Happy Wednesday! Megan here.

First things first, this newsletter is brought to you by Girl Scouts Dakota Horizons

  • Girl Scouts Dakota Horizons is hosting Cookies, Corks & Brews – an unforgettable evening featuring Girl Scout Cookie-inspired dessert creations and inspiring stories. Every ticket purchased helps ensure girls in your community have the chance to belong, explore, and thrive through life-changing Girl Scout experiences. Get your tickets here.

Weather check: It shouldn't be allowed to be this hot during PSL season

This week, not gonna lie, September is hitting hard and fast with a lot of news! So, buckle up – we've got City Council news, we've got childcare news, we've got a Labor Day weekend events round-up AND we've got the first of several features this month on our A Little Help give-back campaign recipient: Bread Break – be sure to show them some love this month. We didn't even plan it this way, but it's Hunger Action Month!

And now, news:

A LITTLE HELP

How Bread Break is feeding the hungry while preventing food waste

This story is one of several in Sioux Falls Simplified's annual 'A Little Help' give-back campaign. Our goal is to raise $5,000 to support Bread Break. You can donate here, and, if you wanna support two cool things in one, we're donating a portion of new subscriber revenue as well.

Simplified: Bread Break's mission is simple: help address hunger in Sioux Falls while also keeping food out of the landfill. This year alone, the organization's goal is to rescue 500,000 pounds of food. Here's how they make it happen.

Why it matters

  • The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that between 30 and 40% of food in the United States is wasted each year. That's hundreds of billions of dollars wasted, and meanwhile, nationally about 1 in every 8 people faces food insecurity.
  • Much of that waste is simply because it's difficult to know what to do with surplus food. Bread Break bridges that gap between the food donors, or "providing partners" and the food distributors, or "receiving partners." It's like food matchmaking, Executive Director Pam Cole said.
  • The nonprofit relies on volunteers to drive over 100 different routes each week to bring food from the folks who have too much to the folks who have too little. Bread Break partners with about 50 providing partners and 45 receiving partners.
"This organization serves a unique function of simply saving food that is at great risk of just being thrown away and not doing what food is supposed to do," Cole said. "It’s filling in those blanks and the gaps of what organizations are not able to do."

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SIMPLIFIED PRESENTS

How the YMCA is making basketball accessible to all

This is a paid piece from the Sioux Falls Family YMCA.

Simplified: The Sioux Falls Family YMCA has been bringing kids together to play basketball for nearly a century. This year, the Y's basketball program is bringing expanded partnerships, opportunities for younger kids and a schedule that's friendlier to busy families. Here's what you need to know.

Why it matters

  • The YMCA's basketball program is rooted in history, Program Engagement Manager Zach Morris said. The annual Tri-State Basketball Tournament is nearing its 97th year, and last year 2,100 kids participated in YMCA basketball programming.
  • Over the years, the sports landscape in the city has changed quite a bit, Morris added, and the YMCA's focus is on being the best option for families and the most affordable – including scholarship opportunities to ensure all kids have a chance to play.
  • New this year is an expanded partnership with the Sioux Falls Skyforce, that's going to allow kids on YMCA teams to get free tickets for Skyforce games. Kids can also begin playing at age 4, and games will be scheduled for Saturdays rather than weekdays.
"Youth need recreation," Morris said. "They need chances to move their bodies, chances to get the energy out. And put sports aside – just the social aspect that youth sports brings – that's where lifelong friendships are made."

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TL;DR

Super Simplified Stories

  • What to know about state childcare assistance changes. South Dakota Searchlight breaks down changes to how the state is allocating childcare assistance funds – including major cuts in funding for some families, and concerns that remain even after the state readjusted some of those cuts. Find the full story from Makenzie Huber on SD Searchlight's website.
  • No public input on city budget. The City Council on Tuesday held a public hearing related to the 2027 city budget, but no members of the public weighed in. The council will now move on a final vote on the budget later this month.
  • A welcome rock. Experience Sioux Falls Director Teri Schmidt told the City Council on Tuesday that she'd like to see the city do more to have a visual draw for people entering Sioux Falls on the interstate. She said Experience Sioux Falls could contribute funding for a rock formation or some type of striking visual that, as Schmidt put it, "screams, 'Sioux Falls welcomes you.'"
    • Councilors later Tuesday evening voted unanimously to approve the Business Improvement District budget, which funds Experience Sioux Falls in marketing the city, as well as the downtown ambassador program.
  • 'Might as well just drop out' of convention market. Schmidt also spoke passionately to councilors about the need for a new, larger convention center in Sioux Falls – a conversation that's been on pause for nearly a year. She also said conventions are used to getting free space because of their economic impact, and that right now Sioux Falls is losing conventions to Omaha, Minneapolis, Milwaukee, and the like because Sioux Falls is both charging for convention space and doesn't have enough of it in the first place.
    • "We have to continue to get that space, or, to be very blunt, we might as well just drop out of the industry," Schmidt said.

