You see, this is why it’s nice living in Sioux Falls.
A perusal of various local business or city growth issues that could serve as a springboard for discussion this week showed that, despite a smattering of tempting topics, all is fairly quiet in this growing city on the prairie.
While Sioux Falls snuggles in as fall begins to waft through the area, the most pressing issue at hand just might be making sure to catch a high school football game before the season ends.
Of course, there is the recent skirmish between the City Council and Mayor Dave Munson over whether to hire six new police officers. In many ways, the topic is connected to Sioux Falls’ continual growth, especially growth that’s emerging on the city’s fringes.
After all, who wants to move to a city if it has the potential to feel like the wild, wild west with few police officers patrolling newly sprung neighborhoods?
Of course, that’s an exaggeration of the city’s policing situation, and, yes, Munson’s budget concerns are legitimate. But still – vetoing the council’s move to hire more police officers? Go figure.
However, that issue falls just below the level worth exhaustive exploration since the call of the gridiron seems more interesting than most affairs currently emanating from either City Council chambers or the mayor’s office. But mostly because the council’s inability to override Munson’s veto makes it a moot point anyway.
Traffic, being the emotional growth-and-development issue that it is, often provides much discussion material. But there’s not much to say currently about that, except that it still makes me chuckle whenever I read responses in the Business Journal’s weekly Q&A feature calling traffic one of the worst things about living in Sioux Falls.
A colleague recently reminded me that traffic woes are relative to one’s point of reference. And so I try to remember the fact that it takes about 20 minutes to drive from one end of the city to another can be quite a serious matter for many folks.
And speaking of serious matters, what’s the deal with those Elton John concert tickets selling out in 18 minutes?
Actually, I have a pretty good guess at what might help fans who were left out in the cold. Can you say events center, boys and girls?
Seriousness notwithstanding, none of those perky topics really seems all that worth spilling 530 words over.
In some ways, I do feel a little cheated.
Most weeks, I read editorial columns written by Cynthia Tucker of The Atlanta Journal Constitution and Leonard Pitts Jr. of the Miami Herald. That’s because both are Pulitzer Prize winners for their column writing.
Tucker and Pitts often write about national issues, but both also are plugged into their local communities. It seems like their columns always are full of drama – from tainted Georgia politics to racial implications of the Michael Vick dog-fighting hullabaloo.
What do we have here in Sioux Falls to talk about? Cop cruisers, traffic lights and The Rocket Man.
Actually, I’m rather glad that there are few fires to anguish over in this fair city – relatively speaking, of course. The peacefulness helps display Sioux Falls’ charm. And it eliminates distractions from football.
|
