A coalition of moneyed donors has come together and is serving as the financial backing trying to stop a new ag processing plant from opening on the outskirts of Sioux Falls, according to a report filed by the Argus Leader:
Nearly all of the funding comes from five contributions from entities: POET LLC, and JDS Industries, each of which donated $25,000, Elgethun Capital and Cellular Only 41st, each of which donated $10,000 and GL Management, LLC, which donated $5,000.
Another $10,000 was donated by Todd Broin, the younger brother of POET CEO Jeff Broin. Other donors include $2,000 from philanthropist Joe Kirby and $2,500 from David Bockorny, the CEO of a Washington, D.C.-based government affairs consulting firm.
and..
Gov. Kristi Noem said last week the ballot measure “puts every single project we do in South Dakota in jeopardy in the future,” adding she’s aware of projects that have already pulled out of the state after watching the fight.
According to the report, the vast lion’s share of the money raised to date appears to have been spent on salaries, which brings into question whether the opposition was organic, versus a few people with cash hiring petitioners.
I would like to see an article go into detail about why this should not be within city limits, or what a compromise might look like to move it into a better area than downtown. I am a fan of riparian zones and natural beauty, and the presence of Smithfield in Downtown SF is pretty shocking and takes away from the beauty of the area.
But I’m also a fan of having enough food to eat.
And bacon.
Delicious bacon.
Like .. seriously .. bacon smells like flowers look.
Hold on.
BRB.
Not a bad point. Honestly, if I were building a processing plant, this isn’t the location I’d be doing it in for maintaining a strong brand reputation alone. That being said, it is zoned commercial and this appears to be a proper application.
Frankly, I was pretty shocked from a purely business perspective of another plant in Sioux Falls. But watching Jeff Broin try to buy a zoning ordnance has put me fully on the Wholestone side.
“…this appears to be a proper application”
Not to about 75% of Sioux Falls residents.
It’s zoned accordingly. Sorry for your loss.
Residents set the laws, not corporations, sorry you hate democracy, thoughts and prayers.
Weird. Just a couple weeks ago ELK commented that there was no proof Broin was behind this. Story appears to clear that up. And if POET/Broin have dumped this kind of money into the PAC, imagine what they are flushing into the 501c4!
A couple weeks ago… ELK said that even if you did prove he was behind it, good for him. Who are you to say he can’t donate to this? If he, or anyone, wants to stop this blatant effort to thwart the will of voters, then I welcome it.
Wholestone wants to slyly construct some little butcher shop right before the election so they can qualify as an existing slaughterhouse. They think they could then ignore the results of the November vote which will almost certainly go against them. This ongoing scam is the thing that should outrage you.
This is not rocket science.
A mayor with leadership skills can get together all interested parties and say… let’s keep everyone happy. We’ll help you move this out of town so you can have your slaughterhouse – and the public doesn’t have to see it or smell it. Done.
Clearly you have no clue how utility contracts work…the towns outside of Sioux Falls DO NOT have the water capacity to make this facility work. This facility will provide state of the art jobs for our community. It should be praised as competition to Smithfield…
These are good people.
Clearly you don’t know that you are going to lose this vote. It’s either that or nothing. You will make it work when you have to.
And I didn’t say to move it to another town. Put it outside of town. I believe that Lewis and Clark water is piped throughout this whole region.
You say that “They are good people.” They aren’t acting like it. We live here. Try showing some regard for those who would be impacted by this.
Clearly you don’t know how water utilities work. Water capacity from a municipal source is a nice cheap incentive to develop there, but there are other options to obtain water. For example, when Intel moved to Chandler, AZ, they were given more water than any other user in the city from the municipal source. Now that Lake Mead is drying up the city had to negotiate, they are supplementing the water with a water treatment plant on site and are using reclaimed water to expand. Similar systems could be used at Wholestone, wells and a storage tank cost a bit more, but can easily be installed to provide them a private water source nearly anywhere on the east side of the state. We know the state will pull any string necessary to let them build, so the water use will be quickly approved. They are trying to maximize profits, and stink up the city. Have them sign a guarantee to the city, if they smell it, they will close down. That will never happen, because they will still stink up the city, regardless of their spin. Keep up the fight, no need to put a slaughterhouse inside the city limits, plenty of other locations to go.
Any community has the right to decide what industry they want in their town. To suggest otherwise is to create a government that responds only to corporate interests. If Sioux Fans doesn’t want the processing plant it is their right to make that decision.
