Happy Friday! Megan here.

Weather check: Light snow on the way this weekend

Status check: How are you feeling in the first few days of the new year? Rested? Newly resolved? Ready for some structure and normalcy after holiday craziness? (That's where I'm at. The break was needed, don't get me wrong, but I missed doing this 2x/week).

This weekend, I'm taking a slightly different structure than normal to talk about what you can expect from Sioux Falls Simplified in the coming year and, more importantly, how you can help ensure this smarter, easier local news outlet is here in 2026, too. :)

Here are a few things you can expect from me in the coming year:

A focus on city government, schools, events and cool people doing cool things

Sioux Falls Simplified's mission is to make it easy to feel smart about the forces that shape Sioux Falls. That means understanding what's going on in local government and schools, certainly, but it also means keeping a pulse on the people who are making our community the one-of-a-kind place it is.

  • You can expect to see continued weekly coverage of all of these topics – and heck, maybe more. What do you want to see more of from a content standpoint? Reply to this email and let me know.

A simplified guide to civic engagement

A major goal of mine this year is to focus on civic health. You've probably heard of public health, i.e. rates of heart disease, obesity, etc. in a given community.

Civic health refers to how people engage with their community, as well as how they work together to identify and solve community problems.

  • This is stuff like voting in local elections (something Sioux Fallsians are historically bad at), volunteering, mentoring, and, I'll take it a step further to include supporting local businesses and institutions.

A new face on the team

Speaking of the civic engagement guide...you'll hear more about this guide during the summer when drumroll a student with the Reynolds Journalism Institute joins Sioux Falls Simplified as part of a summer fellowship!

You'll meet Makayla in May when she comes to hang out in Sioux Falls for a few months. She'll help out with the civic health guide and a few other cool projects to make this local news outlet even more helpful to you.

The return of 'A Little Help'

Last June, Sioux Falls Simplified readers raised $5,000 for local nonprofit Journey of Hope. And while I'm not yet ready to announce the beneficiary of this year's A Little Help campaign, I am excited to tell you we will be working to support another amazing nonprofit in Sioux Falls. Many more stories to come.

New ways to share the story of your business

You've seen our "Simplified Presents" stories – an offering that will continue to be a staple in 2025.

But I've also got a few new (and I think, fun) ways to share the story of your business at a more accessible price point. That includes sponsored "Super Simplified Stories" as well as sponsored links in my weekly "What I'm falling for" segment.

Are you a local business owner looking to reach a hyperlocal, highly engaged group of cool af Sioux Fallsians? Reply to this email for more details.

How you can help make this all happen

Sioux Falls Simplified is funded entirely through the support of local advertisers and you, you lovely reader.

Articles will always be free to read on sfsimplified.com, but the work behind that local news coverage is costly (and valuable!).

Here are a few ways you can help ensure Sioux Falls Simplified is here working toward a more engaged, civically healthy community:

  • Forward this to a friend. Sharing is caring, and the best gifts are the ones that make your life easier – like this smarter, easier local news.
    • Bonus: this option costs $0.
  • Become a member. Consider buying into a smarter Sioux Falls by becoming a member and offering financial support to the no B.S. journalism you've been reading here.
    • Right now, only about 5% of Sioux Falls Simplified members are buying in. Are you part of the 95% not paying but still finding incredible value in this news? Maybe it's time to think about if that's worth $5 a month to you.
  • Give a one-time gift. Not ready to commit to a membership? That's OK! If you want to help in a smaller way, you can give a one-time gift here.
  • Advertise with us. Tell the "simplified" story of your business to your target audience. Want more info? Reach out to megan@sfsimplified.com.

Is that it?

I mean, for now, yeah. It's only Jan. 3. There's a whole year ahead of trying new things, failing, learning, pivoting, succeeding (hopefully) and just straight-up working to keep the next generation of Sioux Falls not just informed, but also engaged.

Are you with me?