Books & butterflies storytime, symphony tour with Lakota dancers, all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast, and more. 
Happy Friday, Sioux Falls. You know the drill – grab your coffee (or whatever you sip in the morning), kick back, and let Sioux Falls Brief serve up everything you need to know for the weekend ahead.
📰 In the news
Local happenings: Free school meals for eligible students, entrepreneurs rebooting business after moving here, and a symphony tour featuring Lakota dancers, drum group, and student composers — catch up here.
State-level stories: USD will base its full medical program in Sioux Falls, first-timers will brave deafening parades at Sturgis, and a $1M grant backs rural entrepreneurs — see what else is brewing.
National headlines: South Korea’s court dismissed a Baby Shark copyright claim, a judge blocked fishing around Pacific atolls, and retirees eye a bigger Social Security increase — peruse the best of the rest.
Highlights this week
- Equip girls with menstrual care and confidence
- Enjoy endless pancakes to support veterans
- Tour historic Knife River quarry for free
- Observe Eileen Halverson painting Rosemaling designs
- Unlock dozens of travel deals with AARP
🫶 We got your back
Activity: When your kids are climbing the walls and your coffee’s gone cold, Sioux Falls has plenty of spots to keep them busy. These active hotspots will wear them out and give you a well-deserved break.
Eats: Think the food scene is all cornfields and cattle? Discover hidden culinary gems serving chislic, kuchen and other soul-soothing flavors.
Money: Explaining credit cards to your teen can feel like decoding ancient hieroglyphics. These easy credit lessons turn confusing plastic power into real-world know-how.
Cocktail: Whether you’re craving a smoky mezcal riff, a floral gin fantasia, or a boozy twist on the classics, Carpenter Bar mixes rare spirits, house-made syrups, and a dash of theater into cocktails that turn your evening into a liquid performance you won’t forget.
Money: The average driver pays $175 a month on car insurance, but most of us are paying way too much. If it’s been a while since you shopped around, you’re likely part of that “most of us.” This comparison tool can save you hundreds.
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📆 Around town this weekend
All events are subject to change without notice. This is entirely outside our control. Please check official event pages and social media for the most up to date information.
Today
🎨 Wood Slice Magnets @ AMC Collective | Friday (8/15) from 12:00pm – Who knew your fridge could be this fabulous? Swing by AMC Collective for a low-key craft sesh where you pick your wood slice, bust out the paints, markers, paper, or whatever you fancy, and whip up a magnet masterpiece. At just $5 per magnet, your only limit is your imagination (and the time on the clock).
🥊 Boxing Banjo @ Levitt at the Falls | Friday (8/15) at 7:00pm – Think your kitchen dance parties are hardcore? These Irish ringers will test your moves with button accordion, banjo, and fiddle magic under the Levitt’s summer sky. Backyard BBQ keeps hunger at bay, JJ’s pours the wine, and Tony John kicks things off.
This weekend
📚 Books & Butterflies @ Butterfly House & Aquarium | Saturday (8/16) at 10:00am – Butterfly House & Aquarium is buzzing with storytime and artsy mischief as Reach Literacy camps out with free kids’ books and a shot at a gift card. A pop-up Bookworms nook and DIY bookmark station keep pint-size hands happily gluey.
🐶 Woofstock 2025 @ Remedy Brewing Company | Saturday (8/16) at 1:00pm – Think you’ve outgrown petting zoos? Swing by Woofstock for groovy adoptable dachshunds, a side of farm critters, and plenty of artisan vendors for a bargain fix. Brick Falls takes over the pickleball court with LEGO masterpieces, so bring the crew for family fun.
🔍 The Dinner Detective True Crime Murder Mystery Dinner Show @ Sheraton Sioux Falls | Saturday (8/16) at 6:00pm – Craving a steak dinner with a side of suspicion? Join an interactive show where every guest’s suspect number one and dessert doubles as your alibi. Live interrogations and dry wit might turn you into tonight’s top sleuth—or at least give you great brunch stories.
