade association members when you announce your conventions in Denver versus Sioux Falls. 44:24 And I'm not trying to throw shade at Sioux Falls, but that's just the reality of it. Sounds like somebody from Dell Rapids throwing shade at Sioux Falls. [laughs] Yeah. 44:32 We don't have a French District like Nor- like Nor- Well, I-... Naw- Nawlins has. 44:36 Well, I would say, I don't know, I don't, I'm, I don't think we're allowed to shade their tracks because wouldn't a small town sort of revere the big town? [laughs] You know? Uh, just like I'm saying. So, 44:51 but to Terry, to defend, like we don't know if we don't have it, period. Right. So we can't even know if they would choose us over Nashville if we don't even have... If they couldn't even consider us- Yeah... 45:03 because we don't have the flat floor space, so. Well, and it lends itself to a bigger question as well. We have the s- the area the city bought for River Line, which doesn't sound like it's going anywhere right now. 45:18 We have the convention center area. We have the Sanford District. Or the sports complex. The sport- Or, or, or the- No, the Sanford District, the new one. Smithfield. Smithfield. Smithfield. Yeah, yeah. 45:28 Yeah, sorry, I should... The s- And the sports complex district or whatever. Sanf- Yeah... that was supposed to go places. How, how... That needs to... If we're gonna... 45:37 'Cause I think something has to be done with that River Line area, doesn't it? Or give River Line back. Well, it's an option. Yeah, it's an option to buy, and I don't, I can't remember when that option expires, but. 45:46 But- Let's move this-... you've gotta put it all kind of together. It can't be let's build something i- this here, and then, "Hey, we need a baseball stadium. Let's just throw it over there." Yeah. 45:54 There needs to be some kind of combined plan. Central planning. Uh, move the homeless services to n- uh, River Line District area. Then you can just buy up all that where it is now, redevelop that. I don't know. 46:12 I'll leave that to, uh, Chris, Mary Erickson and her urban planners- [laughs]... 'cause that's way beyond the, the pay grade- The-... of a journalist. 46:20 But that's, I mean, that's part of the question is- A lot of moving parts. Yeah. And you, do you build in one place, and does it, is that to the detriment of others? Yeah. I, I see her need, I see the need. 46:32 I, I agree with you, Joe. I see the opportunity for a convention center. I do have that same question of, okay, if we build it, will they come? Yeah. Yep. 46:42 And I bet they would eventually, but it's a big number that it would take. I mean, we're talking tens and tens of millions of dollars. Yeah. And right now in this climate politically, good luck. Is that- So. 46:57 Yeah, and I think it also, and, and this is happening, but I think it also is dependent on a little bit on airport expansion too. Um, you need more... 47:05 One of the, one of the critiques of coming here is that you can't really get on a direct flight from a lot of places, and so you need more direct flights in order to attract some of those bigger conventions too, so. 47:16 Mm-hmm. But you could have your convention goers book one-way flights, and then you save, like, five bucks. Yeah. But you can't check a bag. Oh. You ever do that? Yeah, that's how you travel, right? Yep. 47:27 I just grab my toothbrush, that's it. That's all you need. Yeah. Honestly, I did one time, I flew to Denver with only my toothbrush, and I got flagged by TSA. [laughs] I won't say why. But 47:40 they were like, "Where's your stuff, man?" And I'm like, "Right here," pulled my toothbrush out of my pocket. And they were like- [laughs]... "Come over here." 47:46 They thought I was under the influence of something, but I just was... It was a 24-hour trip. Alls I needed was a toothbrush. So anyway, I don't know. How is... 47:55 Did you guys talk, exchange pleasantries, talk about how your first month or two on council has been? It's been wild. Yeah, I bet. Like, does it feel like the old cliche is, like, drinking from a fire hose? 48:05 Yeah, that's... And people say that. It's, it's not quite that. A lot of people wanna talk to you. Yeah. And there's no like, "We'll ease you in with a nice easy meeting." It's like, "Meeting one, here's the budget. 