Your weekend, simplified: June 7, 2024

Megan Raposa -

Happy Friday! Megan here.

Weather check: A nice summer weekend on the way

Cool thing: My baby sister, Emma, is getting married in Sioux Falls today, so if you see a younger, prettier version of me in a wedding dress walkin' around, tell her congrats! ❤️

This weekend, I'll keep things pretty short and sweet for ya, in no small part because I'm itching to celebrate my new brother-in-law. That said, I've got a look at the latest big, downtown development, as well as an explanation of why it's significant that Sioux Falls has a new newspaper of record.

And now, news:

CITY

How the city is looking to redevelop the next bit of the railyard

Simplified: The city this week announced plans to bring a new, nearly $100 million development to downtown, coinciding with the sale of a segment of the railyard. Here's what you need to know.

Why it matters

  • This project is nearly two decades in the making – dating back to 2005, when South Dakota's congressional delegation helped make it possible for the city to purchase the rail yard.
  • Des Moines-based developer Christensen Development is bringing the vision for the project, which will include office space, retail and an estimated 230 apartments targeting young professionals, according to developer Jake Christensen, who has 20 years of experience specific to developing downtowns.
  • The city is offering the developer an incentive of $8 million in tax-increment financing as part of the project – a decision that'll have to be approved by the City Council as a next step in the process. The goal is to break ground this fall on the office building and parking ramp.
"A healthy downtown means a healthy city," Planning Director Jeff Eckhoff said. "It is a focal point and amenity for our entire city."

Tell me more about the project

TL;DR

Super Simplified Stories

  • A new newspaper. The Dakota Scout replaced the Argus Leader as the newspaper of record for Sioux Falls after a City Council decision earlier this week. That means if you want to find legal notices or other records the city is required to publish, they'll be in a new spot. The Dakota Scout prints 5,000 physical newspapers every week that are available for free around town. You can read more here about the decision.
  • Council gets a look at new bus routes. Plans to redo the city's bus routes were presented to the City Council on Wednesday at the informational meeting. The overarching goal is to do fewer fixed routes at higher frequency and then on-demand service citywide. Find more background here. Next step is to gradually roll out weekday on-demand services with a full implementation in August.
  • Boundary changes to come. The Sioux Falls School District is set to discuss redrawing attendance boundaries on Monday to accommodate the new Marcella LeBeau Elementary School as well as the recommendations on where to build the new Whittier Middle School – background on that here.

ICYMI

More Simplified Stories

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How deodorant and clean socks can inspire hope
Last year, Journey of Hope distributed 18,000 hygiene products and partnered with 33 agencies in Sioux Falls – including 11 schools.
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THIS AND THAT

What I'm falling for this weekend:

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