Argus Leader
Spooky season is here
‘Tis the season for Halloween, when witches soar across moonbeams, mysterious fog shrouds in and out like wandering ghosts and candlelight illuminates grimacing carved pumpkins. The aroma of mulled cider, woodsmoke and cinnamon wafts through the air...
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‘Meaningful relief ’
As further complications arose Oct. 8 around actions meant to ease the burden of high diesel prices, the South Dakota Farmers Union asked the governor and state lawmakers to call a special legislative session to approve a state fuel tax holiday. “The...
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Colleagues share memories of fallen MCSO deputy at vigil
Less than two hours after Minnehaha County officials announced the death of a deputy shot in the line of duty, hundreds of colleagues, friends and family members shared condolences across social media while dozens of others gathered in downtown Sioux...
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Kittens, chickens and mice, oh my!
The mews and purrs of kittens, chattering of mice and guinea pigs and clucking of hens are all part of the ambience at the Sioux Falls School District’s new expansion at the Career and Technical Education Academy. And in the semesters to come, the...
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Levitt welcomes community to see completed expansion of band shell
Of the seven Levitt band shells nationwide, a network of outdoor music venues, the Sioux Falls location attracts more attendees than nearly all the others, averaging well over 100,000 guests who show up for over 50 concerts a season each summer. The...
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Judge halts Smithfield plant project permit
Last week, a Minnehaha County judge overturned and ultimately halted the approved conditional use permit for adding a new Smithfield Foods facility at Foundation Park in northwest Sioux Falls, ruling that the city failed to meet several requirements...
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Sanford AirMed takes flight with new helicopter
Sanford Health has a new helicopter for Sanford AirMed to improve the healthcare system's ability to quickly transport patients. The 2024 Airbus EC145 D3 helicopter features upgraded flight technology, a one of kind enclosed interior and uses five...
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FUTURE OPTIONS
The Sioux Falls Development Foundation is beginning to explore what a future industrial park could look like as available land at Foundation Park becomes more limited. The idea of developing a second Foundation Park emerged as one of the...
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The AI of the storm
Artificial intelligence has revolutionized weather forecasting in just a few years, with global AI weather models now able to produce forecasts that rival some of the world’s best physics-based prediction systems. h This remarkable progress has been...
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USD Sales Center aimed at training of next generation
The University of South Dakota has opened a new Sales Center in the Beacom School of Business that campus leaders say will train the next generation and shape the future of sales leadership. It’s the only public university in South Dakota with a Sales...
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‘You are not alone’
Home should never hurt. Love doesn’t hurt. There is life after abuse. These were just some of the messages shared during the annual Take Back the Night vigil on Thursday at the University of Sioux Falls campus, hosted by the Minnehaha County Family...
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POET becomes 1st to supply U.S. ship with 100% bioethanol
Sioux Falls-based biofuels producer POET has supplied plant-based fuel for what is being called the first U.S. operation to fuel a ship with 100% bioethanol, according to a Sept. 28 news release. The fueling operation took place in Houston in...
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Contract under fire
Sioux Fall’s contract with Flock safety has recently come under fire from activist groups who say the city’s automatic license plate reader violates residents’ privacy. Mayor Christine Erickson, alongside SFPD Chief Jon Thum, announced plans to issue...
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Bryon Noem says he’s ‘saddened’ about his marriage ending
Two days after former South Dakota governor Kristi Noem filed for divorce from Bryon Noem, he has released his first public statement via national news outlets. According to reports from TMZ on Sept. 30, Bryon Noem said he is “saddened that the...
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Globetrotters will welcome Sioux Falls on next tour
Let’s be whistling that “Sweet Georgia Brown” anthem for a fast break all the way to the box office: The Harlem Globetrotters are bringing their comedic ball game back to town. Celebrating a century of trick shots, Alley-Oops and vaudeville, the...
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Lauck trades D.C. politics for Midwestern history
One of Sen. John Thune’s (R-South Dakota) top advisors has stepped away from the national spotlight to lead Augustana University’s Center for Western Studies, the university announced early this month. In his new position, Jon Lauck, who worked for...