48:19 Have fun." Yeah. Yeah, right. Good luck. Yeah. Enjoy the two-hour budget hearing for the next three weeks, and- It's not like a public school where they, like, won't give you homework till third week. Yeah. 48:29 And then it was a true introduction, uh, last week when we got to have some joint meetings with Minnehaha and Lincoln County. Oh, yeah. Yeah, those, those were, uh, colorful, I hear. Yeah. 48:39 Well, Minnehaha was nice, easy, and boring. Right. And then Lincoln County was the exact opposite. It was a firecracker of a meeting, and- 48:47 So- That was the first time I'd walked into- A full room, outside of swearing-in day, a full room of fired up people that were ready to- With pitchforks... yeah, ready to go. And I remember walked, it was like, oh. 49:01 And in my mind I'm sitting there like, "This is gonna be fun." And- Was it? It was entertaining. 49:06 [laughs] I mean, it was more f- [laughs] You know, the Lincoln County Commission took more of the brunt than, than the city council did. Is that the one where Mr. Putnam swore, and Har- Harriman and him got into it? 49:18 He didn't swear. I, I think he- But that was a good one... maybe got into it. So we did our joint meeting, which was around the long-term plan where Joel Ahrens added some data center stuff and NDA stuff to it. 49:32 And then they did a commission meeting afterwards where they talked about the half penny sales tax. Oh, okay. Yeah, yeah. And I think they, I think they really got into it there. 49:41 But I- Yeah, the, the swearing happened there, I believe. Okay. Yeah, I was halfway back to Sioux Falls by then. Yeah. But- You might've been able to hear it if you weren't listening to the radio. 49:48 [laughs] Uh- We just, that was just- [laughs] It's just a whole different world down there, and it was, it was interesting. 49:57 I thought it would be extremely intimidating to set, sit up at the dais and get, like, have people come out and really raise their voice and yell at you. Mm. And it's not as intimidating as I thought it would be. 50:10 It's just fascinating hearing the way people get their points across sometimes. Yeah. And a lot of the times people who are upset have a good point, and it's- Right... you know, that is your opportunity. 50:21 It's one of the beautiful things about Sioux Falls, and why the strong mayor system is not the worst thing in the world. 50:27 That you have an opportunity as a citizen to get up there and for three minutes get your point across, and you have the mayor sitting right in front of you and the city council right there. 50:39 And there's been a few times already since I've been there where someone has come up, said something, and there's been action based on what they've said. Oh, good. 50:47 About something that they were upset about or a personal issue that they've gone through. 50:52 And it may not have led to anything, but it's led to a counselor me- talking to that person and then looking into whatever they've been talking about. 50:59 So there is, I mean, it is a really valuable part of what the city does. People just wanna feel heard- Yeah... typically. 51:08 Now, if you guys take an out, make an outcome that doesn't appease them, that's w- another thing, but at the end of the day I think y- most people are reasonable enough to where they can accept the merits of the o- opposing argument- Yeah... 51:23 as long as they feel like they were heard and not just dismissed. Yeah. Uh, I've got some sources like that that aren't really valuable sources, but I also know, like, they, like, 51:38 they call me because they feel heard, right? Yeah. 51:41 Like, like what they wanna talk about isn't probably a news story, but I'll still take the call so they feel like their community reporter is listening to them, and I am. 51:51 Um, now sometimes I'm busy and I just have to put it on speaker and then work- [laughs]... while they vent. But, um, but they, like, but if you don't take the call, then they're gonna call and call and call and call. 52:04 Yeah. And then build disdain for you and your organization, rather than just if you pick up the phone, hear 'em out, they might not like 52:13 the decision you make about coverage or when you guy, for you guys voting, but at least they felt heard. Yeah. I- And listened to. Yeah. So. It was well said. 52:22 I, I always liked the phrase, I used it a lot when, when I coached soccer more than anything, it was like, "I don't expect you to agree with me, but I hope you understand where I'm coming from and I understand where you're coming from, and then the decision's made." 52:36 Yeah, yeah. But at least I've heard you, and then maybe you understand this and we, we are at least- Right... don't have to agree with each other, but at least you got heard and don't hate your guts now. 52:47 The, uh, how's life over at the Y? The Y is great. We talked about it a little bit earlier. At the beginning. It's, it's going well. We're serving kids, doing some good stuff. Do you guys still do fencing over there? 