Your week, simplified: Jan. 8, 2025

Happy Wednesday! Megan here.

Weather check: 20s and flurries

This week, we're back, babyyyy! And there's plenty of news to keep things interesting. The City Council has – after four years of discussion/planning – advanced a $68 million bond for new pools and indoor recreation. Plus, you'll learn about a new-to-town app reducing food waste, a new superintendent, and, of course, you'll find a ton of fun events happening in the coming week.

And now, news:

CITY

Why the city is one step closer to new pools – for real this time

Simplified: After four years of planning, several delayed votes and nearly a year of debate, tweaking and tinkering, the Sioux Falls City Council has come to an agreement on future plans for new pools.

• The council on Tuesday passed the first reading of a $68 million bond to fund a new outdoor pool at Kuehn Park and a new indoor pool and recreation center at Frank Olson Park.

Why it matters

• The city has been talking about the need to replace the aging facilities at both the west-side and east-side pools for four years now. Those discussions initially resulted in a proposed $77 million bond vote presented to the council last spring.
• However, when councilors couldn't agree on what it should cost the public to use the facilities, the bond went back to the drawing board.
  • Several more changes came up along the way – including the council rejecting the city's plan to reimburse itself for the purchase of the $9 million Sanford Wellness Center (now known as the Westside Recreation Center) and further rein-tightening to keep total costs down.
• City Finance Director Shawn Pritchett emphasized during Tuesday's meeting that the bond and subsequent new facilities will not increase taxes, but rather, the bond will be backed and repaid by the city's existing second penny sales tax fund.
• Councilor Rich Merkouris said he sees it as an investment in the city's future and a way to encourage the mantra of "recreate, not incarcerate" by giving residents an accessible place to go after the city did away with the community center model.

"We're not building a Taj Mahal just for select few in this community," Merkouris said. "We are truly trying to develop a vision that moves the whole community forward."

Tell me more about the final version of the bond

COMMUNITY

This app is helping restaurants reduce food waste

Simplified: A new-to-Sioux Falls app called Too Good To Go is giving restaurants a way to reduce food waste and consumers a way to try new foods at a discounted rate.

Why it matters

• Too Good To Go was founded in 2015 in Copenhagen as a way to reduce food waste and took awhile to make it to the U.S. It launched in the Twin Cities in 2023, and just this month made its debut in Sioux Falls.
• The app allows businesses to sell random grab bags of excess food or products that might otherwise be thrown away at the end of the day. Customers can buy the bags at a discounted rate.
• Right now, only a few businesses are participating, including Circle K, Intoxibakes and Oh My Cupcakes, whose founder Melissa Johnson said she anticipates many more restaurants will jump on board.

"In our first day 'live,' our Too Good to Go surprise bags sold out in 10 minutes," Johnson said. "We believe this shows people are hungry for this type of option in our area."

How does it work?

TL;DR

Super Simplified Stories

• Sioux Falls schools have a new superintendent. The Sioux Falls School Board on Monday announced that Jamie Nold will be the district's new superintendent starting July 1. Nold has had a 30-year career in the district, from teaching at Washington High School, to a tenure as principal and then as assistant superintendent before taking the helm of the district. He succeeds Supt. Jane Stavem, who announced in October that she's resigning from the position.
• Statewide child care task force to release report. A legislative-approved South Dakota Child Care Task Force will present its findings on Friday via Zoom. The report is called, "Sustainable Solutions for Transforming Child Care in South Dakota." More to come after the report is released, but if you want to watch live, you can register here.
• Children's Home Society names new COO. Allison Sanderson is the new chief operating officer for the Children's Home Society of South Dakota. She's worked previously as the organization's human resources officer, with other past experience at Southeastern Behavioral Health and EmBe.
• City to announce latest population stats. Mayor Paul TenHaken will reveal the latest city population data (are we over 220,000??) during a press conference Thursday. Additionally, we'll see the final building permit data for 2024. Both of these metrics are often used to get a sense of the rate of growth in Sioux Falls. Check back Friday for the actual numbers.

EVENTS

Stuff to do: Jan. 8-14

• See Spot run. The city parks department is hosting the third annual "K9 Rootbeer Keg Race" event at Spencer Park on Sunday with sign-up starting at 1:30 p.m. Dogs will wear a harness attached to an appropriately sized root beer keg and race to the finish line. More details here.
• See some heART. The annual heART of the City art show will take place starting at 5 p.m. Friday at Whittier Middle School. It'll feature all types of artwork created by teams who used found materials to capture this year's theme: Love. It's free to attend, but visitors are encouraged to bring individually packaged snacks (or money to buy them) for the kids at Whittier.
• Kick it back to the Roaring '20s. Jack Rose Social Club and Casino is transforming into "Jack's Hideaway" this weekend – a speakeasy style party with Prohibition-era cocktails, chef specials and live music. Break out the flapper dresses and hit the town. More details here.
• Saddle up for some dancing. The Dakota Country Dance Club is hosting a free Country Dance Night starting at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Icon Lounge. All ages are welcome, and you can participate in a line dancing lesson as well as a swing dancing lesson. More details here.
• Howl at the moon. Take a stroll around Family Park and enjoy the Wolf Moon, the name for the first full moon of the year. Dogs optional but encouraged, and make sure to dress warm. The hike starts at 6 p.m. More details here.

THIS AND THAT

What I'm falling for this week:

• Spaghetti
• Pasta
• Pizza

ICYMI

More Simplified Stories

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