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Downtown Sioux Falls takes us to hog heaven
Every fall in downtown Sioux Falls, it’s bacon or bust, baby. The annual Pork Showdown begins Thursday, Oct. 1, with 27 participating restaurants for the monthlong event. Like many of Downtown Sioux Falls’ food competitions, it continues to grow every...
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PATCHWORK OF POLICIES
Standing in your local retail store, it can be mindboggling to try to weigh the pros and cons of all the packaging options. Take shampoo, for example. Shampoo can come in a rigid plastic bottle, a flexible squeeze tube, a refillable metal canister or...
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Egg rolls on the river
Although the new, 700,000-squarefoot flagship manufacturing facility will be far north of town at Foundation Park, CJ Schwan’s will still maintain plenty of presence in the heart of Sioux Falls. Officials and representatives for the company stepped...
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Sioux Falls storytellers share ideas for a second collection of essays
In the 1930s, Lt. Col. Parker Newcomb and his dear wife, Myrtle, ran a cold storage fur vault in the basement of the Frye Building in what was then known as the Ballard Block in downtown Sioux Falls. Upstairs was a back room used to process, to repair...
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Early voting marked by info sessions and rallies
Early voting in South Dakota began Friday, Sept. 19, and local advocacy groups held events to inform voters on changes to elections laws and encourage them to vote in this year’s midterms. Indivisible 605, the South Dakota chapter of national...
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How to celebrate SDSU, USD, Augie homecomings
Students, alumni and community members, gather ‘round: It’s time for collegiate homecoming festivities. Nothing goes together better in the fall than South Dakota parades, tailgates and football games – except maybe chili and cinnamon rolls. Here’s...
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SIOUXPERCON IS BACK
Siouxpercon, the largest nonprofit pop culture convention in the Midwest, is returning to the Sioux Falls Convention Center, Sept. 25-27. A weekend-long celebration of fandom and popular art, the convention will host events and activities for fans of...
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LSS seeks 250 mentors as program marks 25 years
Nearly 5,400 mentors have affected more than 6,800 students’ lives in 13 school districts since Lutheran Social Services started its mentoring program in 2001. As LSS celebrates 25 years of mentoring, it’s calling on the community to continue stepping...
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A season in numbers
A groundbreaking last year for new dressing rooms, a green room and office space made for an exciting milestone season at The Levitt this summer. Lured by 109 performance groups from June through September, more than 103,000 guests were able to peep...
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‘Partisanship is a potent, potent drug’
Whenever independent U.S. Senate candidate Brian Bengs meets someone new on the campaign trail he asks them, “Do you think the government, Congress in particular, is working as the founders designed it?” h Bengs said most people chuckle and say no....
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President Trump to face skeptical world leaders
WASHINGTON – When President Donald Trump addressed the United Nations a year ago, he touted the U.S. bombing of Iran’s nuclear sites just months earlier as “totally obliterating everything” and said he had brought peace between Israel and...
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Five SF sandwiches stand out in a crowd
No PB&Js here. In Sioux Falls, our sandwiches are stacked with family tradition, a Guy Fieri stamp of approval and Cheez Whiz. Up and down Minnesota or Louise avenues, we have franchised sandwich shops abound (we can’t even count our Jimmy Johns...
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St. Francis House $10M housing project to break ground in spring
St. Francis House is moving forward with plans for the Healing Home Campus, a new affordable housing project in Sioux Falls, after raising $1 million toward its $10 million fundraising goal ahead of a planned spring groundbreaking if funding succeeds,...
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Enrollment for universities return to their 2018 trends
While enrollment across South Dakota’s public university system decreased by less than 1% this fall, South Dakota Board of Regents officials say this reflects strong enrollment across the system that’s held steady in recent years. Enrollment shrank by...
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SDSU Metro Center brings health care training to life
The region’s next generation of health care workers will likely pass through the new South Dakota State University Metro Center at the intersection of 33rd Street and Minnesota Avenue. There, SDSU nursing, pharmacy, respiratory therapy, medical...
