Your weekend, simplified: Feb. 28, 2025

Happy Friday! Megan here.

Weather check: Heckin' wimdy

This week, I've got a look at how a county program to help house justice-impacted folks is faring. Plus, you'll find a round-up of new zoo events, a run-down of what's happening in Pierre this week (spoiler: much), and a round-up of Super Simplified headlines to carry you into the weekend.

And now, news:

COUNTY

How the county is housing justice-impacted people

Simplified: A new county program centered on helping folks who've been impacted by the justice system has officially housed more than a dozen people in the first six months. Here's what you need to know about Just Home.

Why it matters

• Minnehaha County has been working on the Just Home program for a few years now, since receiving a MacArthur Foundation Grant back in 2022. That grant has helped create new apartments in partnership with both the Glory House and the St. Francis House.
• Last fall, the county started accepting referrals for Just Home, and they've already received more than 100 referrals, 19 of whom have been connected with housing so far, according to Just Home Intake Coordinator Jeanne Rivera.
• That includes folks like 29-year-old Tyler Ford, who now has his own apartment after years of experiencing homelessness, addiction and incarceration. Ford, now nearly four years sober, moved into a Lloyd Companies apartment in October with the help of Just Home.
  • Ford described his experience with Just Home as "the most important thing that's probably ever happened to me."

"I feel like a normal person now," Ford said. "Especially in a state like South Dakota where they're really hard on crime, and all the landlords here are not felon-friendly, it's pretty incredible that some people got together and decided that this needed to happen."

Tell me more about Just Home

SIMPLIFIED PRESENTS

These reimagined zoo events aim to make conservation fun

This is a paid piece from the Sioux Falls Zoo and Aquarium.

Simplified: The Sioux Falls Zoo and Aquarium is switching up and reimagining some of its popular annual events this year with an increased focus on conservation and connecting the community with the organization's mission.

Why it matters

• Both the zoo and the aquarium have a number of events scheduled this year for visitors of all ages – including a new opportunity for adults to experience the zoo after hours.
• Additionally, some previous spring events like Zippity Zoo Day and Rhinopalooza have been combined and reimagined as a new "Summer Celebration" event at the end of May.
• Across all events, the goal is to connect visitors with the zoo and aquarium's broader mission of creating connection with nature and inspiring conservation of wild species and spaces.

"We want to really highlight that conservation is fun by learning about animals and our impact on our environment," Director of Experience and Engagement La'toria Horan said. "This is what it's all about."

What events should I watch for this year?

TL;DR

Super Simplified Stories

• Great Scott! That's a good lineup. The Washington Pavilion this week announced the shows in the 2025-26 Broadway Performance Series – including Back to the Future: The Musical and Moulin Rouge. Other shows include How the Grinch Stole Christmas: The Musical, Mrs. Doubtfire, Clue and The Music Man. Details and tickets available here.
• Talk true crime. Author Tony Wright will be hanging out at the downtown library Saturday morning to talk about his book, “Things Aren’t Right: The Disappearance of the Yuba County Five," which delves into the 1978 disappearance of five men after a basketball game. Wright's talk kicks off at 10:30 a.m. Saturday. Find more details here.
• United Way surpasses funding goal. United Way raised more than $9.2 million during its 2025 campaign, according to a press release sent Thursday. Those funds will be used to support various programs and nonprofits across the city.
  • "Every donation and every hour volunteered brings us closer to building a stronger future for everyone in the Sioux Empire," Sioux Empire United Way CEO, Lisa Romkema said.
• New effort to keep kids safe around water. SafeSplash Swim School has a new initiative to make sure kids are able to rescue themselves if they fall into water. It's called their "S.A.F.E.R. Swimmer Promise," and it means any kids age 4+ who enroll in SafeSplash lessons will get the water safety skills they need to self-rescue within a year of consistent lessons. If not, they'll get up to two months of free lessons. Learn more here.

SODAK SIMPLIFIED

Four things from Pierre

• Pause on prison. After lawmakers shot down funding for a proposed $825 million men's prison in Lincoln County, Gov. Larry Rhoden has decided to press pause and instead create a summer working group to study the state's options moving forward. South Dakota Searchlight has more.
• Less severe ingestion law advances. A bill to reduce the severity of the state's penalty for having controlled substances in your system is now headed to Gov. Larry Rhoden's desk. Per Searchlight, South Dakota is the only state in the nation where a failed drug test can land you in prison. This bill would instead change the penalty for ingestion from a felony to a misdemeanor until the third offense.
• Library still faces cuts, but less drastic. Lawmakers didn't axe as much state library funding as former Gov. Kristi Noem had initially proposed, meaning much of the staff and programs will likely continue to exist. The plan – as it stands now – is to maintain the library's ability to receive $1.4 million in federal funding and keep 17 of 21 full-time positions, while still cutting about $825,000 in the library's budget and dissolving the South Dakota State Library Board. Searchlight has the full story.
• No to porn, yes to cash. Lawmakers this week approved a measure to require age verification to access "obscene material" online. The Dakota Scout has the details. Also this week, separately, lawmakers passed a measure to require schools to accept cash for event tickets. The Scout's got the deets on that one, too.

THIS AND THAT

What I'm falling for this week:

• Owl
• Fixing downtown parking
• Midsummer

ICYMI

More Simplified Stories

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Thank you

Thank you to Sioux Falls Simplified sponsors, including Downtown Sioux Falls, Inc., Panther Premier Print Solutions, Live on Stage, the Sioux Falls YMCA, EmBe, the Sioux Falls Development Foundation, Barre3 Sioux Falls, the Sioux Falls Zoo and Aquarium, the Washington Pavilion, and the Sioux Metro Growth Alliance. When you support them, you're also supporting Sioux Falls Simplified.

Oh, by the way

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