SIOUX FALLS, SD (KELO-AM) Sioux Falls Mayor Mike Huether listed all the things that make the city shine in his annual State of the City Address, but also brought up the dark side.
"Folks, you want to know what is increasing crime in your town? It's drugs. It's meth, it's opioids, it's prescription drugs, it's heroin. That's what's causing the crime problem in Sioux Falls," Huether said in his Tuesday address at Carnegie Hall.
He urged that all the citizens of Sioux Falls "take ownership" over the problem. Parents need to talk to their kids about the dangers of drugs and the schools need to do the same.
The Mayor also talked about the coming challenges of funding a growing city in the midst of softening tax revenues and potential cuts in federal funding.
"There are some really tough conversations lying ahead. Get ready. And you and I and so many others, we're going to have to pick winners and losers when it comes to distributing those taxpayer dollars," Huether warned City Council. The challenges include the growing gap in affordable housing, expanding and reforming the city's public transit system, healthcare, and, as always, workforce development.
On the bright side, Huether quoted from all the great publicity Sioux Falls has been getting in the media - the best this and the best that. He proclaimed the increasing success of the Sanford Premier Center, the Sanford Pentagon, the Midco Aquatic Center, and the walking trails and parks, as part of Sioux Falls burgeoning popularity as a destination location.
He talked about the glowing future of downtown, especially with the 10-acre railyard property, and the soon-to-be-built Leavitt Bandshell for free concerts in Falls Park West. And he touted the low per-capita debt, and going lower, that Sioux Falls city government enjoys, compared to other Midwestern cities.
But Huether definitely spent most of his time looking ahead to future challenges and opportunities.
"Sioux Falls, we are doing well, but guess what? We are capable of doing even more."
