Here’s How You Can Help ‘Shape Sioux Falls’

South Dakota's largest city just keeps getting bigger.

Over the past 25 years, the population in Sioux Falls has nearly doubled and now sits at well over 200,000.

But officials with the City of Sioux Falls aren't resting on their laurels, they've got ambitious plans for the next quarter century.

And they're looking for your help.

Shape Sioux Falls 2050 is a comprehensive plan that will help guide growth in the city with future development areas, infrastructure upgrades, and enhancements to overall quality of life.

The 18-month process will have three primary components: public engagement, data analysis, and drafting updates to the document itself. To facilitate this work, the City of Sioux Falls hired an external consultant, Confluence, which has worked with the City on other community projects.

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One of the first phases is public engagement, and that's where you come in.

Officials are looking to establish in-person and online opportunities, as well as community listening sessions, stakeholder interviews, focus groups, pop-up events, neighborhood workshops, and open houses to collect input from at least 300 residents across Sioux Falls.

The first in-person events will be the community listening sessions, Monday, September 9, at the Ronning Library (3100 East 49th Street) and Wednesday, September 11, at the Caille Library (4100 South Carnegie Circle), both from 6:00 to 7:30 PM.

Anyone is welcome to attend.

A current list of upcoming events is available online. For more information and to access the project’s engagement website.

Haunted Locations and Scary Legends Around Sioux Falls

Halloween is steeped in scary traditions. Trick-or-Treating, frightening costumes, local actors in "haunted" houses, and the pitch-black darkness of area corn mazes.

However, if we set out to find the real haunted areas what would we find? Over the last 30 years that I have lived in Sioux Falls, a few locations still gain attention as being haunted.

And yes, a handful of thrill-seeking people will show up on our favorite eerie night for what could be a viral video moment or experience a misty phantom first-hand.

Let's take a little tour of the more famous hauntings around Sioux Falls. Turn on the lights and cue the Cowardly Lion: "I do believe in spooks, I do believe in spooks..."

Gallery Credit: Danny V

The 10 Largest Occupations in Sioux Falls

Where do people in Sioux Falls work? If this was fifty years ago the average Sioux Fallsian worked in some industrial, meat packing, or farm-related position. Sioux Falls has also been the major regional medical center for decades.

Customer service and other retail-related jobs have always been a part of the Sioux Empire's economy. But in recent years those industries have become major employers.

If you live in Sioux Falls, there's a pretty good chance you work one of these jobs. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, these are the top 10 largest occupations in Sioux Falls (as of 2022).

Gallery Credit: Ben Kuhns

Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives in Sioux Falls

In June of 2020, Guy Fieri and his crew from Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives came to Sioux Falls and made quite a stir.

In case you've never been lured into an hours-long binge of the show on Food Network, Guy Fieri visits places off the beaten path and tries out their signature dishes and visits with locals.

Gallery Credit: Ben Davis

Filed Under: Downtown Sioux Falls

Categories: Articles, News, Newsletter KYBB, Sioux Falls, South Dakota