53:00 Not, no. [laughs] Okay. [laughs] We have boxing and jujitsu. I did, I think maybe you guys were, this was a long time ago, but were offering, like, fencing lessons or- Boating fences? Try- no, like, you know- Okay... 53:13 with the swords. And I had to do it once. The Argus, this is probably why things went the way it did. They s- they paid me to, to put on a GoPro and go, like, fence with this fencing group that was over at the Y. Wow. 53:27 And- I have heard we had fencing once upon a time. The, f- probably rose your insurance premiums some. Maybe. Play with swords in there. 53:35 We have, we have 50 boxers now trying to beat each other's brains out, so maybe that may have gone the other way, but- Sign a waiver... 53:43 we do have a good, an event coming up on, I think it's the 25th or the 26th of September, 25 bouts of boxing. Really? And they have a great English ring announcer. Is it you? Yes. [laughs] Awesome. 53:56 Although I have to pronounce, we have a, it's been interesting, 'cause we have a primarily Hispanic boxing base, so 54:05 I have had to learn how to roll my Rs and things like that to be able to do it, but- Practicing some pronunciation. Yes. So. Yes. But it's been great. It's a phenomenal event, actually, if people want to come to it. 54:15 It's really entertaining. And 300 people in the YMCA gym screaming- Oh, I bet that's fun... as these young boxers are going. Yeah. Maybe we should cover that. Yeah, you should. Maybe, maybe. Live coverage. Yeah. 54:29 So out of all your, uh, there's three new counselors. You're one of the three? Yeah. Um- Myself, Sarah, and Zach. It's been fun. Who's the best counselor so far? 54:39 [laughs] They're all one, they're all my favorites together. Yeah, yeah. Do you get- [laughs] Do you get any parking tickets waived yet? We- 'Cause you guys don't have to pay... 54:49 I don't suppose, we don't have to pay parking tickets. Yeah. We get a little- I covet that And if you get one, you can just like wave it up, right? 54:55 You just call that in, so- I think Rex Rolfing, there's a, an employee parking badge, which we actually don't have to use anymore. 55:01 It's got our stuff, and if you're on city business, supposedly you don't get a meter, which to me is a, a nice little perk. 55:07 But I think Rex Rolfing had said they'll p- have to pry that, uh, employee parking pass out of his cold, dead hands. [laughs] Well, I'd take one of those. Yeah. Can we photocopy it? 55:18 [laughs] My, uh, my kid may have done something similar to that at Lincoln last year to park. Oh, dun, dun, dun. Dun, dun, dun. Hopefully there's no Lincoln administrators listening to this- Yeah... 55:29 who had to come hang out. Don't worry. No- nobody listens to this. [laughs] I don't know. Well, I do, uh... I just got a new car, so I'm not a marked man anymore by the- Yep... parking aides. Yep. So I don't know. 55:44 So you, what do you, uh, you ride a motorcycle? I'm just gonna get to know you here. I drive, right now I drive a 2004 Saturn Ion with manual- Oh, heck yeah... 55:55 doors and manual- Does it still have a cassette player thing in it? It, it has a cassette and I think a CD player. My son took, my son just moved into college. He's at a university where you need a car. 56:08 It's, uh, within the city, so he took my car, and the plan is that I'm gonna buy a new car. I haven't done that yet, and I'm kind of enjoying driving one of these things. 56:16 When you back up without backup indicators- Oh, heck yeah... I forgot what that felt like. You actually have to look through your mirrors. 56:22 See, that's a good example of, uh, don't let technology do for you what you used to do for yourself, 'cause you'll lose the ability to- Yeah... do basic things. It's kinda like government, right? Like, 56:36 if you allow government to do for you what you could have done for yourself, you'll forget how to do for yourself. Yeah. You know? And then government has to get bigger to do for you what you used to do for yourself. 