Happy Wednesday! Megan here.

First things first: This issue is sponsored by BINfluencer.

  • BINfluencer is celebrating America Recycles Day (Nov. 15) with a giveaway. Solve a recycling-themed riddle, and you will be entered to win a $250 gift card to the Sioux Falls Food Co-Op. Find the riddle and enter here.

Weather check: Calm and chilly

🏈 Cool thing: It's championship football this week, and Sioux Falls Simplified is going all-out. Sports reporter extraordinaire Tom Savage is going to be covering every single championship game with real-time updates after each quarter. Follow along on sfsimplified.com or via Facebook and Instagram @sfsimplified.

This week, the news just isn't slowin' down. There's some big news from the Sioux Falls School District – including the closure of Renberg Elementary – as well as a whole bunch of Super Simplified school news. Plus, don't miss a whole bunch of events happening in Sioux Falls this week.

And now, news:

EDUCATION

Why public schools are getting into tax-credit scholarships

Simplified: The Sioux Falls School Board on Monday formally approved an official scholarship granting organization affiliated with South Dakota's largest school district. It's a way for the district to take advantage of a new federal tax credit for scholarship granting organizations as part of President Donald Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill."

100 U.S. dollar banknote lot
Photo by Mackenzie Marco / Unsplash

Why it matters

  • Tax-credit scholarships are nothing new to South Dakota, which established the Partners in Education program in 2016. That program allows certain businesses to give money for scholarships at private schools instead of paying taxes to the state's general fund.
  • What's different about this new program, though, is that it's not limited to kids at private schools. Tax credits are awarded for contributions to any "scholarship granting organization," or SGO. And, instead of siphoning tax funds from the state's pool of cash, this program pulls from federal income taxes.
  • The Sioux Falls School District Federal Tax Credit Scholarship Fund was formally established by Bob Sittig on Monday, per Secretary of State records. Sittig, who retired as Baltic's superintendent in 2023, is running the new private fund.
  • Board members formally recognized it as the official SGO of the district Monday evening, though there are still many unanswered questions about how scholarships will be awarded for Sioux Falls students, as well as what services those funds can cover.
"The federal government needs to send out a lot more information on this," Sittig told board members Monday night.

Tell me more

SIMPLIFIED PRESENTS

How you can support women's healing this holiday season

This is a paid piece from Circles of Care by Selah Space.

Simplified: The women who need holistic healing are, as Selah Space founder Jada Dobesh puts it, "technically, fine." They're not visibly unwell or in pain. But it's those invisible forces – the stress, the unresolved trauma, the tension held in the body – that need to be addressed. And Circles of Care is here to help with the annual Nominate Her campaign.

Why it matters

  • Circles of Care, the nonprofit arm of holistic healing cooperative Selah Space, formed two years ago to fill a gap providers were noticing among their clients. Often, a multi-faceted healing journey can feel overwhelming – not to mention the financial burden. Nominate Her gives the community a chance to both support women's healing and nominate specific women to receive that care.
  • About 80% of autoimmune dysfunction occurs in women, Selah Space founder Jada Dobesh said, and women often defer taking care of themselves because they're so busy taking care of everyone else's needs first.
  • Circles of Care helps women who are already investing in their healing to be able to get even more well-rounded care with multiple providers. That includes women like one of last year's Nominate Her recipients, who's been able to add physical therapy to support her body through her journey of trying to conceive, as well as continuing her spiritual healing with Jada Dobesh Healing.
"When we are taking care of women more holistically and more sustainably, the whole community benefits," Dobesh said.

Tell me more

TL;DR

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.

More Super Simplified Stories

  • 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.

EDUCATION

School board votes to close Renberg Elementary

Simplified: Sioux Falls School Board members on Monday voted unanimously – albeit solemnly – to close Renberg Elementary School at the end of the 2026-27 school year.

