Happy Friday! Megan here.

First things first: This issue is brought to you by Our Postpartum Village.

  • Our Postpartum Village helps families plan what their support system will look like when they have a baby, as well as connecting parents with resources to support their needs along the way. Founder Carrie Benson is also helping women transition to motherhood with the upcoming Our Matrescence Retreat Sept. 27-29 at Newton Hills State Park. Learn more and register here.

Weather check: A rainy Friday

This week, you'll learn more about our friends at Bread Break, the importance of mentorship and the latest on Jefferson High School's helmets.

And now, news:

A LITTLE HELP

How Bread Break's food rescue program is a win for businesses

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 makes it easy for local businesses to give excess food to people who need it rather than throwing it in the trash. Volunteers come to the business, pick up the food and deliver it to one of 40+ partner organizations across Sioux Falls.

Why it matters

  • It's a win-win scenario. Businesses get a tax write-off for the food they're donating, and nonprofits get a free supply of food to give to folks in need. On top of it all, the food gets eaten rather than going to waste in the landfill.
  • For Flyboy Donuts Owner Ben Duenwald and his sister, Stacy White, who handles business operations, being able to partner with Bread Break is a key player in sustaining their business.
  • Bread Break picks up about 40 dozen donuts each week, and volunteers – who call themselves the "Donut Ladies" – repackage them into smaller containers and deliver them to organizations including (but not limited to) Bishop Dudley Hospitality House, The Banquet, DAV- Disabled American Veterans, Shelter for Family Safety, City Center Apartments, Glory House, St Francis House, and the Union Gospel Mission.
"Our goal is to make more donuts than we sell," White said. "But who likes to throw away good food? That's where it's been wonderful (to partner with Bread Break). Otherwise we wouldn't be able to sustain the model ... our ethics wouldn't allow us to throw away that much good food."

Tell me more

TL;DR

Super Simplified Stories

  • 25 years of mentorship. Lutheran Social Services is celebrating 25 years of its mentorship program this month with a goal to recruit 250 new mentors this school year. That will put a dent in the countless number of students waiting for a mentor, according to a news release. Learn more here. (And, for what it's worth, I signed up to mentor and was matched with a girl at Lowell Elementary!)
  • CJ Schwan's to partner with DTSF. CJ Schwan's and DTSF, Inc. this week announced a five-year partnership that will make CJ Schwan’s the Signature Event Season Sponsor of DTSF from 2026 through 2030. The partnership marks the first agreement of its kind in DTSF’s 38-year history – though neither partner will say how much money is involved in making this agreement happen. The Dakota Scout has more details.
  • City opens new Light, Power and Traffic facility. The City of Sioux Falls this week opened a new $14.7 million facility in northeast Sioux Falls. The building includes an expansive garage, workshop, signal and sign room, expanded storage areas and an outdoor supply yard. Learn more here.

SPORTS

Why Jefferson had to ditch its iconic gold helmets

If you’ve ever looked down at Sioux Falls Jefferson’s uniforms and thought they resembled the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, you wouldn’t be wrong.

And that was by design.

Activities Director Chad Stadem was the second person hired at Jefferson in May of 2020. At that time, a committee of students in the Sioux Falls School District had already chosen ‘Cavaliers’ as the team mascot, as well as the colors of dark green and gold.

With those colors in place, Stadem licked his chops. A longtime Notre Dame football fan, Stadem said getting gold helmets, just like the ones the Irish wear each Saturday, was a no-brainer. Stadem was also the head football coach at Flandreau from 2008-2011 where the Fliers wore gold helmets, so he said it wasn’t a stretch.

“That gold helmet just popped off of the green jerseys,” Stadem said of Jefferson’s original uniforms in 2021.

Tell me more

THIS AND THAT

What I'm falling for this week:

ICYMI

More Simplified Stories

Why police are all-in on automated license plate readers – and restricting their use
Here’s a closer look at how automated license plate reader, e.g. Flock cameras, are used in Sioux Falls, what they do and don’t do, and how a new executive order from Mayor Christine Erickson aims to put strict guardrails in place to ensure the technology isn’t misused.
Sioux Falls SimplifiedMegan Raposa
Stuff to do: Sept. 16-22
Here’s a look at what’s going on in Sioux Falls this week
Sioux Falls SimplifiedMegan Raposa
Simplified: Ice cream, enrollment and leaving leaves
Your TL;DR headlines for the week.
Sioux Falls SimplifiedMegan Raposa

WANT TO HELP MORE PEOPLE FEEL THIS SMART?

Support Sioux Falls Simplified

Here are a few ways to ensure this smarter, easier local news outlet is here to stay:

  • Forward this to a friend. Sharing is caring, and the best gifts are the ones that make your life easier – like this smarter, easier local news.
  • Become a member. Consider buying into a smarter Sioux Falls by becoming a member and offering financial support to the no B.S. journalism you've been reading here.
  • Give a one-time gift. Not ready to commit to a membership? That's OK! If you want to help in a smaller way, you can give a one-time gift here.
  • Advertise with us. Tell the "simplified" story of your business to your target audience. Want more info? Reach out to megan@sfsimplified.com.

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 Our Postpartum Village!

Matrescence is the profound physical, emotional, psychological, and social transition a person goes through when becoming a mother. If you've had a baby in the last two to five years, the Our Matrescence Retreat is for you – time to connect with other women, nurture yourself and reflect on who you are as a mother. Learn more and register here.