I don’t know if you caught or not, but the article ran yesterday. To boil it down, the general contractor in charge of the Gordmans building interior work disappeared, and left the Rushmore Crossing developer and a bunch of contractors holding the bag to the tune of more than $500,000.

It’s not really Gordmans fault, and has nothing to do with that company’s recent acquisition by Sun Capital. the only thing Gordmans did was vouch for the company. If you look at the contractor’s Web site, it’s got a lot of Gordmans in it.

“I must say that you really do live up to your motto – a good name is more desirable than great riches.” – Gene Kaplan, Corporate Director Property Management & Construction Gordman’s

I finally got a call back from Gordmans, and the press person said the CEO didn’t want to comment because the matter was probably “sensitive.”

So now both contractors and the developer are lawyered up. Still no word on Dan Henry Construction of Kansas, the contractor.

Here’s a tidbit that didn’t make the article in the newspaper: sounds like the contractor’s foreman got stiffed of his pay, and even had to pony up his own cash to keep some people on the job. Said Jake Shad of Century Glass:

He said his paycheck bounced and he’s looking for a new job.

How’s that for a kick in the teeth?

Sorry for the blog delay folks. Yesterday I was enjoying the Buffalo roundup at Custer State Park, without a care in the world. Then I got back to the office and hear Congress failed to pass the bailout.

Say what?

I don’t think I’ve hid my disgust at the need for such an instrument. I’m not a fan of taxpayers getting stuck with the bill for a bunch of shenanigans, legal or not. But the system needs fixing, the credit markets need a shot in the arm, and the bailout was the only way to do it.

I’m a big fan of more restrictions in the bill. I agreed with many of you that giving Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson $700 billion with no oversight was a bad idea. And I thought, or at least hoped, that Congress could hammer out a plan that would pass with bi-partisan support. Obviously such a bill would mean a lot to the markets, credit availability and consumer confidence.

Instead yesterday this Congress was unmasked for the failure it is. Neither Democrats or Republicans could lock down enough votes to pass the measure. You think Congressional leadership would’ve been sure of their support before taking the bill to a vote. Obviously they didn’t. Congress had a chance to take strong, positive action, and instead look foolish and destabilized things even further. That’s a failure in leadership.

So who can take the lead? Congress obviously can’t. House Republicans clearly don’t follow Pres. Bush’s lead, and House Democrats surely don’t follow Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s. McCain suspended his campaign to turn things around, and then left for a debate after he was convinced there was progress on the bailout, or so he says. That sure doesn’t look like leadership now. Speaking of presidential candidates, I’m not sure what Obama did to help, either.

So who’s left?

I’ll include more info in the article about this in tomorrow’s paper, but here’s the latest:

Gordmans opens Thursday at the Rushmore Crossing shopping center.

The 50,000-square-foot apparel and home fashions store will include a children’s theater and sports-themed television viewing area. Grand opening weekend festivities are scheduled to begin Saturday, Oct. 4.

I usually try to give the city a once-over every week, to keep an eye on things, but I need your help.

Curious about new construction? See any business that looks new or interesting? Tell me what you’ve got, and I’ll check it out on Thursday.

From commenters, things still on the list:

To KB: “Bank” at 8th and Columbus
Betty: Corn Exchange opening Potted Rabbit?
Zeb E.: Pizza Hut (and Wing Street) moving in between Haggar’s Grocery and First Western Bank
Jimmy Marler: Remodeling at Uncle Tom’s Ribshack/Adventures in BBQ
jlo: Old motel lot across from Safeway on Rushmore Road
Sandy: El Ranchito’s on East North
From e-mail: Old Hardee’s building on West Main is sold
From e-mail: Motor Service Company on St. Joe closed?

Apparently there’s a new over-the-air HDTV channel, says commenter Lisa ….

