Happy Friday! Megan here.

Weather check: Hot, but not like, 100-degrees hot

This week, you'll learn about Mayor Erickson's first budget (mostly inherited because she's only been on the job two weeks). Plus, I've got your simplified guide to school supply shopping. And don't miss a few Super Simplified stories to take you through the weekend.

And now, news:

CITY

How Erickson's first budget 'holds the line' without big cuts

Simplified: Mayor Christine Erickson delivered her first budget address on Thursday – outlining $794 million in city spending in 2027. Big priorities include public safety, infrastructure and quality of life. Here's a closer look.

Why it matters

  • Unlike last year's budget, which contained about $5 million in permanent cuts, the emphasis this year was on "holding the line," as Erickson said to give her administration time to get acclimated and set the tone moving forward.
  • Erickson noted that every new mayor inherits their first budget, but hers came in a particularly truncated timeline due to the later-than-usual city election aligned with the state primary and further prolonged by the run-off. Her budget address was less than two weeks after being sworn in as mayor.
  • While most of the budget is unsurprising and keeps spending fairly status quo, there are a couple of areas where Erickson is proposing spending a little more.
    • The budget proposes a $4 million investment in the Sioux Falls Zoo and Aquarium and an ongoing $2.5 million annual investment in the new Sanford District downtown.
    • It also proposes 11 new full-time employees (eight in public safety), and Erickson noted outside of public safety, the property tax cuts will mean holding off on full-time positions that are essential to city services.
"Sioux Falls will keep growing, but our team will be challenged to keep up," Erickson said.

Tell me more about the budget

EDUCATION

Your simplified guide to school supply shopping

Simplified: Look, there's still plenty of summer fun to be had, but it's also the time of year where the "back to school" sections start popping up in stores. So, whether you're looking to score the best deal, support local businesses or find environmentally sustainable school supplies, Sioux Falls Simplified did the research so you don't have to.

graphical user interface
Photo by Volodymyr Hryshchenko / Unsplash

Tell me more

In past years, the back-to-school shopping stories have focused on where to find the best deals. That's still part of the story today.

  • But this year, the goal is to provide not only the best deals but the best school supply option for you and your unique situation, needs and values.

The methodology for this reporting included walking around various stores in Sioux Falls and tracking prices in a spreadsheet – as well as online searches.

  • For the supply list, I looked at a few elementary school lists in the Sioux Falls School District and added a few common supply items like loose-leaf paper, colored pencils and different types of notebooks.

See a full price comparison here

TL;DR

Super Simplified Stories

  • See your project come to life.* Walk Thru Plans lets you walk through your commercial or residential project before construction begins. Using life-size projections of construction drawings, floor plans, and 3D renderings, you can experience the space firsthand, understand how everything fits together, and make adjustments with confidence before building starts. Located at I-229 & Benson Rd in Sioux Falls – learn more here.
  • Pools closing soon. It only seems right that the "pools close" press release hit my inbox as I was writing the school supply story...ah well, all good things must come to an end. City outdoor pools will close Aug. 9, but the splash pads will stay open for a few more weeks – and Jacobson Plaza's splash pad will be open as late as Sept. 20. City pools welcomed more than 167,000 visitors this summer – an uptick of more than 30,000 from the year prior.

*Denotes a paid partnership

THIS AND THAT

What I'm falling for this week:

ICYMI

More Simplified Stories

A year after expansion, Owen’s Outfitters keeps growing
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Stuff to do: July 29-Aug. 4
Here’s a look at what’s happening in Sioux Falls this week.
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Are you ready for some football?
I’ve got some exciting news. Sioux Falls Simplified is branching into high school sports!
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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

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