COMMUNITY

Sioux Falls' mobile grocery store is back in business

Simplified: The Sioux Falls Mobile Market is back on the road this week bringing affordable grocery stores to food deserts across town. Here's what you need to know.

Why it matters

  • Sioux Falls' first mobile grocery store opened back in the fall of 2023 as a pilot project under Sioux Falls Thrive – supported in part by a $400,000 grant from the City of Sioux Falls. The goal was to help address food insecurity, which impacts about 1 in 10 people in Minnehaha County.
  • That initial market closed in June 2025 when the funding model proved unsustainable. Just over a year later, the market is back with a smaller truck, a new business model and the same mission to meet people where they are with accessible, affordable groceries.
  • This time around, the Mobile Market has a smaller vehicle – to help save on operational and maintenance costs. It's also now operated under the umbrella of Fair Market, which offers discounted groceries that are near-dated, post-dated, discontinued, label changes, overstocked, or excess inventory.
"I believe that we have enough food in this country to feed everyone," said Kristin Johnson, founder of Fair Market. "So being part of that logistical access is huge for me, personally."

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EVENTS

Stuff to do: Sept. 2-8

  • See a river-themed radio show. Midtown Coffee Radio Hour is kicking off its new season this Friday at the Orpheum Theater with "Midtown: A River Runs Through It." In partnership with DTSF, this Midtown show will be an homage to the Big Sioux River and Riverfest, which is happening Sept. 19. Get your tickets here.
  • Run a stupid amount of time. The 11th annual Blood Run at Good Earth State Park is happening this weekend with – I'm sorry, what? – 48 hours of running. Count me out, but, ya know, to each their own. Details here.
  • Buy some plants. Zenith Art is hosting a plant sale at Nordic Hall on Friday evening from 5 to 8 p.m. Check out the plants, and, knowing the Nordic Hall crew, there'll also be some cool local art and crafts available. Details here.
  • Celebrate wildlife. It's National Wildlife Day on Friday, and the Sioux Falls Zoo and Aquarium is celebrating all day long. The Great Plains Zoo will have special educational activities and zookeeper chats, and the Butterfly House will have similar educational activities and chats, as well as an animal encounter at 11 a.m. All activities are included with regular admission or membership. Details here.
  • Check out LifeLight. The free LifeLight Christian music festival is happening this weekend at Nelson Park with live music, speakers, food trucks, vendors, inflatables and more. The event kicks off at noon on Sunday. Find a full lineup here.
  • Learn to tango. Make it a date night and learn some new moves at the Little Stone Church. Dance Ballroom & Studio will host a two-week tango class starting Tuesday. Find details and registration here.

THIS AND THAT

What I'm falling for this week:

ICYMI

More Simplified Stories

Why sales tax in Lincoln County is likely to go up
The extra money from the tax will then be used to lower property taxes on owner-occupied homes in the county. Here’s what you need to know.
Sioux Falls SimplifiedMegan Raposa
How federal funding cuts are leaving crime victims with fewer resources
Federal funding cuts are creating a major funding gap for Solace, a Sioux Falls nonprofit providing crisis care and long-term healing for victims of sexual assault, domestic abuse, human trafficking and child abuse.
Sioux Falls SimplifiedMegan Raposa
Why thousands of kids are at risk of losing free school lunch
More than 2,700 students could stop receiving free lunches if the proper paperwork isn’t filled out by early October.
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 Girl Scouts Dakota Horizons!

Don't miss Cookies, Corks & Brews on Sept. 17 at Monick Yards. Enjoy expertly paired wines and craft beers, delicious hors d'oeuvres, interactive activities, and incredible live and silent auction packages. Your support helps remove barriers so more girls can explore STEM, develop entrepreneurial skills, build life skills, and discover the outdoors in a safe, supportive environment. Grab tickets here.