Vanessa Carlson Bender - Journalist

03/18/2026

The Argus Leader is hiring a full-time public safety and criminal justice reporter to join our team in Sioux Falls! Come be a part of a fun and talented team!

Find your next adventure

03/03/2026

The Argus Leader in Sioux Falls is hiring a paid summer intern for a 10-week period this year! Application deadline is April 1. Bonus points for skills in social media, videography and photography! PM me if you have any questions!

Find your next adventure

02/26/2026

“It’s a tension you will constantly manage,” TenHaken said. “You never say, ‘We nailed it.’”

The future of The Link Community Triage Center will hinge on new leadership, stronger funding and continued community support as the demand for services keeps climbing.

“One of my goals is to try and get The Link on some solid financial ground before I leave office in 148 days,” TenHaken said.

Operating costs total about $2.5 million annually, with a recurring $700,000 funding gap.

The mayor also introduced a project director role that began in December 2025, which is being led by Jason Lemke on a 12-month contract.

“My role at The Link … is to come in and look for some strategies for some long-term funding additions … so that these important services are here for years to come,” Lemke said.

City of Sioux Falls leaders say the future of The Link will hinge on new leadership, stronger funding and continued community support.

02/16/2026

After 115 years commanding the Falls Park neighborhood, Smithfield Foods will continue its generational impact in a newly built plant.

Gov. Larry Rhoden, alongside Mayor Paul TenHaken and Smithfield CEO Shane Smith, announced Feb. 16, in what will be a “defining moment for Sioux Falls,” that the sprawling slaughterhouse stalwart will be moving northwest of town, next to the Amazon packaging facility at Foundation Park.

Gov. Rhoden said this announcement will mark the largest business investment in the state's history.

The state's most prominent philanthropist and billionaire, T. Denny Sanford, will donate $50 million to the Sioux Falls Development Foundation to help fund the new development, which will include the purchase of 120 acres at the head of Falls Park.

It will be named the Sanford District.

Although there is no timeline yet, TenHaken said that the existing building will be torn down to make room for what could be “parks, schools, maybe a new Whittier or a medical school.

Smithfield's 'once-in-a-generation' move will have 'nationwide impact.' Here's what's next for the 115-year-old meat processing plant.

02/10/2026

“Seeing is believing,” Weber said. “To give, people have to want to give, they have to understand and believe in it and they have to have the capacity to give.”

Some Sioux Falls philanthropists say they are beginning to feel what is called “philanthropy fatigue,” while others insist now is the city's “golden age” of giving.

01/25/2026

Union Gospel Mission CEO Eric Weber has spent the last few days driving around town, checking for people huddled under bridges and walking about in the dangerously cold wind chills.

Meanwhile, Shannon Ward, owner of Good NAtured, spent an afternoon pleading with a 76-year-old woman who frequently sits on the front stoop of her business, to please come inside.

“They’re fighting for their lives out there,” said Dr. Shannon Emry, of Midwest Street Medicine. “We need to support them and help them any way we can.”

For those who seek refuge from the dangerously cold weather, there are options in Sioux Falls to warm up.

12/30/2025

After declaring why their organization was well positioned to serve certain community needs, it was up to the city council to approve which top 10 organizations would make the cut through the new Community Partners Program (CPP), established during Mayor Paul TenHaken’s annual budget process this summer, is an effort to reduce spending.

Eight of the 10 organizations awarded did not receive support in 2025, and each organization was placed into one of three stream-lined “priority funding areas” the city chose earlier this year.

Of the 17 organizations that recieved funding in 2025, four of them will continue to be funded in 2026.

Lutheran Social Services CEO Rebecca Kiesow-Knudsen, who inherited the Multi-Cultural Center in 2022, said she and all other existing subsidy organizations had “known for months the city was changing its process” for 2026 and that funding was not guaranteed. They applied for the CPP anyway.

But, “I didn’t expect a full elimination of funding,” she says. “It’s a blow the program can’t absorb.”

Read more about th Multi-Cultural Center and future funding here: https://www.argusleader.com/story/news/city/2025/12/22/funding-cuts-put-multi-cultural-center-festival-of-cultures-at-risk/87889228007/

See who received funding for 2026 based on newly proposed criteria, compared to who received $2.2M in support in 2025.

12/29/2025

Nearly one month after canine distemper temporarily halted dog adoptions, the Sioux Falls Area Humane Society has been struck with illness again, this time with cats, known as the panleukopenia virus - a fairly common, but severe and highly contagious illness.

Immediate action has been taken to quarantine the virus, along with risk assessments for all cats at the shelter.

“It’s very sad. If the animals were vaccinated before the shelter, they wouldn’t be having these issues. We need the community to vaccinate their pets.”

The Sioux Falls Area Humane Society confirmed a severe and highly contagious virus has affected multiple cats housed at the shelter.

12/23/2025

Earlier this month, I bundled up against the below-zero windchill to check out the newly renovated American red wolf exhibit at the Great Plains Zoo, a critically endangered species considered the rarest large carnivore in the U.S. and the world’s most endangered wolf. Learning more about the zoo's conservation efforts and seeing the majestic beauty of these wolves was enough to warm the hearts of many in the community, including yours truly.

Great Plains Zoo staff, Greater Chamber of Commerce members and community members gathered to view the newly renovated American red wolves habitat.

12/03/2025

"But even with statewide fundraising and donations pouring in, Buche said private efforts can’t offset what’s been lost, contradicting Gov. Larry Rhoden’s call to action on Oct. 31, which encouraged community members to 'donate to local food banks' and churches to 'conduct food drives and take the opportunity to share the Christian love in their communities.'