🥞 All You Can Eat Pancake Breakfast | Sunday (8/17) at 8:30am – Ready to devour pancakes like there’s no tomorrow? Swing by for all-you-can-eat fluffy cakes, sausages, eggs, coffee, and juice, and feel morally superior as you support our veterans and local community programs. Who needs the gym when you can call this cardio?
🤸 Duo Aerial Hoop Workshop @ South Dakota Aerial & Arts | Sunday (8/17) at 12:30pm – Whether you need a new bragging right or a fresh workout, snag an $80 duo pass for a 1.5-hour aerial hoop session at South Dakota Aerial & Arts. You’ll learn partner moves above the mat, laugh through the wobblier bits, and defy gravity.
🎳 Belles & Chimes SuFu Women’s Strikes Pinball Tournament @ The Pinball Room | Sunday (8/17) at 2:00pm – Pinball Room is hosting a women’s strikes tournament where ladies of all ages craving more challenge than bingo can perfect flipper finesse. First-timers and veterans rotate through random groups, rack up strikes like baseballs, and vie for a cash prize pool that really pays out.
Next week
🎸 Doom Scroll/Misty Cans and the Horny Toads/Donnybrook Brawlers/The Shirks @ Full Circle Book Co-op | Monday (8/18) at 8:00pm – Slack off on your weekend Netflix binge and come see four local bands: Doom Scroll, Misty Cans and the Horny Toads, Donnybrook Brawlers, and The Shirks. Expect toe-tapping mayhem, questionable banter, and that ‘oops I’m too old for this’ moment. Bring ibuprofen.
⛏️ Into the Pit Quarry Tour@ Irene Hall Museum Resource Center | Tuesday (8/19) at 9:30am – Skip mowing the lawn and grab a seat on the Siouxland Heritage Museums bus into Knife River’s quarry, where 1800s digs meet modern rock-crunching machines and local guides supply dry wit. Free for ages 12 and up, only five spots per reservation, so call fast.
🖌️ Rosemaling Demonstration @ Old Courthouse Museum | Tuesday (8/19) at 1:00pm – Break free from your weekend to-do list and swing by the Old Courthouse Museum to watch Eileen Halverson demonstrate rosemaling, the intricate Norwegian art your grandma never got around to. Bold palettes, scrollwork, and a peek behind the brush. Questions welcome, no Viking helmet required.
Wanna see more? Browse our full events calendar →
🎶 Live music & entertainment
- 8/15 Brad Morgan @ The Den – 5:30 pm
- 8/15 Devon Sants @ Icon Lounge – 6 pm
- 8/15 Hardy @ Denny Sanford Premier Center – 6:30 pm
- 8/15 Creed Fisher @ Icon – 7 pm
- 8/16 Chamber Bash @ Tea City Park – 6 pm
- 8/16 The Kickback @ Icon – 7 pm
- 8/16 12 Stones and more @ Bigs Bar – 7 pm
- 8/17 Zach Thomas @ WoodGrain Brewing – 2 pm
- 8/17 Violent Vira @ Icon – 6 pm
- 8/17 King Parrot and more @ Bigs Bar – 7 pm
🏠️ Price is right – Sioux Falls edition
How it works: We’re going to give you some facts about a home for sale, including a picture of the outside, the kitchen, and one additional room. Your job? Guess how much it’s listed for (preferably before you click to find out).
Listed by: Ron P Weber (Hegg, REALTORS)
Classic 1937 stucco meets modern flair in this three-level McKennan Park gem, where French doors, Venetian painting, and a parade of bay and bump-out windows keep things interesting. The main floor balances sophistication and fun with a gas fireplace, a library lined with bookcases, and a kitchen that sneaks through a swinging door into the oversized dining room. Step outside to find a private patio and fenced side yard, perfect for impromptu gatherings or a quiet coffee.
Upstairs, two bedrooms sport double closets, while the primary suite stretches luxuriously across the east side, complete with in-floor heated bath. The finished attic is a wild card—guest suite, studio, or playroom—with plenty of space to spare. A cozy basement family room, two garages, and views of McKennan Park just a block away round out the list of perks.
Make your guess, then (and only then)… see how much it costs →
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