Happy Friday! Megan here.
Weather check: Good news for holiday travelers: no more snow for a few days
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A quick reminder: This is the last issue of Sioux Falls Simplified in 2024! I'll see you back after the holidays.
This week, I've got the latest update on the storied Brockhouse taxidermy collection and where it might ultimately land. You'll also find a look at how Gov. Kristi Noem's proposed cuts to the state library would affect the Sioux Falls library system. Plus, catch a few Super Simplified Stories to take you into the new year.
And now, news:
CITY
Why the Brockhouse taxidermy collection may soon have a new home (or two or three)
Simplified: A collection of about 150 taxidermy specimen known as the Brockhouse Collection – previously on display at the Delbridge Museum on the Great Plains Zoo campus – is one step closer to finding a new home after a city work group discussion earlier this week.
Why it matters
- A city work group tasked with finding a home for the specimen received interest from six different nonprofit organizations, who said they'd like to restore some or all of the pieces.
- Of those organizations, the one work group members said they'd most like to see receive the collection is the University of Notre Dame Museum of Biodiversity.
- Notre Dame only wants 117 of the specimen, though – namely the ones in well-enough condition to restore. It's possible the rest could be split between other interested parties, including The Oddities Museum in Atlanta, Georgia.
"Right away, it just gives credibility," work group member Jeff Scherschligt said of Notre Dame, noting that it's also feasible Sioux Falls fans of the collection would be able to take a trip to visit it.
How did we get here?
COMMUNITY
How state library budget cuts would affect Sioux Falls
Simplified: Gov. Kristi Noem has proposed a significant reduction in funding to the South Dakota State Library in her 2025 budget, a move that, if approved by the legislature, would also significantly impact Siouxland Libraries' access to resources that thousands of people in the community rely on.
Why it matters
- Director Jodi Fick said if the cuts are approved, the Sioux Falls library system will do what it can to maintain access to online databases currently provided at the state level, but it won't be possible to keep everything on an already-tight budget.
- Inter-library loans, in which a person can borrow a book from a different library delivered via state courier, are also likely to be a casualty of state library cuts. That's a program nearly 5,700 Sioux Falls library members took advantage of last year.
- By defunding the state library, South Dakotans will miss out on the efficiencies of scale it affords to readers. The state library manages the Libby e-reader app for rural parts of the state, as well as access to several research databases, including EBSCO and Ancestry Plus.
- Fick also called the state library a "well-oiled machine," noting that she doesn't see any areas of excess spending, but rather years of finding efficiencies in programming.
"This is the stuff you don't always know is there until it's gone," Fick said. "And once it's gone, it's extremely hard to recreate."
What happens next?
TL;DR
Super Simplified Stories
- New rec center passes available. Passes are officially available for purchase for the city's new Westside Recreation Center – formerly Sanford's wellness center on Tea/Ellis Road.
- Annual passes cost $394 for adults and $240 for children. You can also get an annual couple pass for $518 or a family pass for $634 (or $66 for a monthly family pass).
- Get your passes here. Reduced prices are available for low-income families, defined as anyone who qualifies for free/reduced school lunches or actively receives Medicaid benefits.
- Burger battle is back - and more unhinged than ever. Forty businesses are participating in the 12th Annual Downtown Sioux Falls Burger Battle in January. If you want to do the whole thing, it'll take more than one burger per day (and several hundred dollars). Or, you can pick and choose the ones that appeal most to you and rate them online.
- Oh, and when I say unhinged, I mean you'd have to literally unhinge your jaw to take a bite out of any one of these monstrosities. Aand the toppings are bonkers: Phillips Avenue Diner is using a cinnamon roll as a bun. Monks is putting deviled eggs on burger. Even The Cattitude Cafe is getting in on this with an Ahi tuna burger. Check out the full list here.
- It's tubing time. Great Bear officially opens their tubing hill on Saturday, and the rest of the park is about 40% open. You can check their website for the day-to-day conditions.
THIS AND THAT
What I'm falling for this week:
ICYMI
More Simplified Stories
Megan Raposa
Megan Raposa
Megan Raposa
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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.
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