A double dip of Knobe: Trump’s reckless words haunt him; Remembering some of S.D.’s finest public servants

“They’re piling up on him.” Words from a MAGA guy.

If you just tuned into the daily drama of Donald Trump’s life, that statement might be understandable. However, if you’ve been paying attention the past several years, you know his “daily drama” has been self-created.

The charges against him and the civil cases he has lost and is facing did not come out of thin air. Multiple jurisdictions have investigated his words and actions. Grand jury testimony, jury trials, decisions by judges have found his behavior to be wrong.

The 91 felony charges are still pending. Another trial starts March 25.

If all these legal charges were coming from one place, it would be suspect. However, there are four separate jurisdictions involved: Florida, Georgia, New York and Washington D.C.

On the felony charges, he is innocent till proven guilty. He has been fined three times in civil courts for his actions and words. He owes over $500 million, not counting lawyer fees.

Trump (seen above in a public domain photo posted on wikimedia commons) has used his mouth and action as a sword.

  *****

A good man gone. Most of you have never met or heard of this man. 

He was one of many very competent people working at City Hall when I was mayor from 1974-84.

His name was Roger Schiager. He was lead city attorney from the early 1970s until he retired in the mid 1990s. Roger wasn’t a flashy, combative, in-your-face barrister. 

He helped guide me, other mayors and city commissioners through complex legal issues. Creating ordinances, explaining legal options, trying to avoid lawsuits, yet making sure when we did get sued, the best interests of the city were upheld and at the same time making sure the people doing the suing were heard and treated fairly.  He was respected and liked by friends and adversaries. 

He died Feb. 22 at 91. 

We live in a great city. It’s great today because of intelligent, hard-working, caring people like Roger. He helped set the stage for us to achieve greatness. 

There are many others who also helped set the stage including Steve Metli, Sioux Falls planning director, Duane Anderson, another city attorney, Manfred Szameit, a finance director and soccer enthusiast, to name a few. 

These people and many others I worked with are gone.  I’m grateful for their efforts and the successes we achieved. They put public service first and kept it there. 

You are the beneficiaries of their efforts. 

Godspeed to them, and you. 

Rick Knobe is a former mayor of Sioux Falls and a longtime radio talk show host who is now retired but remains active and involved in his community and state. His columns appear regularly on The South Dakota Standard.