Meet Sioux Falls Simplified's summer intern

Megan Raposa -

Simplified: It's been nearly a year an a half since the first issue of Sioux Falls Simplified hit your inboxes, and this little-news-outlet-that-could has seen a lot of growth since then. Now, it's time to expand the team. Meet summer intern Olivia Bertino.

Why it matters

  • With Bertino's help, Simplified will be bringing you more stories (and hitting your inbox more frequently).
  • Bertino is bringing experience in reporting on Sioux Falls news. She previously interned at Keloland News, and she's the current editor-in-chief of the Augustana Mirror campus newspaper.
  • The Sioux Falls Simplified internship program shows this news outlet's commitment to developing the next generation of local journalists.

Q&A: Meet Olivia

The following has been edited for length and clarity.

What piqued your interest in journalism? I knew I was good at writing, and I liked creative fields. My dad got me my first typewriter when I was 12. I have these typed out diary entries of me figuring out what I'm going to do.

(Journalism) was kind of the happy medium between, I enjoy people, and I enjoy writing, how do I work both of those together in a way that would actually mean something to the world.

What's your background? How'd you end up in Sioux Falls? I'm originally from Omaha – born and raised. I graduated from Elkhorn South High School and chose Augustana University. I didn't even tour any other schools. I moved to Sioux Falls in the summer of 2019.

Why did you want to work with Sioux Falls Simplified? If we look at local journalism, we've got a lot of different options in Sioux Falls, but most of them are shrinking.

I appreciated that Sioux Falls Simplified was focused just on the city of Sioux Falls – anything and everything Sioux Falls-related in one place, and it's entirely local.

What do you do when you're not doing news? I usually am in my kitchen or in my garden. I also have three cats, ages 17, 6 and 1, and they all have very large personalities. I'm also a part-time marketing intern for Levitt at the Falls this summer.

What happens next?

We report the news! Support Olivia (and Sioux Falls Simplified overall) by becoming a member.