In other sports news, Myron Moen wants to run Madison. Chuck Clement reports that Moen took out a petition to run for mayor last week.
Moen is the moving force behind the South Dakota High School Basket Ball Hall of Fame ("SDHSBBHOF!!!" Moen exclaims), which he founded to encase his memories of his high school glory days. He rounded up Madison donors to help grab a chunk of the public Community Center and turn it from a space where kids and families could actually do a variety of activities to a museum for artifacts from people who used to play one favored sport. Moen said Madison was ideal for the SDHSBBHOF.
And then T. Denny Sanford's people called last spring and said, "Want to move to Sioux Falls?" And in an instant, Moen made the deal. This coming September, Moen will move his sweatsock museum to the new Sanford Pentagon. Moen has maintained the line that Madison is "ideal" for the SDHSBBHOF banquet and induction ceremony... because there's nothing more ideal than having your organization's biggest money- and publicity-generating event 50 miles away from the facility your want your donors to see and support.
The move may be happening in part because there aren't enough people in Madison who will pay $35 a ticket for anything... and there aren't enough people in Sioux Falls who will pay $35 a ticket to have to drive all the way up to Madison for dinner in a drafty, poorly lit Playhouse.
One can see Moen's rational business case for moving his memorial to scowling behemoths from Madison to Sioux Falls. But now Moen is applying for the job of Madison's chief booster. So imagine this scenario: Mayor Moen is at a top-secret LAIC business recruitment meeting. Julie Gross has a big fish on the hook, looking to move a big project to Madison to dodge taxes and unions and all the other ungodliness of socialist America. Mayor Moen says, "Yes, move to Madison! You can do great things here!" And the big fish, having done his homework, looks at Moen and says, "Why don't I just move my project to Sioux Falls? You did."
Moen for Mayor? That's going to take some explaining. Myron might do better to focus on decorating his bus... and keeping it tuned up for all those trips to Sanford Falls.
Update 20:03 MST: Competing with Moen for signatures and maybe votes is Paul Michael Weist, DSU freshman and son of school board member Paul Weist.
Cory, do you know Myron?
Have you been to the Community Center to check out the Basketball Hall of Fame space?
Has anyone else stepped up to run for mayor of Madison?
I know Myron, and he's just precious.
Love the term "scowling behemoth." If any of my students read this post, I expect they'll be applying it to me.
Michael, all I know about Mr. Moen is what I read in the papers. That's all I talk about here. I have passed by the current SDHSBBHOF space. I have little interest in visiting either it or the new shrine to sport that Sanford is building. But given that thousands of other people do, I would think Madison boosters would have loved to have found a way to expand that facility in Madison. And as candidate for chief booster, regardless of who else runs, Mr. Moen will need to answer the question I pose and that any possible business recruit would pose: why did you pick Sioux Falls over Madison, and why shouldn't I?
I worked with Myron for a while at the paper.
The Hall of Fame is getting full at its present location. I can understand a move to SF.
The news that Mr. Weist is entering the race for mayor makes this contest very interesting. We now have to have an election and I have no idea how it will turn out.
Michael, I'm sure that room at the community center is getting full, given that folks now have a place to get rid of all their old basketball junk.
But the question for candidate Moen is this: why not build a larger facility in Madison? Why is Sioux Falls a better place to do business than Madison? That's the question Mayor/Booster Moen will need to answer when he's out helping the LAIC recruit new businesses.
I look forward to hearing young Mr. Weist's response to that question as well.
Maybe I do need to run...
Yes. Yes yes yes! Intelligence, openness, and the ability to create a kick-ass website—just what Madison needs!
If Ashley and one more besides Mr. Wiest and Mr. Moen gettheir petitions in this will be fun to watch.
Michael, who's the one more? You moving into town?
You have to wait a few days...
Grrr.... I hate teases. I do, however, like Dale Davis, petitioneer #3!
Very good Cory...I didn't know the paper had reported it yet.