SIOUX FALLS, SD (KELO AM) The praises keep coming in for former Sioux Falls City Planner, Steve Metli, who died unexpectedly this week at the age of 71.
Former Sioux Falls Mayor Gary Hanson, now on the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission, remembers how Metli's vision helped transform Falls Park into what visitors from all over the world enjoy today.
"Falls Parks was just an absolute disgusting embarrassment for the city. It's our namesake, and yet it was so neglected. It was trashed basically," Hanson remembered on the Thursday edition of KELO Radio's Greg Belfrage Show. Hanson said Metli drew up the plans to transform a "horrible" place into a showcase.
Former and current city and community leaders laud Metli for his tireless work on the Greenway system, bike trails, Sculpture Walk and a host of other projects that have made Sioux Falls a better place to live. Metli was hired in 1974 and retired in 2005.
Metli died Monday of complications from surgery.
His funeral is Saturday at the Cathedral of St. Joseph in Sioux Falls.
