(Editor's note: This is just one part of a series of stories about local candidates in the upcoming June 2 primary, municipal and school board election. Find more coverage here.)

Simplified: Three people are looking to fill one open seat representing Sioux Falls' southeast neighborhoods on the Sioux Falls City Council. All three candidates sat down with Sioux Falls Simplified for interviews covering a wide range of topics from affordable housing to data centers to public safety and much more.

Why it matters

  • Four of the eight City Council seats are up for election this year. That means as many as half of the seats could see new faces. The city's Southeast District seat is guaranteed to have one of those new faces because the current Councilor David Barranco will not be seeking re-election but instead running for state auditor.
  • The three candidates looking to represent the Southeast District are Michael Crane, Sara Pankonin and Brady Kerkman. If you're uncertain about which district you live in, you can double-check using this map.
  • This guide aims to make it easy to feel smart about how the candidates feel on a wide variety of relevant policy issues. If you prefer to listen/watch full interviews, you'll find them in this YouTube playlist.
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First, let's meet the candidates

Candidates are listed in alphabetical order.

Michael Crane

Crane, 76, is the managing member at Crane and Fowler Investments who's previously served on the Sioux Falls School Board, the city parks board, the downtown parking board and other nonprofit boards. He said he chose to run for City Council because it's something he's very passionate about.

"I think the simple answer is that it's how I was raised," Crane said. "My father worked for the telephone company back years ago, and we moved a lot. But he always talked to me about, when you live in the community, you give back, and it stuck. I've been fortunate over the years to be employed by people that thought that service was important."

Brady Kerkman

Kerkman, 53, has spent more than 30 years leading nonprofits, government organizations and businesses. He credits his teenage son as part of his inspiration for seeking political office – particularly seeing him speak to the City Council earlier this year before the data center rezoning vote.

"I realized that if my 15-year-old has the courage, I should probably have the courage as well," Kerkman said of his choice to run. "And so while he didn't know he had that influence on me, I'm running not for me, I'm running for the future of tomorrow. And really, they are our future."

Sara Pankonin

Sara Pankonin, 42, is a civil engineer who has lived in Sioux Falls for 18 years. She said she wanted to run in part because she's been paying attention to city government for some time, especially as she's raised her four kids here.

"I also am just naturally curious," Pankonin said. "So, you know, I'm willing to listen. I know I'll learn a lot more as time goes on. I've already been hearing a lot from people that I've been reaching out to in southeast Sioux Falls and learning more. But yeah, I just ultimately feel called to serve the community in this role."

Let's talk policy

At the risk of this story turning into a novel, you'll find specific topic-based stories linked below that you can peruse based on your interests and concerns. Click the topic below to see candidate responses to questions on that topic.

Here's how the candidates responded to questions regarding:

What if I don't want to read a whole bunch?

More of an auditory processor? No problem.

You can listen to full interviews with each of the candidates by following the YouTube embeds above or by going directly to Sioux Falls Simplified's YouTube channel.