Vol. 2 · No. 4 · Oct. 25, 2026

The city is listening.

Hi neighbor,

On Wednesday night, I spent two hours at different tables with neighbors, artists, and supporters at the mayor's first listening session. By the end, we weren't strangers anymore.

That's the thread through this issue. Big decisions about our city are being made right now, and the people making them are asking for your input. Here's where to give it.

In this issue

01 · City Hall

The viaducts are getting replaced.

If you've driven into downtown from the east, you've crossed them. The 10th and 11th Street viaducts carry traffic over the Big Sioux River and the railroad tracks. They're near the end of their life, and rebuilding is set to start in 2032 and 2036.

The state has four options on the table. Their maps were hard to read, so I redrew them. My explainer covers who's deciding, what's already set and what each option means for people on foot.

02 · What I heard

What the arts community told the mayor.

Mayor Christine Erickson's first Sioux Falls Listens session packed the Levitt with artists, teachers, nonprofit leaders and neighbors. Three ideas kept coming up:

Take the arts beyond downtown. Use the parks, libraries and bandshells we already have.

Keep it affordable. One table pitched a city arts pass, a ticket bundle with the city helping cover the cost.

Help the arts find each other. Good work is happening in every corner. It's just hard to see.

Two more sessions are coming, on business (Nov. 5) and economic development (Nov. 12). Can't make one? Share your ideas online.

03 · Hype corner

A new front lawn for downtown.

Jacobson Plaza Phase 2 is open. A big, level lawn now connects the Levitt Shell and Jacobson Plaza, with a new plaza and an overlook of the upper falls.

The best part? This used to be a scrap yard. More than 90% of the $2.65 million project was paid for by donors Garry Jacobson and Rob Everist, through the Sioux Falls Area Community Foundation.

It's also the new home of the city's big Christmas tree. Go take a walk out to the overlook before the snow flies.

04 · Show up

Coming up.

One question for you: which viaduct option would you feel safest walking across? Tell me at together@risingtogethersf.com. I read every one.

See you around town,

Vince