Invite someone new to something new: notes from the mayor's business session

Near the end of Thursday night, I got the microphone and said the simplest thing I could think of. Invite someone new to something new.

It's the one idea from the night that doesn't need a city budget, a nonprofit or a committee. You can do it this week. I'll come back to it.

A quieter room

This was the second Sioux Falls Listens session, Mayor Christine Erickson's series of community conversations. It focused on business, and it was held again at the Levitt at the Falls, with Downtown Sioux Falls helping host.

Full disclosure: I serve on the Downtown Sioux Falls board. But I came Thursday as a business owner and a citizen, sitting at the tables like everyone else. These are my own notes, not the board's.

It was a smaller crowd than the arts session, and a different energy. Business owners, bankers, architects and nonprofit leaders. Less cheering, more leaning in. Quiet conversations that went deep.

The mayor set the tone early. "Everything is on the table," she said. "The government isn't going to do it all for you, but how do you want to be a part of the process?"

That question stuck with me all night.

What we love

Some of what I heard at the arts session came right back.

A giving city. Again and again, people pointed to how generous Sioux Falls is. So much of what we enjoy downtown exists because someone stepped up.

Places with history. Our old buildings give downtown a feel that newer cities can't copy. People want to keep them, and want what we build next to last just as long.

Small-town charm, big-city goals. One table put it that way, and heads nodded across the room.

Working together. Government, businesses and nonprofits pulling in the same direction more often than not.

The big questions

Most of the night wasn't about any one policy. It was about what kind of city we're growing into.

Who leads next? Sioux Falls tends to go back to the same few generous donors. Several tables asked who the next visionaries will be. And they said you don't need deep pockets to be one. Your connections and your ideas count too.

Are we growing for everyone? People asked for housing young workers can afford, ways to fill empty storefronts with local businesses, and streets and trails that connect every neighborhood to downtown, not just the core.

Can a newcomer find the door? If you don't already know somebody, where do you start? That's true for someone with a business idea, and even more for someone still learning English. One person said Sioux Falls is "resource rich but systems poor." We have the help. It's just hard to find.

A few ideas from the wall

By the end of the night, the Harvest Wall was covered. Here's a sample of what people put up:

• A local business directory that shows off what's locally owned
• More help for businesses already here, not just ones we're trying to attract
• Public restrooms downtown, with businesses sharing the load during big events
• Flowering trees lining the streets that lead into downtown
• Bike and walking routes that branch out from the trail into every neighborhood
• Reliable public transit that reaches all of Sioux Falls
• A leadership council that brings different groups to one table
• Neighborhood tree plantings and park cleanups
• Keep funding what works, like the downtown ambassadors and neighborhood grants
• Keep investing in people, even when not every program succeeds

What's still on the board

Two conversations didn't get finished, and I don't think they should be.

Homelessness. It came up at every table I sat at. People who run businesses downtown see it every day. Nobody wanted to just move people along. They want to know how the groups already doing this work can connect, so people get real help in the right order.

Who may not benefit. The second round asked who might be left out as the city grows. That's a hard question to answer in a room full of people who are doing pretty well. It deserves more voices than ours.

Both deserve a bigger room. I hope they get one on Nov. 18.

Invite someone new to something new

Back to my answer.

Most of the ideas on the wall need someone else to act. The city, a nonprofit, a donor. That's fine. But some things we can just do.

When you invite someone to something they've never tried, you change how they see this city. A show at the State Theatre. A walk through a neighborhood they've only driven past. A restaurant run by a family that just got here. A neighborhood association meeting. A public meeting at City Hall.

It works the other way too. Every invitation brings a new voice into a room that needs it. That's how we answer "who may not benefit." We bring them to the table.

It also connects to something I care about. Sioux Falls has 24 neighborhood associations. On a map, they cover only part of the city. The rest is blank. Those are places people live, but not yet places they call community. Associations start the same way. One neighbor inviting another.

So here's the ask. This week, invite one person to one thing they've never done. Start with the next session below if you'd like.

Not sure what's near you? Look up your neighborhood, or check the civic calendar.

What happens next

The mayor said these ideas will help guide her administration, and that she'll keep holding listening sessions over her four years. "I get to be your mayor," she said, "but this is our community."

One more listening session: Thursday, Nov. 12, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., at the Levitt at the Falls. The topic is economic development.

Community town hall: Wednesday, Nov. 18, 5:30 to 8 p.m., at Cherapa Place, 300 N. Cherapa Place, on the third floor. Ideas from every session will be sorted into priorities for the mayor.

Can't make it? Share your ideas online at siouxfalls.gov/SFListens.

Bring someone with you.

It's always been our city, and now is our moment. Let's rise together.

Sources

• Mayor Erickson Announces Sioux Falls Listens Sessions, City of Sioux Falls, Sept. 28, 2026
• Sioux Falls Listens, City of Sioux Falls
• My own notes and recording from the Nov. 5 session

Photos by Vince Danh.