Happy Wednesday! Megan here.

Weather check: You're gonna want a long sleeve shirt/jacket under your costume

🗳️ Are you ready? Election Day is less than a week away. Are you feeling informed about the decisions you'll face at the ballot box? If not, here are some resources to help.

Meet the people who want to represent you in Pierre
Sioux Falls Simplified reached out to all of the Sioux Falls-area candidates to create the most comprehensive voter guide in town.
Sioux Falls SimplifiedMegan Raposa
Your guide to South Dakota ballot measures
Here’s your simplified guide to the seven statewide ballot measures, where they came from, and what your vote will mean.
Sioux Falls SimplifiedMegan Raposa
  • Pssst, if you are feeling ready to vote, can you do me a favor and share these voter guides with five of your Sioux Falls friends?

This week, you'll learn about wins – and challenges – of the new bus system, and you'll get smart about patient advocacy with a pair of nurses who just started a new "concierge nursing" business in town. Plus, find quite a bit of Super Simplified news and, of course, our weekly roundup of events.

And now, news:

CITY

How the new bus system is faring so far

Simplified: Thousands of Sioux Fallsians have used on-demand public transit in the first few months, but the new system – which also includes new fixed bus routes – is facing some criticism from paratransit riders.

Why it matters

  • Via, the company that took over the contract for public transit with the city at the start of this year, presented an update on Sioux Area Metro (SAM) to the city's Public Transit Advisory Board on Monday. The update comes in the weeks after SAM launched citywide on-demand transit and new fixed bus routes.
  • About half a dozen paratransit riders attended Monday's meeting to express concerns they have about on-demand transit, including specific examples of not being able to find a ride when they need one.
"We've heard from a few voices where it seems to be consistently the same groups that are being left out," board member Bailey Abbott said.
  • But Via General Manager Emily Shapiro said the company hears concerns from riders and is actively working to improve both paratransit and SAM On-Demand. The company will add six drivers and four vehicles by early November.

Tell me more

GET SMART

Get smart about patient advocacy and 'concierge nursing' with Nurse Connect

Nurses Nicole Hanson and Jackie Faryna launched Nurse Connect earlier this year as a way to help patients navigate care needs both at home and in the clinic. They sat down with Sioux Falls Simplified to talk about their new business, misconceptions about the healthcare system and their upcoming ribbon cutting.

Answers are edited for length and clarity.

Let’s start with your background – how did you “get smart” about patient advocacy and concierge nursing?

Jackie: For me, it was dealing with a lot of challenges – from taking care of my grandparents in their elderly years and also just years and years of working in the hospital and seeing what people need, what people ask for.

  • It would've been great to have somebody who could've taken my grandparents to the cardiologist and told us exactly what is going on if we couldn’t make it to their appointment ... there were definitely a lot of procedures that we had to team up and figure out which family member was going to take off work and help them in their recovery.

I think that is a huge driving force of why I wanted to create a concierge nursing service, because I think a lot of people can utilize what we’re offering.

Nicole: When I had worked in the covid ICU era, that was such a shining moment to reinforce, when you do not have the ability to have advocates and family members at the bedside, how much it affects care.

  • It just was very telling that family is so important – people who can speak for you and be involved and be a medical voice.

Healthcare is just so overwhelming because there's just so many facets. ... It'd be nice if there was something outside of those realms who was an unbiased person.

We’re all about simplicity here. Can you describe what Nurse Connect does in 10 words or fewer?

Offers advocacy, care coordination and private care to patients at home.

See the full interview here

TL;DR

Super Simplified Stories

  • Get involved with these sustainability efforts.* The Sioux Falls Sustainability Coalition recently launched four new ways for community members to get involved in sustainability efforts. Those include: volunteering to help clean up riverbanks to prevent debris from getting into the Big Sioux with Friends of the Big Sioux River, becoming a BINfluencer and encouraging recycling with Building Sustainable Connections, organizing with Dakota Rural Action, and advocating for energy-efficient building requirements in Sioux Falls with SoDak 350.
    • You can learn more about these efforts and get involved by reaching out directly to the organization that speaks the most to you. Or, you can reach out to sodak350group@gmail.com.
  • Stavem out. Sioux Falls Superintendent Jane Stavem announced her resignation during a late afternoon press conference on Friday. She'll be leaving the district at the end of the current school year, and the school board will begin searching for her replacement in the coming months. When she first started her role five years ago, Stavem set a goal to make Sioux Falls the greatest school district in the nation. When asked about that goal Friday, she said, "Mission accomplished."
  • This one's for the youths. A new website from Sioux Falls Thrive will help connect middle and high-schoolers with after-school activities in the city. It's called Sioux Falls Youth Connect, and it's a resource aimed at helping the thousands of kids who have nowhere to go after class. Learn more here.
  • Avera launches largest philanthropic campaign in the region. On Tuesday, the health system announced "Tomorrow's Promise," a $50 million fundraising campaign to support comprehensive women and children's services. The campaign announcement came during the groundbreaking for a new, $245 million, six-story medical building which will house services for women and children from labor and delivery to postpartum to neonatal intensive care and pediatrics.

*Denotes a paid partnership.

EVENTS

Stuff to do: Oct. 30-Nov. 5

  • Vote. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, it's extremely important that you get your patootie to the polls on Tuesday (or even before, if you wanna vote absentee). Even if you "don't care about politics" or "are tired of presidential race stuff," there are SO many things on the South Dakota ballot that will affect you whether you vote or not. Those issues include marijuana legalization, abortion access, paying sales tax on groceries, and more. So you might as well vote, right? I'm gonna make it as easy as possible for you, I promise.
  • Roll pumpkins. It's the Great Pumpkin Roll, Charlie Brown! Bring your leftover pumpkins to Tuthill Park on Saturday and roll them down the hill. Prizes will be awarded to pumpkins that rolled the farthest and the shortest. More details here.
  • Honor Dia de los Muertos. BibiSol is celebrating the vibrant traditions of the Day of the Dead with a modern Mexican prix fixe dinner on Friday. In addition to an excellent meal, you can also contribute an image of a loved one to the community altar and join the Dia de los Muertes Baile (dance) afterwards. Reserve your seat here.
  • Trick or treat. The Halloween fun continues into the actual holiday this week. Find trick-or-treat events at the Empire Mall, Scheels, Keller Williams and, probably, your neighborhood.
  • Have a GNO. Ghouls Night Out, that is. Serendipitous Events is hosting an event Wednesday night at Mosaic (the new name for the Museum of Visual Materials downtown). They'll have charcuterie, spooky vibes, and a chance to get a tattoo or piercing. Get your tickets here.

THIS AND THAT

What I'm falling for this week:

ICYMI

More Simplified Stories

This nonprofit is helping get out the vote in multilingual communities
South Dakota Voices for Peace has translated and distributed more than 25,000 sample ballots to help multilingual communities prepare for Election Day.
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Why rape and abuse victims are at risk of losing services
South Dakota’s only 24/7 rape crisis center is facing a significant funding shortfall, and without more support, The Compass Center could be forced to cut both staff and services.
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Thank you

Thank you to Sioux Falls Simplified sponsors, including Dakota Adventure Supply, the Sioux Falls Development Foundation, the Sioux Falls Area Community Foundation, Panther Premier Print Solutions, Barre3 Sioux Falls, the Great Plains Zoo, and the Sioux Metro Growth Alliance. When you support them, you're also supporting Sioux Falls Simplified.

Oh, by the way

Your feedback is extremely helpful – hit the reply button and send any news tips, typos, complaints, compliments or cups of coffee my way. ❤️