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Mobile food market back on the road with new benefactors
More than a year after the Eat Well Mobile Market shut down, a new version of the grocery-on-wheels concept is back on the streets of Sioux Falls. The Sioux Falls Mobile Market resumed operations on Aug. 31 under Fair Market, a reduced-price grocery...
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Midterms on the horizon
Election day in South Dakota is fast approaching, and several important statewide offices will be on your ballots. South Dakota’s lone seat in the U.S. House of Representatives is up for grabs as it’s junior senator and sitting governor try to defend...
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Downtown culinary showcase begins
During a dormant season of downtown foodie events, The Steel District uptown has begun its inaugural Restaurant Week. Through Sept. 20, Ironwood Steakhouse, Cascata Italian, Dahlia Kitchen and the Big Sioux Diner and Dive will offer limited-time,...
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A GENERATION OF AFTERSHOCK
Aquarter-century later, 9/11 still echoes. The worst terrorist attack in U.S. history has been followed by other seismic events, from a once-in-a-century global pandemic to the rise of artificial intelligence that is transforming commerce, education...
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‘Substance use knows no specific demographic’
Six schools in the Sioux Falls School District will take part in a new pilot, the CARE (Counseling, Awareness, Recovery and Education) Prevention Program, to bring more counselors in with the goal to prevent substance use. The new pilot program is the...
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From sketchbook to backboard
Basketball sketches created during an interactive art project during the Summit League Championship last March can now be seen at nearly a dozen neighborhood parks. On Wednesday, Sept. 2, officials with the City of Sioux Falls, the Parks and...
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SFSD weighs closure of Renberg Elementary again
A new boundary proposal by the Sioux Falls School District could cement the closure of Renberg Elementary School after this school year ends. This proposal, brought to the board in a work session Wednesday, Sept. 2, and up for discussion over the next...
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Remembering Sept. 11
This week marks the 25th anniversary of the nearly 3,000 people who died in the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, when two hijacked planes collapsed the World Trade Center buildings in New York, a third struck the Pentagon, and a fourth crashed in...
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Poll: Some Trump voters have regrets over 2024
Nearly two years after President Donald Trump defeated former Vice President Kamala Harris to win back the White House, some of the voters who helped put him there are having second thoughts. A new University of Massachusetts Amherst/YouGov poll found...
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Sioux Falls Arts Council is seeking a new director
Like a blank canvas, the Sioux Falls Arts Council is ready for new leadership with a refined perspective on its role in the community. On Tuesday, Sept. 1, board members announced they are hiring for an executive director after Kellen Boice stepped...
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What to expect from season 51’s Carter Krull
26 days, 21 people, one Survivor. That’s the challenge facing Sioux Falls resident Carter Krull throughout the 51st season of Survivor in Fiji. Krull, 24, listed his hometown as Rock Rapids, Iowa, but currently resides in Sioux Falls, where he works...
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The future of security
Dakota State University is close to opening its Applied Research Lab (ARL) in Sioux Falls, part of a major, multi-year investment in the state’s cybersecurity industry. The concept for the ARL has been in the works since at least 2019, according to...
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Newest Augustana housing honors trustee’s legacy
On the first day of fall classes at Augustana University, the newest student housing option, Foundation Heights, was already at full capacity with more than 100 students as university leaders cut the ribbon on the apartment complex Wednesday, Aug....
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Local film is helping residents better understand homelessness
“24 Hours on 8th Street,” a local documentary focused on homelessness in Sioux Falls, has sold out not one, not two, but eight showings at The State Theatre downtown in less than a month. And according to the film director and producers, the...
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Schools will see new literacy program, CTE expansions this fall
There’s a lot of new developments taking shape for the new school year in the Sioux Falls School District, which kicked off with the first day of school on Thursday, Aug. 27. In addition to some new school meal pilots and a new location for Community...
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SFSD marks first day of school for 2026-27
More than 24,000 K-12 students returned to Sioux Falls’ public schools Thursday, Aug. 27, an already sunny morning made brighter by the shine of yellow school buses and schoolgoers’ smiles. Students reunited with old friends and made new ones;...
