Happy Wednesday! Megan here.

Weather check: One more chilly rainy day, and then it'll start to feel more like summer

❤️ You guys. I am feeling SO loved and supported after my Chamber ribbon cutting event yesterday afternoon. You lovely folks turned out for me, and I'm incredibly and unceasingly grateful for your support of me, my family and Sioux Falls Simplified.

🎉 Even more good news. I am THRILLED to welcome Makayla Voris to the Sioux Falls Simplified team for the summer. Makayla is a student at the University of Missouri, and she's here as part of a fellowship with the Reynolds Journalism Institute.

  • We've got some very fun plans for the summer, and I cannot wait to share more of what Makayla is working on, but in the meantime, give her a very warm Sioux Falls welcome.

This week, I'm still recovering from a three-day weekend filled with dance recitals, preschool graduation and my Chamber ribbon cutting, so today's newsletter will be brief. But, I did want to make sure to keep tabs on a conversation that will impact when you vote for the next Sioux Falls mayor. And, of course, you'll find our weekly round-up of events, which is supersized to account for all of the summer fun happening this weekend.

And now, news:

CITY

How moving election dates may impact other city policies

Simplified: The Sioux Falls City Council needs to decide when the 2026 mayoral election will take place to align with a new state law, and, whatever they decide, it's possible more policy changes could follow.

white and black rolled sticker on white surface
Photo by Element5 Digital / Unsplash

Why it matters

  • State lawmakers passed a new law (House Bill 1130) this session that requires municipal and school elections to coincide with either the June primary elections or November general elections.
  • Previously, city elections were held in April as either standalone elections or in conjunction with the school board races. Now, under the new state law, the existing City Council has to decide when the 2026 city election will take place (which also means they're deciding how long Paul TenHaken will still be the mayor.)
  • As part of those discussions, councilors are also talking about changing the threshold needed to get elected to the City Council in an effort to limit the need for run-off elections. And, depending on when the new election date will be, they're also looking at adjusting the timeline for adopting the city budget.
"Legally, we have time (to decide when the 2026 election will be)," Council Chair Rich Merkouris said. "But I think practically speaking, we do want to make this decision as soon as possible to be fair to potential candidates."

Tell me more about the election options

TL;DR

Super Simplified Stories

  • Postal workers help 'stamp out' hunger. Letter carriers across the state joined the largest single-day food drive in the nation and collected more than 80,000 pounds of food for Feeding South Dakota – a significant increase from last year's drive.
    • And it's good timing, according to a news release from Feeding South Dakota, which states that food received through USDA programs has recently been cancelled, while the number of South Dakotan's seeking food assistance remains on the rise.
    • Right now, 1 in 8 South Dakotans face hunger, according to Jennifer Stensaas, community engagement manager at the nonprofit.
  • A patented process for tracing the dark web. A Dakota State University researcher and director of digital forensics for the one of the university's labs, Dr. Arica Kulm, has secured a patent for her work in figuring out how to track what's "left behind" when folks use the dark web.
    • Her Dark Web Artifact Framework can detect if a TOR browser (a type of browser used to access the dark web) has been installed or uninstalled on a device, and in some cases can find some of the sites visited.
    • "The framework just reaffirms that you can’t really do anything without leaving some kind of evidence behind,” Kulm said.
  • Southeast Tech awards record number of Build Dakota scholarships. Southeast Technical College has set a new record for the number of Build Dakota scholarships it awarded with 172 full-ride scholarships. This year also marks the third year that 100% of those scholarship recipients are completely industry-supported, meaning private industries are helping support these students in getting their degrees.

