South Dakota

Sioux Falls, SD: at least one city council member supports BSL

The City Council’s land use committee soon will begin a public discussion about what steps Sioux Falls could take to reduce the potential for dog bites or attacks.

Councilor Dean Karsky, who works in the insurance industry, presented dog bite statistics to the council last week that show pit bulls and Rottweilers are responsible for about 70 percent of all dog bites in the nation that require medical treatment. Karsky said Friday he has not talked to the other councilors about the issue, and while he’s not pushing for any kind of citywide ban on those breeds, he would be for it.

The land use committee chairman, Councilor Rex Rolfing, expects to start discussion at the committee’s July meeting and then bring in experts to talk about local facts and statistics to help determine the best way to approach the issue. He said input from the public might come in August or September.

Rolfing said he hopes to hear a lot of public discussion. He added that it could be a while before any sort of council action is taken.