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Brandon marks first day at Burkman Valley Elementary
Wednesday, Aug. 26, marked the first day at Burkman Valley Elementary School for first through fourth graders on the east side of Brandon at 300 North Sunshine Avenue, in the Brandon Valley School District — the fifth elementary school in the town...
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New guidelines might be costly for student meals
The Trump administration’s goal to “Make America Healthy Again” could prove costly for the Sioux Falls School District. District Child Nutrition staff will test out some of those changes in pilot programs this school year at two elementary schools....
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Trump: Rejecting data centers ‘a mistake’
President Donald Trump said communities rejecting data centers are “making a mistake” in an interview that aired Aug. 23. Data centers have become a political flash point in local elections across the country. While speaking with his former lawyer and...
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SD leaders ask for prayers for Schaunaman family
South Dakotans are offering condolences to Mayor Travis Schaunaman and his family after a paraglider crash injured him and his 10-year-old daughter and killed his 8-year-old son Emerson. Former gubernatorial candidate Toby Doeden of Aberdeen said what...
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Jackpine Gypsies a generational legacy in Sturgis
STURGIS, SD – No sport sustains itself more than the one with a coach who was there first. And in Sturgis, South Dakota, dirt tracks live on. The Jackpine Gypsies Motorcycle Club was first to host a race during the 1938 Sturgis Motorcycle Rally on a...
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Sanford, Avera keep vaccine schedules
Sioux Falls providers from both Avera and Sanford Health say they will continue to follow the American Academy of Pediatrics’ (AAP) childhood vaccine schedule, despite a recent executive order from President Donald Trump that calls for separating doses...
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Aberdeen grieves after mayor’s son dies
Aberdeen Mayor Travis Schaunaman suffered serious, but non-life-threatening injuries in a paragliding accident that killed his 8-year-old son Wednesday night, Aug. 19. His 10-year-old daughter also sustained minor injuries in the crash. Schaunaman and...
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How many people attended the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally?
The largest motorcycle rally in the world brought in the lowest number of attendees seen in the past 15 years. According to the South Dakota Department of Transportation, a total of 448,166 vehicles were counted at traffic monitoring locations from...
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Tribes, Arizona agree to help those hit by mine closures
Amid uncertainty surrounding the future of the coal industry, tribal leaders met with Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs on Aug. 11 to sign a memorandum of understanding focused on strengthening economic resilience for tribal communities in the Four Corners...
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Future Southeast Technical College site set to open in ’28
Lawmakers, politicians and educators alike broke ground Friday, Aug. 14, on the future site of the James Abdnor Center for Advanced Manufacturing at Southeast Technical College. Named for former U.S. Sen. James Abdnor from South Dakota, who mentored...
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The humble family running the oldest biker bar in Sturgis
STURGIS, SD – What’s it take to get a biker bar around here? Forget the razzle dazzle and the disco ball, an off-pitch live band in the corner or a $17 margarita. Give an honest rider a cheap Bud, no overhead light, a no-BS bartender and a damn break...
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Inside the first day at newest private high school
A dozen freshmen students made history Thursday, Aug. 13, as the first students at St. Joseph Classical, a Chesterton Academy. The newest private high school option in Sioux Falls is an expansion of the St. Joseph Classical Academy, which opened for...
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‘This place is absolutely crazy’
Honestly, you don’t often see Harleys on two wheels at The Buffalo Chip during Rally week. h Known as “The Best Party in America,” the campground and concert venue a few miles east of Sturgis is also home to stunt contests, barrel racing and street...
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Fatal crashes match 2025 numbers for Sturgis rally
STURGIS – The number of fatalities at the 86th annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally so far has reached the same number of fatalities as this time last year, despite less traffic than the 2025 record-breaking milestone anniversary. Three people have died...
