Sioux Falls, SD (KELO AM) - Tonight’s Sioux Falls City Council meeting did not begin with the standard invocation prayer. The council welcomed Amanda Novotny, an atheist, to give the evening’s opening remarks instead.
Novotny began by telling everyone to look up instead of down and think about the decisions that have been made in the council’s chambers. She went on to give a message focusing on equality and teamwork, and even read a passage from the book Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
The council then proceeded into the Pledge of Allegiance before beginning the evening’s agenda.