56:47 Starting to sound like the Tea Party. It's Paul Harvey. [laughs] It's Paul Harvey. It was a Paul Harvey thing from like 1959. Still applies. Um, but I don't have... I was thinking about that. 56:58 This new car has a backup camera. I've never had a backup camera before. This is the nicest car I've ever had. I'm not gonna use the backup camera. You say that now. I'm not gonna. Just wait. 57:08 I'm gonna put duct tape over it. Put duct tape over it. The first time you nearly back into something and it starts beeping at you, you'll think it's the greatest invention ever. Well, my, uh, car now would beep. 57:17 It had, like, sensors on it, which I thought was kinda scary, and I felt like I was lazy. Like, "I should be able to know when I'm about to hit something," but- [laughs]... that came in handy a couple times, I will say. 57:27 Yeah. Uh, but I can still parallel park better than most, so. Jonathan has the same kind of car I have, give or take. You've been using backup cameras for a while, huh? 57:37 Um, I actually get yelled at for not using them enough- Really?... by, by somebody. Yeah, and I, I do, I will, when I first start, I'll look just to make sure like there isn't a little kid or something back there. Yeah. 57:47 But after that, then I turn around and back up the way I always have, so. There's a Brady Bunch- It's nice to get back to that stuff, honestly. I'm enjoying driving an older vehicle again. Yeah. 57:57 I don't know if I'd enjoy cranking the windows, though. The biggest thing I forgot about is, like, it's not manual lo- it's manual lock. So you've gotta lock each one individ- each door. Oh, right. 58:06 So I'll unlock and, you know, put something in and then forget to re-lock it afterwards, 'cause you don't... You know, you're used to locking your door and everything locks. Well- That's been the weirdest thing so far... 58:17 fortunately, those thieves take a look at the old cars and they just keep on going. Yeah. [laughs] There's nothing valuable in there. 58:24 Secret for you, I probably would say this, but nobody listens to this anyway, I haven't had a key for my Harley for 10 years. Can't lock it. It's just open and exposed. 58:34 [laughs] But it's such a plain Jane bike that when I park it in a, a sea of Harley Davidsons at Sturgis, not really worried about it getting taken. 'Cause like- [laughs] There's plenty of bikes... 58:46 if someone was gonna steal a bike, they'd take the one next, on both sides of my bike before they would- Yeah... take mine. So, uh, the world's a lot safer place than we're made to believe, I think. Yeah. 58:57 I would agree with that. I think Sioux Falls. 'Cause of the- Especially with plot counters, is the way you save face. [laughs] Yeah, well- Well- Thank you for your service. Yeah, thanks... 59:09 Uh, I feel kinda- I'm only, I'm six weeks in. Yeah, but it take- Maybe in four years. You had to put your hat in the ring, and it takes a lot. You expose yourself and, um, your family. And then you had to run in a runoff 59:24 that's felt a little bit... You know, you just barely had to do a runoff, right? Yeah. I was at... Yeah, I got to 47%. Actually, I got to, at one point, at about 1:30 in the morning, I was at 48 and a half percent. 59:39 I was, like, inching my way closer and only really staying up, 'cause like, "Maybe I'll get to 50%." And then at about 1:30 or 2:00 AM, a batch ca- a batch of votes came in that were not good for me. Yeah. 59:52 And I went down to 46. I'm like, "Oh, shoot." Were those absentee ballots? Probably. Probably. [laughs] Uh- I just, they, once, as soon as I dropped, I was like, "Okay, I'm going to bed. This is-" Gotta go. "... fine." 1:00:01 Well, I guess you got to get two or three w- more weeks of experience campaigning. Yeah, that's- So come, come time f- to run, if you run for reelection, you'll- Yeah... have that much more experience. Yeah. 1:00:12 That was, it was... The, the runoff 1:00:15 was really enjoyable, 'cause I was, I felt like I knew what I was doing a little bit more, and you're able to see who voted in the last election, so knock on doors of people that voted. Yeah. Yeah. But 1:00:27 I, there was a little bit, I felt more pressure in the runoff, 'cause during the initial election, like, if I lose, I lose. If I win, I win. You know, whoever votes is voted. 1:00:34 But then I had this big lead going into the runoff, and it's that like, "Don't screw it up" kind of feeling- Right... of- Yeah... 1:00:40 well, I feel like I, I could sit back 'cause I got a big lead and I'm gonna win this, but then how embarrassing would it be to- Yeah. Do it... for, to have a lead and then get overtaken. Right. 