Sioux Falls, SD (KELO-AM) Sioux Falls economy is booming declared Mayor Mike Huether Thursday in his annual State of the City address, but he also acknowledged the dark side: rising crime.
"Not every single person that's gonna live in Sioux Falls, not every single person who visits Sioux Falls and not every person that moves to Sioux Falls is gonna be a good neighbor," said Mayor Huether, " It's a sad reality, but their not."
Huether said that there are three prime crime drivers in the city: drinking, drugs, and mental illness. "And that's not going to get solved during my administration or during generations to come." He said.
Huether painted a very rosy picture of the state of the city. The growing economy is creating thousands of jobs, the rainy day fund, the "piggy bank" is full, the per-capita debt is much lower than cities of similar size such as Fargo, and Sioux Falls is on track for a record construction season in 2016.
The mayor ended his annual address with a shout-out to the four people leaving City Council - Kenny Anderson, Jr., Greg Jamison, Dean Karsky, and Kermit Staggers. Huether said his relationship with the four councilmen wasn't always a "bed of roses", but they worked together to make a better Sioux Falls.