Your weekend, simplified: May 16, 2025

Megan Raposa -

Happy Friday! Megan here.

Weather check: It makes sense that it's cold and windy now because I just booked a bouncy castle for my kid's birthday party this weekend.

This week, I've got an update for you about how the Wo'Okiye Project is progressing. Plus, if you haven't been out to the Palisades in awhile, it's worth a trip – there are so many new amenities, and more on the way. And catch a bunch of Super Simplified Stories to take you into the weekend.

And now, news:

CITY

How the city is helping meet vulnerable people where they are

Simplified: South Dakota Urban Indian Health (SDUIH) will continue working with the city to provide culturally responsive outreach to vulnerable people across the downtown area thanks to a renewed contract agreement approved by the City Council earlier this spring.

Why it matters

  • The contract renewal – a $175,000 agreement with SDUIH – marks the continuation of a pilot program started in 2023 to bring help directly to folks who need it and, by extension, avoid situations that escalate to where they're arrested for low-level crimes.
  • The program, known as the Wo'Okiye Project, helped more than 220 people last year, including helping connect 11 people with their relatives and helping others connect with treatment programs or long-term housing, said Program Manager Monica Bailey.
  • As part of the agreement with the city, the Wo'Okiye Project has people on the streets 40 hours per week. The staff walk around in teal t-shirts with the feather logo, and they'll help anyone who needs it
"Anyone and everyone that we serve, we call our relative, and we treat them as so," Bailey said, noting that while the organization has Indigenous values, they serve anyone who needs help, regardless of their ability to pay for care.

Tell me more

COMMUNITY

One year after major expansion, Palisades State Park to add more features

Simplified: Palisades State Park doubled in size in the last year, with a new entrance, visitors center, camp sites and day-use area. Now, as the park gears up for another summer, even more additional recreation features are on the way.

Why it matters

  • The park expansion is years in the making. Plans to acquire more land date back to 2019, when a partnership between the Game Fish and Parks Department and the South Dakota Parks and Wildlife Foundation raised the funds to purchase an additional 268 acres to the park.
  • Last spring, Palisades opened 77 new camp sites, four cabins, a new playground that meets ADA accessibility requirements and a new day use area. Those additional camp sites helped increase park traffic by 24% last summer, Park Supervisor Luke Dreckman said.
  • A year later, improvements to the park are expected to continue with a new disc golf course, new hiking trails and an outdoor archery range, and it's likely there will be even more to come.
"There’s certainly more opportunities to come down the road," Dreckman said.

Tell me more about the park expansion

TL;DR

Super Simplified Stories

  • DTSF is opening up the streets. Downtown Sioux Falls, Inc. this week announced a new Open Streets initiative, an evolution of the Eastbank Block Parties of summers past. Each First Friday of the summer, Phillips Avenue will close to vehicle traffic, encouraging folks to instead walk around and enjoy a vibrant, pedestrian-friendly space. The closed street will also leave room for outdoor music, performances, vendor booths and other family-friendly activities.
    • The next Open Streets night will be June 6, with a focus on movement and wellness, followed by July 4's "Red, White and Downtown" and an Aug. 1 Art and Wine Walk. Learn more here.
  • New sculpture being installed. Installation has begun on a new 30-foot-tall sculpture in the Steel District. "Passage," designed by Colorado artist Christopher Weed, will be one of dozens of public art installations in the new downtown development. Here's a look at the sculpture:
  • Help kids, maybe win a car. Children's Home Society is holding a raffle this summer to raise money to support the mission of serving children and families, and the winning ticket is good for a new 2025 Subaru Crosstrek Wilderness donated by Schulte Subaru. Tickets are $100, and only 600 are available. The raffle drawing will be held Sunday, Aug. 3 as part of the Caring for Kids celebration, though the winner need not be present to win. Find more details here.
  • Pomp and circumstance. The Sioux Falls School District will celebrate nearly 1,800 students at four separate graduation ceremonies this weekend. All four high schools will have their graduation ceremonies on Sunday at the Sioux Falls Arena, starting with Washington at 11 a.m., Lincoln at 1:45 p.m., Jefferson at 4:30 p.m. and Roosevelt at 7:15 p.m.
  • New pool breaking ground. The city on Tuesday is expected to break ground on the new McKennan Park wading pool. The project will build a new pool, replacing the 55-year-old one that was there before, and there will be a completely new bathhouse, shade structures and landscaping. The new pool will have a zero-depth entry and spray features. Here's a look at what it'll look like when it's all done:

THIS AND THAT

What I'm falling for this week:

ICYMI

More Simplified Stories

How SF Simplified readers showed up for Owen’s Outfitters
The unrestricted gifts from Sioux Falls Simplified readers will be used to help Owen’s Outfitters continue their mission of providing necessary medical equipment at no charge to the folks that need it.
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Meet the new school board members
The Sioux Falls School District has one new board member and one returning as a result of an election in which fewer than 3,000 people voted.
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Why you shouldn’t wait to teach your kids to swim
May is Water Safety Month, and as the weather warms up and folks prepare to spend more time in pools, lakes and rivers, it’s a good time to remember the life-saving importance of swimming lessons for kids.
Sioux Falls SimplifiedMegan Raposa

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