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STURGIS SALUTES VETERANS TO MARK AMERICA’S 250TH
STURGIS – To know a veteran is to know their accomplishments. Often, a serviceman or a servicewoman won’t talk about the moments in Desert Storm or Iraq or Vietnam that made them a decorated soldier years ago, but today we can often recognize it in...
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Outdoor public pools close for summer this weekend
This is the last week to enjoy Sioux Falls’ public pools this summer. On July 31, the city announced that most of its pools would remain open until Aug. 16, extending the original closing date of Aug. 9. City council staff alerted Parks and Recreation...
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WALL OF DEATH Ives Brothers have been riding sideways since childhood
STURGIS – If it’s not enough to ride the open road, then you could always ride the wall sideways. It’s an easy feat for Cody and Kyle Ives, two brothers who’ve been racing inside their 20-foottall, rickety wooden sphere called the Wall of Death since...
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‘Know the road before you ride it’
STURGIS, South Dakota — Aug. 7 brought a late start to the 86th annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, which usually begins the first week of August. Eager motorists tore in early anyway, crowding the highways even longer than a rally usually would. With it...
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State drops charges in case of missing, presumed dead, woman
It took over 22 years after 43-year-old Beverly Ann OzunaUlrich went missing from Belle Fourche for two men to face charges for her presumed death. The state has dropped the charges, at least for now. “Following a review of the evidence currently...
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New Sturgis mayor says he will keep the rally safe and city finances honest
STURGIS – He may be new to the mayor’s desk, but lifelong resident and longtime businessman Rod Bradley is no stranger here. He’s an old friend. Since his landslide win after a special election in June, Sturgis Mayor Bradley has inherited a city of...
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Reports: U.S. missile supply badly depleted
The war on Iran has severely depleted key U.S. missile stockpiles and left the nation and its allies in a vulnerable position for potentially years to come, several experts and reports say. U.S. missile stockpiles were low before President Donald...
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There was ‘blood everywhere’
Editor’s note: Portions of this story contain details that may be disturbing to some readers. A search warrant affidavit detailed a violent crime scene and the pursuit of a man in the stabbing death of a Sioux Falls business owner. Nysam Chagi was...
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Beaudion dropping out of U.S. Senate race
Julian Beaudion, the Democratic candidate for South Dakota’s open U.S. Senate seat, has announced he is dropping out of the race. In a statement posted to his Facebook page Tuesday, Aug. 4, Beaudion said his personal financial hardships, recently...
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‘THE DECLINE IS SIGNIFICANT’
When Ashton Reed voted for President Donald Trump in 2024, he was drawn by Trump’s vow to recharge the economy and curb the inflation that many around his hometown of Jackson, Missouri, blamed on then-President Joe Biden. Reed, 22, who has worked at...
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TIME TO RALLY
We wait all year for this. Beginning Friday, Aug. 7, and continuing for 10 disorderly days straight, the 86th annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally will once again rattle the rocks off the Hills as over half a million people rev it up and party down. Here...
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Mayor Erickson proposes $794M budget for 2027
Sioux Falls Mayor Christine Erickson delivered her first budget address to a packed city council chamber Thursday, July 30. Announced on her 13th day in office, Erickson’s proposal totaled $794 million for the 2027 budget and $1.1 billion for the...
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Chamberlain riverfront bar named one of best in U.S.
Maybe you’re on the water, boating till the sunburn stings or reeling in your last walleye. Maybe you’re coming in for a dill pickled beer on tap after a morning pheasant hunt, not even worried about taking off the blaze orange vest and musty chaps. h...
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Tea ‘definitely has a different look today’
TEA, SOUTH DAKOTA − Neighborhoods and businesses are now in the recovery process after a fast-moving Saturday, July 25, storm caused widespread damage. The system produced winds between 60 and 80 mph; none greater than the 92 mph wind gust recorded in...
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MONOPOLY: SIOUX FALLS STYLE
Goodbye, Atlantic City. Hello, Sioux Falls! A Sioux Falls edition of the classic board game Monopoly is coming soon, Mayor Christine Erickson announced alongside Mr. Monopoly at a Tuesday, July 28, press conference in Falls Park.
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