Super Simplified Stories

  • Council OKs new indoor playground. The City Council on Tuesday formally authorized a $500,000 donation to fund an indoor playground and climbing structure in the new Frank Olson rec center currently in the design stage. The donation is from Paul and Mary Ellen Connelly, and part of the agreement includes naming the playground "Margie’s Tree House Playground."
  • Council approves Great Bear land donation. In another big donation for the city, councilors on Tuesday voted to pass a resolution authorizing a gifting agreement for the donation of 20 acres of land to Great Bear Recreation Park. The donation, which was announced last month, comes from Jeff and Tammie Broin.
  • Smithfield sets neighborhood meeting. Neighbors near the proposed site for a new Smithfield Foods meatpacking plant in northeast Sioux Falls were sent a letter last week inviting them to a public meeting to discuss plans for the new facility. This comes several weeks after a judge ruled in favor of landowners on a conditional use permit, and Smithfield was sent back to the beginning of the process.
    • The meeting is scheduled from 6:30 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 19 at The Hub on Southeast Tech's campus. Questions ahead of the meeting can be sent to corporateaffairs@smithfield.com.
  • Weigh in on a downtown convention center. Conversations have reignited on plans for a downtown convention center, and now's the time to let your voice be heard on the matter. Forward Sioux Falls and Experience Sioux Falls are leading an effort to educate the public on the benefits of a convention center, and they also want to hear the public's feedback. You can submit your thoughts online here or attend an open house on from 7 to 8 p.m. Thursday at the Sioux Falls Convention Center.
  • Help kids learn to read. The first few months of the Sioux Falls School District's new Literacy Allies program has been a big success, as Superintendent Jamie Nold shared with board members Monday. The program has teams of six who take turns going to visit students and read with them (background here.) So far, there have been 184 volunteers across three elementary schools, and the goal is to find another 135 to expand to two more elementary schools in the coming months. Learn more on how to volunteer on the school district website.