Why it matters

  • Renberg's enrollment has dropped significantly over the last decade as students shifted, first to Hawthorne Elementary in a 2022 redistricting, and then to the new Marcella LeBeau Elementary in 2025. Enrollment went from nearly 200 kids in 2018 to just 87 kids today.
  • Conversations about closing Renberg started last fall, at which point the school board voted to keep it open for another year to give time for more community engagement and data collection. The closure will save the district between $500,000 and $700,000 annually.
  • Ultimately, further enrollment growth is not likely in the Renberg area. Assistant Superintendent Dan Conrad said future development in that area isn't part of the City of Sioux Falls' 2050 plan.
"We sometimes have to vote with our heads and not our hearts," Board Member Gail Swenson said. "This was a decision of the head, not the heart ... I think all of our hearts are with Renberg. It's a great place."

What happens next?

EVENTS

Stuff to do: Nov. 11-17

  • Catch a show. Monstrous Little Theatre Company is staging a production of "Circle Mirror Transformation" this week with shows Thursday through Saturday in the Anne Zabel Studio at the Orpheum Theater. The show explores four lost New Englanders in a drama class in which hearts are quietly torn apart and tiny wars of epic proportions are waged and won. Snag your tickets here.
  • Learn about living without gluten. Pomegranate Market is hosting a "Beyond Gluten Free" event to help folks with celiac disease learn how to better eat, shop and thrive in a way that supports their health. The free workshop will take place at 9:30 a.m. Saturday at the downtown Pomegranate location. Details here.
  • Party under the black light. Top Hat is hosting a Black Lite Party Saturday night, so break out the glow sticks and the neon. Details here.
  • Arrange some flowers. InFlower is hosting a class Friday evening to teach fall floral arranging that is "airy and abundant." Your ticket includes a vase and all floral materials as well as snacks and beverages with the event. Attendees also get a discount on in-store purchases. Details and tickets here.
  • Catch the final 'Sioux Falls Listens.' Mayor Christine Erickson's third and final community listening session in the new "Sioux Falls Listens" effort is coming up Thursday evening with a focus on economic development. This is a big topic in a town with a lot of very develop-able space both downtown and elsewhere. The session runs 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Levitt. Details here.
  • Refresh your closet. EmBe's winter Refresh Your Closet sale kicks off Thursday and runs through Saturday at EmBe's downtown location. Details here.

THIS AND THAT

What I'm falling for this week:

ICYMI

More Simplified Stories

Analysis: What the Midterms show about Sioux Falls' politics
Here's a closer look at not only voter turnout in Sioux Falls, but also the partisan lean of each precinct.
Sioux Falls SimplifiedMegan Raposa
What to know about changing parking rates downtown
Parking on Phillips Avenue is likely to be more costly – as is the cost of a parking ticket – after the City Council this week approved changes to the city's parking ordinance. Here's what you need to know about the changes.
Sioux Falls SimplifiedMegan Raposa
Who won? South Dakota Legislature election results
Republicans very much retained their control of the state legislature, with a number of seats decided before Election Day on Tuesday. But, Democrats still came out strong in several races, flipping four seats in the state legislature for the Sioux Falls area.
Sioux Falls SimplifiedMegan Raposa

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Thank you

Thank you to Sioux Falls Simplified sponsors, including SafeSplash Swim School, Wayne & Mary's Nutrition Center, Startup Sioux Falls, Encompass Mental Health, the Sioux Falls YMCA, EmBe, the Sioux Falls Development Foundation, Barre3 Sioux Falls, the Sioux Falls Zoo and Aquarium, the Washington Pavilion, The Premiere Playhouse, The Good Night Theatre Collective 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. ❤️

Special thanks to BINfluencer!

BINfluencer is a great resource for all of your recycling questions, especially when it comes to what can and cannot go in your recycling bin. Learn more about their giveaway in honor of America Recycles Day coming up on Nov. 15 and click here to enter for a chance to win a $250 gift card to the Sioux Falls Food Co-Op.