1:00:50 So it felt like, "Okay, I've gotta even m- work harder." But- Yeah, there's some pressure there, for sure. It was, it was a- It was nice. I ran against good people. Yeah. 1:00:58 Vince Stahn's a great guy, and I was- he and I had a beer a couple of days ago. Yeah. 1:01:04 Uh, I wanted to kind of hear some of his ideas and the things he had been pushing, 'cause just 'cause he doesn't win doesn't mean- Right... he doesn't have any good ideas, and there aren't things that we should- Right... 1:01:13 potentially implement. And it was nice running against someone who I had some respect for and- Mm-hmm... who I knew who if I, if he had beaten me, at least the city's in good hands. Right. This is a decent candidate. 1:01:25 It's not like a total train wreck if- Right... he didn't go your way. Right. So. So that was, that was nice. And we, like I said, we have a mutual respect, and I appreciate him. 1:01:34 Well, you guys have a lot of big decisions in the next, in the n- in your four-year term. Yes. 1:01:38 You will have, um, we talked about Smithfield and talked about Riverline, I mean, there are a lot of big d- lot of big issues coming up. So, you know, and- Convention Center... and if you, yeah, a convention center. 1:01:47 If you- And what car you're gonna buy. And what car. Yep, that's huge. Yep. Yeah, or if you're gonna stick with the Saturn. Yeah. I- I rec- I vote stick with the Saturn. 1:01:55 Well, every, as my wife pointed out to me yesterday, every month we don't buy new cars, every month I don't have a 400, $500 car payment- Yeah... there's other things we can spend that money on that's a lot more fun. 1:02:06 She probably has some ideas, doesn't she? Yeah, she does. Yeah. You could be investing in flock cameras. [laughs] Data centers. Just, uh, puts my money into flock, whatever that stock is. Yep. 1:02:16 So whatever the next big thing- It's pretty sure that's illegal... do face, facial recognition drone technology- Yeah... 'cause that's where it's going. So- I was gonna invest in the Dakota Scout, but... 1:02:26 We're not a public, public traded company yet. Yet. But you can buy all your family and friends subscriptions. That's... [laughs] I don't know it's really an investment other than they're, uh, they'll be better, 1:02:38 you know, better- Better informed... better informed, uh, civic-minded residents. You know? And that's, that lifts all boats. That's true. You... Well, maybe I should buy the Washington Commanders. Don't say the C word. 1:02:52 Oh. Well, thanks for coming in. Sorry for my delay at the beginning. I think, I think we're in good shape. We're playing some musical chairs with delivery drivers this week, 'cause we got- How many do we have?... 1:03:03 a couple people gone, and it's plug and play. You know, it's, uh, next man up kind of a situation. So. Yeah, if you wanna deliver some papers, we got some opportunities. Oh, you bring them to the YMCA every- We do. 1:03:15 Yeah, we- Yeah, we do. And it- I, I, I appreciated the, the advertising in there. That all worked very smoothly, so. Well, thanks. The, uh, tell your- I think every other candidate was in there too, so. 1:03:26 Tell your friends. The, uh, no only the winning candidates advertise with us. Oh, really? [laughs] So yeah, every one of 'em. The, uh... Jesus. 1:03:33 But if you're listening to this podcast and you live west of Hartford, uh, you know, until now we really haven't delivered physical copies of the paper west of Hartford other than in Mitchell. 1:03:46 Uh, but if you live between Mitchell and Hartford along the I-90 corridor, we got some good news for you. You're gonna be able to pick up physical copies of newspapers every Friday for the week. 1:03:58 So we're adding a few stops this weekend and, uh, to our permanent routes, and we're excited about that. 1:04:05 Uh, once again, thank you for the comments we've gotten via email about, uh, feedback on the new website, uh, and the new podcast host. Um, I don't know if you saw any of those yet, Jonathan. We got a few coming in. 1:04:20 So keep that coming. Let us know how we're doing. Hold us accountable too. Counselor, thank you. Yeah. Nice to meet you. Thank you. Good luck on your game tonight. Pardon? Yeah. 1:04:28 You get the, the mighty Harrisburg Juggernaut. We're gonna need some luck. Yeah. We'll see what happens. All right, Jonathan. Nice to see you, sir. Good to see you. Thank you for your work, your service, all that. 1:04:40 Thanks again to Beal Distributing, Junior Sleep Systems, First Bank & Trust. Support them because they support local South Dakota journalism. News tips welcome. Thanks. 1:04:50 [outro music]