Falls^
It would appears from previous statements that The Citizens for a Sustainable Sioux Falls wants to make Sioux Falls a shining city on the mountain where only the highly skilled, highly paid, beautiful people live, work and play. While the people make it that shining city, wait outside the city walls hoping for table scraps.
Wholestone Farms has gone through the process of getting approval from the State of South Dakota, Minnehaha County and the City of Sioux Falls to build a new processing plant in an area zoned for industrial. This would be a good for hog producers, for workers and consumers.
South Dakota largest industry is agriculture. Go 30 miles in any direction from Sioux falls, you will find farms growing corn, soybeans, wheat, oats and other grains, they also raise cattle, hogs, sheep, goats, chickens and other critters If we can process those raw products, here, in state, and add value to them before shipping them off to other markets, that would be a bigger boom than just attracting only highly skilled and high wage office jobs. Adding value to our agriculture products will make Sioux Falls more sustainable then turning it into an oasis on the silicon prairie.
But none that matters to The Citizens for a Sustainable Sioux Falls.
I would like to see the Mayor of Sioux Falls or the County Commission bring together all the concerned parties and work out a comprise before it lands in court.
We all know that’s not going to happen
The public does not want this.
Just because the powers that be let it get this far doesn’t mean anything to me. The people of Sioux Falls will decide. That should be the end of discussion – in a democracy.
Didn’t anyone realize that this might be unpopular? What were they thinking?
Elk I agree with you but I think Wholestone is going to weasel around the new ordinance someway somehow. Which will make them even less popular of course.
In a democracy?
In a democracy you can trample over anyone’s rights, if the majority of the people agree to.
In a democracy you can do away with due process if there are more votes than any opposition.
In a democracy you can suspend the God given rights to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness among others, if the majority has enough votes.
In a Constitutional Republic, Individual rights are protected, and due process is honored, regardless of the majority.
Wholestone Farms followed due process and was granted approval from all the various agencies.
However, I fear you are correct, democracy will be used to beat the farmer owned, Wholestone farms into submission. In that process drive millions of dollars in business out of your shining city.
I hope it is worth it. As for me and mine, we’re happy to live outside the walls of your shining city and it’s democracy and you can keep your table scraps.
It will be worth it in saved dollars to house incarcerated low income problem children. Not to mention, it will not be a boon on tourism because people don’t want to enjoy our city and smell that nastiness.
MC writes: “However, I fear you are correct, democracy will be used to beat the farmer owned, Wholestone farms into submission.”
Oh yes. You are concerned about Wholestone. If they were moving next door to you… you might be concerned… about you.
I grew up on a farm but, even then, I wouldn’t have wanted Wholestone next door. Big farm groups should be granted no more consideration than the rest of us.
There are 200,000 voices in Sioux Falls other than Wholestone. You may not recognize our rights but we are here and we will vote. Whether you like it or not.
Who in their right mind would want this in the middle of Sioux Falls? We don’t even have enough workers as it is and our leaders are looking to bring in more low wage jobs. Let’s just give the Elmwood golf course to them and they can put it right next to the Denny. Come visit for a show and the smells!
A little stink is totally subjective. It doesn’t matter. Wealth creation matters. Millions of dollars will be invested and millions will trickle down and revitalize the Sioux Falls economy.Opposing this development because you believe the government should protect you from unpleasant odors is faulty thinking, leftist, not really American. Wise up, Sioux Falls, there is money on the table.
All hail the corporate overlords. Trickle down shmickle down.
I looked this location up, and iit doesnt seem to be in the middle of the city.
I didn’t have to look it up.
The one that is already here is in the middle of the city. Wholestone would stink up a whole different area of town. Maybe with a little overlap.
elk are you on the payroll opposing this?
No. I am not paid to support or oppose any political effort.
I just live… and breathe… in Sioux Falls.
Interesting that Brendan Johnson is the lawyer for this group that is trying to change the law after someone followed the rules and got their permits. He also wrote an IM that didn’t follow the law and had to get dismantled by the legislature because it was unconstitutional. Makes me wonder if he looks at the law when being a lawyer, or just tells his clients what they want to hear and charges them while doing so.
The residents of that neighborhood appear to be in the Humane Society shelter and the Veterans Cemetery
They’re the only ones residing there, and I don’t think any of them care.