Your weekend, simplified: Feb. 7, 2025

Megan Raposa -

Happy Friday! Megan here.

Weather check: Snow on the way

This week, you'll meet a nonprofit helping to develop the culture and leadership skills a group of folks who are often ignored in our community: people who are incarcerated. You'll also meet Downtown Sioux Falls, Inc.'s new CEO, find some Super Simplified news and learn how our friends at EmBe are simplifying your summer childcare decisions.

And now, news:

COMMUNITY

Meet the nonprofit helping justice-impacted folks learn leadership skills

Simplified: A Sioux Falls nonprofit focused on the transformational power of investing in leadership is paying special attention to people who've been impacted by the justice system. Here's what you need to know about Bridging the Gap.

Why it matters

  • Bridging the Gap is the nonprofit arm of Think 3D, a Sioux Falls-based company focused on helping build workplace and community culture. The nonprofit also leads the Leaders of Tomorrow (LOT) program, a 12-week program designed to help people become better leaders.
  • LOT graduated its first cohort in 2018, and since then more than 800 people have participated in the program. Additionally, in 2021, the program added a justice-impacted cohort, specifically focused on people who've been incarcerated or anyone who's been directly impacted by the justice system (workers, family, etc.).
  • The program has early proof of its effectiveness, too. Typically, people leaving incarceration will commit another crime 70% of the time. For those who participated in Leaders of Tomorrow, the recidivism rate is only 30%.
"The idea that we're going to change our community culture to be more inclusive, to be more inspiring and motivating to be the best version of ourselves shouldn't stop in the streets of Sioux Falls," said Manny Gutierrez, Sr., Director of Community Engagement for Think 3D. "Because those guys on the hill are eventually going to be a part of our community. Everyone talks about justice reform, but (LOT) is doing the thing."

Tell me more about the program

SIMPLIFIED PRESENTS

How to simplify your summer child care decisions

This is a paid piece from EmBe.

Simplified: Though summer is still months away, parents know it's not too soon to start thinking about care options for your school-aged kids. Here's how EmBe is making it easy to get everything you want from summer programming in one place.

Why it matters

  • The Sioux Falls area has dozens of summer camp options for elementary school-aged kids, and when you add on things like swimming lessons or summer learning opportunities, it's easy to get overwhelmed by the logistics of figuring out how kids will get all of the summer programming they need.
  • EmBe's summer programming takes that logistical burden off of parents by incorporating pool visits, weekly field trips and relevant educational experiences into one program.
  • The summer curriculum also aligns with what kids are already learning in school, but in a more play-focused environment. The goal is to create a program where kids wake up in the morning and are excited to go, said Sarah Meagher, director of curriculum and licensing.
"For us, it's really about being kid-focused," Meagher said. "We've developed a lot of teacher resources for making sure the whole day feels much more like summer camp than it feels like you're being babysat for the kids in our care."

Tell me more about summer programming

TL;DR

Super Simplified Stories

  • The kids need you. More than 250 kids are currently on waitlists for mentorship, Police Chief Jon Thum said this week. Thum stressed the importance of helping kids through programs like Sioux 52, Teammates and Lutheran Social Services. He also noted a decrease in available mentors at some of the city's Title 1 schools, and he said it's time for younger generations of mentors to step up and help.
  • Call for artists. The city last week put out a call for art as part of the 2025 ArtAbility showcase. The showcase will feature art from artists with disabilities, and all entries can be submitted here.
  • The burger kings. Chef Lance's on Phillips has won yet another burger battle with this year's cuban burger. Monks was also recognized for selling the most burgers – they sold nearly 6,200 deviled egg burgers. Honorable "munch-ens" include Bibi Sol with second place, Perch with third, Minerva's with fourth and La Luna Cafe in fifth.
    • All told, the DTSF Digital Passport (which keeps track of burger ratings) received nearly 42,000 votes in an all-time record year. A total of 84,500 burgers were sold in January, with an estimated economic impact of more than $3.2 million.

SODAK SIMPLIFIED

Three things from Pierre:

  • SDPB funds on the chopping block. The Joint Committee on Appropriations will hear from South Dakota Public Broadcasting this morning. former Gov. Kristi N0em's proposed budget suggests cutting their funding by 65%. SDPB advocate Dakota Rural Action has some context on what these cuts could mean.
  • Lawmaker drama. A Rapid City Republican lawmaker lost his vice chairmanship of the House Education Committee after he filed a bill to defund Huron Public Schools – a bill he filed after receiving a tip to the school's bathroom policy. South Dakota Searchlight has all the context here.
  • Tax talk. Gov. Larry Rhoden said lawmakers are working on a way to "tamp down" property taxes that have risen consistently over the last five years. South Dakota Searchlight has more.

GET SMART

Get smart about the future of DTSF with Brandon Hanson

Brandon Hanson is the new CEO of Downtown Sioux Falls, Inc. Though he's relatively new to DTSF, Inc., he's been connected to downtown for some time through previous jobs at the Washington Pavilion, SculptureWalk and EmBe. Hanson sat down with Sioux Falls Simplified to chat about his new role, his goals and his go-to coffee shops.

Answers are edited for length and clarity.

Give us a little background, how did you get smart about downtown Sioux Falls and DTSF, Inc.? 

I went to school for art and theater, and I later went back and got an MBA – that was probably a more natural fit for me.

  • Most of my career was with the Pavilion in a lot of roles there from working in their art museum to being director of all museums and then ultimately running SculptureWalk. I moved on from there and went to EmBe overseeing childcare operations for 1,500 families.

I saw late last spring that DTSF was hiring a vice president ... I wasn't necessarily looking for a job, but I decided to send in my application and learn more. Through the interview process, I just sort of fell in love with the organization.

We’re all about simplicity here. Can you describe your new job in 10 words or fewer? 

Bringing people together to build a thriving business community.

What are some of your top priorities right now for downtown? 

There are so many people developing in downtown, and DTSF, this small nonprofit, can get a lot of credit for how amazing downtown is. But it takes a lot of us, really, to make this amazing.

Top priorities though, for me at the nonprofit of DTSF is to reconnect the organization with the membership base.

  • I think we’ve been really humble and more in the background over the last few years, and I really want every member to know not only my name but the names of my team members and know exactly where to go when they need something.
  • We offer a lot of really amazing tangible services and resources to small businesses, and I think if they had a very easy path to get to those, they would utilize them even more.

One more priority would be bringing our ambassador program (which supports homelessness outreach) in-house.

See the full interview here

THIS AND THAT

What I'm falling for this week:

ICYMI

More Simplified Stories

Why you can’t say goodbye to the taxidermy before it goes to college
A collection of about 150 taxidermy specimen that’s been well-loved by Sioux Fallsians for decades has been saved from disposal. Now, it’s a City Council vote away from heading off to the University of Notre Dame.
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Stuff to do: Feb. 5-11
Sandwiches, falcons, spelling bees and more.
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This brunch supports women who’ve experienced miscarriage
A Sioux Falls-based nonprofit is bringing women from across the country together next month to support women who’ve experienced miscarriage. Here’s what you need to know about Evermore Blooms’ Brunch & Blooms event.
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Thank you

Thank you to Sioux Falls Simplified sponsors, including Downtown Sioux Falls, Inc., the Sioux Falls YMCA, EmBe, the Sioux Falls Development Foundation, Barre3 Sioux Falls, the Sioux Falls Zoo and Aquarium, 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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