EVENTS

Stuff to do: May 28-June 3

  • Awaken your spiritual curiosity.* A one-of-a-kind holistic health expo is coming to Sioux Falls on Saturday, June 7. The Awaken Your Spiritual Curiosity Expo – presented by Souls of Spirit Expos and The Edge Magazine – is an immersive event with dozens of vendors and keynote speaker Sunny Dawn Johnston, a celebrated psychic and medium. Tickets start at $7, and the first 50 attendees will receive a complimentary gift bag. Learn more and get your tickets here.
  • Find fun for the whole family. Our friends at 'hood Magazine are hosting the annual Familyfest Family Fun Cruise on Saturday. Families can stop by one of the more than 40 stops on the cruise (visit as many or as few as you'd like), and find face painting, inflatables, giveaways, special deals, touch-a-truck and fun for all ages. Learn more and see the whole cruise map here.
  • Do some art. Good NAtured is hosting the first of several art nights on Sunday at its 8th Street location. This week's do-it-yourself workshop will focus on linocut printmaking. Future events will teach sewing, decoupage and candle-making. Learn more here.
  • It's dino day! The Children's Museum of South Dakota in Brookings is celebrating Dinosaur Day on Sunday, June 1 with activities including dino story time, dino yoga, dino-themed art projects and more. Regular admission rates apply. Learn more here.
  • Mend and shop. MendIt 605 and Marty's Closet are teaming up for a block party and bag sale Tuesday evening at the Prism Community Center. Not only can you shop secondhand clothes, but you can also take a free hemming class taught by MendIt 605. Details here.
  • Hit up some rummage sales. The Canton city-wide rummage sale takes place Friday and Saturday. Stop by Casey's or Pump N Pak the day-of the event for a full listing of all the rummage sale stops.
  • Enjoy some (free) live music. Good Earth State Park's summer concert series will feature Back Alley Band and Dakota Jax food truck Sunday afternoon starting at 4 p.m. You can also catch Sioux Falls musical darling Julie Eddy (who used to sit next to me in college choir #brag) at the Levitt at 7 p.m. Thursday. And, if you want live music another night this week, you can also catch Tony DePaolo at Great Bear Ski Valley Wednesday evening as part of the first Chill at the Hill of the season (more details here).
  • Enjoy some (not free) live music. CAKE is playing at the W.H. Lyon Fairgrounds on Saturday. There are tickets available starting at $60, and you can find those here.
  • Heal through art. SuFu Creative and The Compass Center are teaming up for "Together We Heal," an evening of music, community and art benefitting The Compass Center. There will be a variety of arts and craft vendors, live music, live art, food trucks, face painting, and more. Details here.

*Denotes a paid partnership.

THIS AND THAT

What I'm falling for this week:

ICYMI

More Simplified Stories

Measles likely to hit S.D – what you need to know
With confirmed measles cases in North Dakota, it’s likely that we’ll see this previously eradicated disease showing up in South Dakota, according to Dr. Margo Free, a pediatric infectious physician with Sanford Health.
Sioux Falls SimplifiedMegan Raposa
Why the city is tightening its belt and ‘recalibrating’ its budget
The city is looking to “recalibrate” its overall budget in the coming years to account for less money coming in after state lawmakers voted in favor of property tax relief, Finance Director Shawn Pritchett told the City Council Tuesday afternoon.
Sioux Falls SimplifiedMegan Raposa
How Siouxland Libraries is combating ‘summer slide’
The Siouxland Libraries summer reading program encourages families to read all summer long with a variety of activities to support literacy – especially for young kids.
Sioux Falls SimplifiedMegan Raposa

WANT TO HELP MORE PEOPLE FEEL THIS SMART?

Support Sioux Falls Simplified

Here are a few ways to ensure this smarter, easier local news outlet is here to stay:

  • Forward this to a friend. Sharing is caring, and the best gifts are the ones that make your life easier – like this smarter, easier local news.
  • Become a member. Consider buying into a smarter Sioux Falls by becoming a member and offering financial support to the no B.S. journalism you've been reading here.
  • Give a one-time gift. Not ready to commit to a membership? That's OK! If you want to help in a smaller way, you can give a one-time gift here.
  • Advertise with us. Tell the "simplified" story of your business to your target audience. Want more info? Reach out to megan@sfsimplified.com.

Thank you

Thank you to Sioux Falls Simplified sponsors, including Downtown Sioux Falls, Inc., Encompass Mental Health, Great Bear Ski Valley, 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

Your feedback is extremely helpful – hit the reply button and send any news tips, typos, complaints, compliments or cups of coffee my way. ❤️