From commenter KAW:

I have the same setup and it showed up on mine as well. For those of you that don’t get it, here are some of the shows that I have seen on this channel: A-Team, Magnum PI, That’s Incredible!, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Battlestar Gallactica (the first one), Leave it to Beaver, and Retro music videos (Friday night I caught Duran Duran, The Ramones and Queen!). The also show retro-tv commercials that are hilarious! I am reliving my junior high/high school years through this channel!

I just have Knology cable, so I don’t know anything about it. I’ve got to say, though, that’s a pretty cool line-up of shows.

What does anyone know about this? Who runs it?

$700,000,000,000.

That’s how much U.S. taxpayers could end up paying to shore up the global economic system, on top of the billions already provided for Bear Stearns, Freddie and Fannie, etc.

How big is $700 billion? Here’s a good way to picture it:

It is one third of the total amount of money received by the federal government in 2007, including social security, income tax, corporate tax, and all other receipts.

It is $140 billion more than has been spent on the Iraq war since the invasion.

It is $120 billion more than that spent on social security benefits.

It is almost 3 billion nonrefundable bus fares from Durham to San Francisco, leaving tomorrow.

It is nine times the amount spent on education in 2007.

It could pay for 2,000 McDonalds apple pies for every single American.

It is 35 times the amount spent on all foreign aid in most years.

It is more zeros than the calculator that comes with my computer allows.

If there’s a bright side to this plan, this means the economy won’t fail, confidence might be restored and members of Congress on both sides of the aisle will come together on something to avoid looking like they didn’t do anything for Ma and Pa Taxpayer before elections in November.

But there are plenty of downsides. Plenty.

First, there’s that massive amount of money we’re promising to take some bad stuff off the books of private companies. Then there’s the total lack of oversight and accountability of those who will spend that money. From the proposal:

Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency.

Also, we as taxpayers would likely end up paying more for the bad debts then they’re worth, since we’ve already committed to righting the ship. Yes, more doom and gloom, I know. In case you need a change of pace, here’s some preliminary devil’s advocacy for the plan.

So while we can all go sleep soundly tonight, don’t forget where this money is coming from, and don’t be afraid to ask politicians some tough questions about how it all came to this.

I’m going to start beating the bushes for cold, hard facts on this one.

I got a tip (source says it’s solid information) that Qdoba is adding another Rapid City location near Cabela’s.

If true, that would mark the first restaurant in that area, as well as the first in any of the new retail developments on that part of town, if we include Rushmore Crossing on that list.

As I’ve mentioned before here, Texas Roadhouse and Buffalo Wild Wings are still rumored to go near Cabela’s, as well. But no confirmation on either of those yet.

For those of you keeping track at home, The Wall Street Journal, here, has an excellent way to keep track of where the public’s money is going, what it was meant to help and if it’s doing any good.

About the newly proposed ‘Treasury Garbage Machine’:

A still-in-progress plan that would buy assets from the various financial institutions at a discount, ridding them of this bad mortgage paper.

Who foots the bill? That’s right, you and me. Again.

I’ve received several calls wondering what happened to Unpainted Furniture. The owners, Tom Baird and his wife Cindy, would like you to know their store is still there, just two doors to the west at 219 Omaha.

Signs for the new location aren’t quite up yet, which may explain why some people thought the store had closed, or moved somewhere else in town.

Commenter Matt Smith says:

I have heard from some sources close to both the Rushmore Crossing development and the situation at the mall with Target’s move…this may definitively answer what is the deal with where Dillard’s igoing to go. I have heard that Dillards could very well be the replacement for Target in the mall.

That would be an interesting move for Dillard’s, which has been listed as a potential tenant in Rushmore Crossing. Dan Daly, my predecessor, wrote an article in February about the site developer’s Web site which stated Dillard’s had a signed lease for a Crossing location. In July, another reporter wrote a follow-up article after the Web site indicated J.C. Penney would take the spot formerly marked as the Dillard’s location.

Reps from both J.C. Penney and Dillard’s said they wouldn’t confirm any building plans at Rushmore Crossing.

Perhaps Rushmore Crossing gets Target and the mall gets Dillard’s? Theres some tit-for-tat for you.