Happy Friday! Megan here.
Weather check: Chilly and rainy – perfect for your start-of-the-summer camping plans
Status check: If you'll indulge me for a little humble brag ... I'm feeling pretty darn proud to be featured in the Argus Leader (the paper where I got my first-ever news job a decade ago). You can check that out here.
- And, come join us Tuesday to celebrate four years of Sioux Falls Simplified with our Chamber Ribbon Cutting. Details here.
This week, I'm keeping it pretty short and sweet for ya because I suspect you, like me, are already mentally living in the long weekend. But before you check out completely, get the latest on combatting "summer slide" and what you need to know about protecting your family from measles. Plus catch a few Super Simplified Stories ahead of the weekend.
And now, news:
HEALTH
Measles likely to hit S.D. – what you need to know
Simplified: 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. Here's what you need to know to avoid this highly contagious virus.
Why it matters
- Measles was declared eradicated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 2000, but vaccine rates have dropped below 90% in South Dakota, putting more folks at risk of contracting the virus. Ideally, the community would have a vaccine rate at 95%, Free said.
- One of the challenges with measles is that initial symptoms present very similarly to other common viruses with fever, cough and runny nose, but measles can have significant impacts including brain inflammation, pneumonia, severe dehydration and even death.
- The best way to protect yourself against measles is to ensure that you're vaccinated, Free said. Most people receive both doses of the vaccine by age 6, but infants under 12 months are unable to get vaccinated, putting them most at-risk.
"If everyone who was eligible had taken (the vaccine), then these children would not be in this precarious position, and this is the worst part of this measles outbreak is that these babies are unprotected and left with not great options for how to protect them," Free said.
Tell me more
CITY
How Siouxland Libraries is combatting 'summer slide'
Simplified: 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.
Why it matters
- The summer reading program is the biggest program the library system puts on each year. Last year, 5,000 people signed up, and about 3,000 completed the summer reading challenge.
- By encouraging kids to read during the summer, they're more likely to retain what they've learned during the school year. When kids take the summer off from reading, they can lose up two to three years of academic growth by the time they reach middle school, according to Librarian Neliesha Daws.
- The summer reading program also has categories for all ages, which gives parents a chance to model the behavior of reading regularly, as well as letting whole families participate in reading, writing, talking, singing and playing.
"One of the best things about the summer reading program is that it can be done as a family," Daws said.
Tell me more
TL;DR
Super Simplified Stories
- Wheel tax hike advances. Minnehaha County Commissioners on Tuesday voted to advance a proposal to increase the county's wheel tax for the first time in 30 years. Right now, there are a couple of options for what that increase will look like.
- One option would be to increase the cost per wheel by $1, meaning an extra $4 per year for the average four-wheel vehicle with a $60 maximum. That would bring a little over $1 million per year for the road and bridge fund.
- Another option would be to increase the fee only for cars that are 6,000 pounds or more – meaning those cars would pay $5 per wheel and $60 maximum. That one would bring in $190,000 per year for the road and bridge fund. This is the option commissioners most supported during discussion.
- The second reading will be June 17, when commissioners will make their final decision on this.
- New food at Fernson. Local, award-winning chef Beau Vondra is bringing a new restaurant concept to Fernson's downtown taproom. Vondra previously worked at Looks Marketplace, and has been featured on "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives" and is a winner of "Guy's Grocery Games." The new concept is Totally Rad Eats, and while the full vision hasn't yet been revealed, we do know there will be pizza, pretzels and other snacks in the meantime. More details here.
THIS AND THAT
What I'm falling for this week:
ICYMI
More Simplified Stories
Megan Raposa
Megan Raposa
Megan Raposa
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