Your week, simplified: Nov. 22, 2023
Happy Thanksgiving Eve! Megan here.
Weather check: Good outlook for travelers
Gift guide check: There is still plenty of time to submit your local gift ideas to the Simplified Gift Guide. Keep us in mind when you're out for Small Business Saturday – take lots of pics! (And each entry you submit gets you a chance at winning a $50 DTSF gift card).
This week, I won't be in your inbox Friday, so you'll find a week's worth of news all in one spot! Get smart about cooking your Thanksgiving meal with a local chef, meet some expert local thrifters, find a round-up of events and learn what the Sioux Falls Development Foundation's been up to this year.
And now, news:
GET SMART
Get smart about cooking for Thanksgiving with Jordan Taylor
Jordan Taylor is the co-owner of En Place Catering, Bread & Circus and Pizza Cheeks. He sat down with Sioux Falls Simplified to share his culinary expertise about what you should know cooking your Thanksgiving meal.
Answers below are from Taylor.
Let's start by learning a bit about you. How did you 'get smart' about cooking and catering?
I've been in the industry for 23 years. I went Culinary school and cut my teeth in Portland – started at Simpatia in Portland. It was the best in the city.
We're all about simplicity here. Could you give us your number one tip for a quality Thanksgiving meal in 10 words or fewer?
Brine the turkey. Use a proper amount of salt and butter.
What do you think people are most likely to get wrong when cooking their Thanksgiving turkey? And, if you could offer them some advice to right that wrong, what would you say?
People tend to overcook the turkey. To avoid this, get an internal temp thermometer. Temp where the leg meets the body. Pull the turkey out to rest at 160 degrees.
Do you have any suggestions for an out-of-the-box side dish that would complement a traditional Thanksgiving meal for folks who want to try something new this year?
Snicker Salad is classic Midwestern.
If you could wave a magic wand and banish one traditional Thanksgiving food, what would it be? And what would you replace it with, if anything?
I would banish cranberry sauce and replace it with more gravy.
See the full interview
SIMPLIFIED PRESENTS
How the Sioux Falls Development Foundation spent 2023 growing the city
This is a paid piece from the Sioux Falls Development Foundation.
Simplified: The Sioux Falls Development Foundation at its annual meeting last week reflected on the progress it's made this year in setting up the city for growth, as well as the momentum it's carrying into 2024.
Why it matters
- The Foundation has been focused on bringing businesses to Sioux Falls since the 1950s, and its mission now encompasses all sides of economic development – from making it easy for businesses to build in town to growing the available workforce.
- One of the biggest wins the organization saw this year was getting Foundation Park fully developed, with all roads, water and storm sewer completed so it is build ready, President and CEO Bob Mundt said.
- The year wasn't without its challenges, Mundt added. Inflation and rising interest rates are making it harder for businesses to get the financing they need. Plus, there's the perennial challenge of finding enough workers to fill the jobs created.
"We are looking at, not necessarily just growing, but how we grow so that we grow in a very coordinated, well-planned, well-thought out way," Mundt said. "We don't want to be growing just to be growing, but growing the community so that it can be sustainable."
Tell me more about the work that's happened in 2023
And what's to come next year?
TL;DR
Super Simplified Stories
- Councilors pass new rules for rentals. The Sioux Falls City Council voted Tuesday to pass changes to the rules regulating rental homes in the city, adding a $50 registration fee, a required class and getting short-term rentals up-to-speed with state requirements. Find more of that background here.
- City now hiring for interns. Students 18 or older are invited to apply for a summer internship with the City of Sioux Falls. There are 11 available positions in various departments from libraries to parks to public safety, and the full-time internships pay about $18 per hour. Details here.
- Celebrate winter weekends downtown. The city is teaming up with Downtown Sioux Falls, Inc., the Washington Pavilion and Marketbeat for activities and events four weekends in a row in front of the new mural on the 10th Street parking ramp. From live music to santa to ice bumper cars, get the full schedule here.
COMMUNITY
Meet Sioux Falls' professional thrifters
Simplified: Thrifting is more than a hobby for a couple of Sioux Falls women. They've made a business out of turning one person's trash into treasure, and they chatted with Sioux Falls Simplified about why you should consider shopping secondhand this holiday season.
Tell me more
For Jenny Putzke, thrifting started in middle school as a way to find clothes in her "grunge phase" during the 90s.
- Today, she runs The Small Shoppe, a business where she curates and sells her thrifted finds.
"I like having something that maybe not everyone else has," Putzke said.
Green Penny Goods founder Aftyn Janzen is also a lifelong thrifter who decided to turn her hobby into a business a few years ago.
- She had just moved back home to Sioux Falls, and as she was selling some of her own things online, she began to realize the relationship objects can have with memories and history.
"When you have the opportunity to buy from an estate owner or a garage sale, it's so fun to get the background on a piece and know the history," Janzen said.
Why it matters
EVENTS
Stuff to do: Nov. 22-30
- Cheers to 'drinksgiving.' It's the informal holiday where you get together with all of your hometown friends to drink on the Wednesday night before Thanksgiving. Glacial Lakes Distillery will have live music and drink specials. Details here.
- Get lit. The 31st Annual Parade of Lights takes place downtown starting at 7:30 p.m. Friday. The route runs down Phillips Avenue from 13th Street to 5th Street. There's also an after party at the Holiday Inn City Centre. Details here.
- Get (more) lit. Also on Friday night is the Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony at the Washington Pavilion. The event kicks off at 5:45 p.m. with entertainment and refreshments, and the tree lights up at 6:25 p.m. Details here.
- Shop small. It's Small Business Saturday this week! Small businesses across town have special deals, promos and events, and to fuel your shopping spree with a free coffee through Avera's Sip and Shop event. Details here.
- Give back. It's also Giving Tuesday on Nov. 28, and there are too many local nonprofits to list here, but consider keeping your money close to home this year. If you need help finding a local nonprofit to support, you can support multiple organizations through a gift to Sioux Empire United Way.
- See art and animals. The Great Plains Zoo is hosting the Creative Creatures art show Saturday afternoon starting at 1 p.m. Visitors will get to see murals from nine local artists, and kids can create their own "murals" on large pieces of paper. More details here.
- Run before the feast. Log some miles and give back to The Banquet at the Thanksgiving Run for the Banquet at the fairgrounds starting at 9 a.m. Thursday.
THIS AND THAT
What I'm falling for this week:
- Awful-gatos
- Monkey and Burrito
- Being super, super thankful for this sweet family of mine:
ICYMI
More Simplified Stories
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Reach out
What story do you want to see simplified? Falling for something local? Send any news tips, attaboys, missed typos or leftover mashed potatoes and gravy to megan@sfsimplified.com.