Other than a winter storm, here's what happening in Sioux Falls this week

SIOUX FALLS — You’ve probably seen that we’re in for a winter storm this week . By the time you read this, we may be melting snow next to the gas fireplace for water and burning candles for light.

Hopefully it’s all cleared by this weekend, because we have some places we need to be, including several fun events in the Sioux Falls area.

There’s the Sioux Empire Home Show (where we can look for new roofs after ours will no doubt cave in), comedian Nick Swarsdon (where we can laugh away our tears after hours of snow shoveling) and the NSIC basketball tournament (where we can watch good basketball, because we won’t be playing in our driveway anytime soon).

As always, check out a full list of events on Sioux Falls Live’s calendar.

TRADE SHOWS

Spend your imaginary money at the Home Show 

Keep up with the Joneses, or make them keep up with you, by seeing the latest home trends at the 2023 Sioux Empire Home Show at the Sioux Falls Convention Center and Arena.

Check out 235 local vendors that will help you complete your project, whether you are Bob Villa (he’s really good at home improvement stuff) or Homer Simpson (he can’t even make a spice rack).

Admission is $7, and kids 12 and under are free. Kids can show their skills in the building zone and make a keepsake box that they can take home.

The home show is 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.

For a full list of vendors and for more details, visit their website .

CONCERTS & COMEDY

Country, metal and comedy – take your pick

Mississippi roots combined with Louisiana spice equals Chapel Hart, a trio made up of sisters Danica and Devyn Hart and cousin Trea Swindle, who perform an infectious and harmonic blend of country music. The group was on “America’s Got Talent” and received a Golden Buzzer with their performance of “You Can Have Him Jolene” last year.

After they performed their song on the show, the trio discussed how they wanted to break into Nashville but that it’s hard because “country music doesn’t always look like us.”

"You may have just broken down the door with that performance, trust me,” the hard-to-please Simon Cowell said afterward.

The video has been viewed almost 10 million times on YouTube , and you can see them in person at 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 26, at the Washington Pavilion. Tickets are $30 to $49.

“Chapel Hart has an amazing ability to tug on your heartstrings with a tender yet powerful ballad, then have you pumping your first in unison to the pulse of hard-hitting music,” according to the band’s bio.

• Pop ROCKS promises to get you dancing at their Rock the Shrine concert Saturday, Feb. 25, at the El Riad Shrine. The band combines the music of a DJ, the theatrics of a Broadway musical and the live energy of an arena rock extravaganza, according to their bio. Expect recognizable songs from top 40 hits, hip-hop, pop country, party rock and timeless classics. Tickets are $20 for general admission or more for VIP tables.
• Fans of country music should head over to The Social on Saturday night for the band 10 Miles From Nowhere. The Social will be transformed, and “whether you’re a redneck or like rhinestones, you’ll fit right in,” according to their website. Tickets are $20.  
• The South Dakota metalcore band Earth Groans is performing at Club David at 8 p.m. Friday. Tickets to the 21-plus show start at $12.  
• Comedian and actor Nick Swardson will perform two shows at the Orpheum Theater on Sunday, Feb. 26. You may recognize him from the movie “Grandma’s Boy” and his character Terry on “Reno 911.” “Nick takes you on a journey of smells and laughter,” the show description says.  Tickets are $39.50.  

ARTS

South Dakota Symphony and USF Theatre

The South Dakota Symphony Orchestra continues its classical concert series with Shostakovich Symphony No. 7 at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 25, at the Washington Pavilion.

The concert will feature two sections — “My Symphonies are Tombstones” and Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 7.

To summarize the first part: “Using dramatic readings and musical excerpts, the SDSO, Maestro Gier, and Joseph Horowitz – award winning expert on music and history – bring you inside the mind and times of Dmitri Shostakovich. Then brace yourself for a thrilling performance of the ‘Leningrad’ Symphony.”

To close, the SDSO will perform Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 7, which was written during the siege of Leningrad.

Tickets are $15 to $52.

• University of Sioux Falls’ theatre department is performing three shows of “Never Send to Know” on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

The plot: “A detective is approached by a potential client who has a lot of money. This client doesn't even know his own name, but he can produce as much cash as the detective can ask for. The service he's asking for is simple: he wants to find out who murdered him.”
All three shows start at 7 p.m. at Jones Theatre on the USF campus. They are free and are put on by Cale Engelkes.

FOOD

Sample food and beer, plus learn about downtown

We love showcasing unique events in this space, and we have another one for you.

Fernson Downtown is hosting a walking tour of Downtown Sioux Falls on Saturday, Feb. 25. The tour includes food and drink samples at 4-5 downtown establishments, plus factoids about the area’s history and future development. Tour organizers promise nobody will leave hungry.

Tickets are $79 per person.

SPORTS

March Madness starts in February in Sioux Falls

The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) hosts its men’s and women’s basketball tournaments Saturday, Feb. 25, through Tuesday, Feb. 28, at the Sanford Pentagon, and it’s the final conference tournament for Augustana coaching legend Dave Krauth.

The Vikings’ women’s basketball coach is hanging it up after the season, which is his 34th with the school.

And he’s going into the postseason with a solid team. The Vikings are 24-4 and wrapped up the No. 2 seed in the tournament.

The action starts earlier in the week with first-round games played at various sites across the region, and the winning teams will advance to the NSIC championship along with the teams who received a bye.

On the men’s side, both the University of Sioux Falls and Augustana University will have to earn their places at the Pentagon. Augie visits Bemidji State on Wednesday, while USF hosts St. Cloud State at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.

On the women’s side, Augustana earned a bye to the second round, while USF missed out on the tournament altogether.

Tickets are $12 for students and $25 for adults per session at the Sanford Pentagon, and each session includes two games. For a full schedule, visit the NSIC website .

• We’re not here to debate whether this is a sport or not, but this seemed like the best place for it. The Man Overboard Royal Rumble wrestling event is Sunday, Feb. 26, at The District. Mike Bennett, a former WWE star, will face “The Buns of Steel” J Fowler. The all-ages show starts at 5 p.m., and tickets are $12-$30 .

CITY NEWS

City Council to discuss potholes, raises and apartments

The Sioux Falls City Council agenda Tuesday is packed with several interesting topics this week.

The Council will discuss the first reading of rezoned agriculture land to apartments in eastern Sioux Falls and second readings of a raise for city employees and more money for fixing potholes . There are also several alcohol licenses being awarded.

Let’s go through these in a bit more detail:

Apartments: If we’ve learned anything about Sioux Falls, it’s that there are a lot of people who don’t like apartments. We’re not touching the how’s and the why’s in this space, just know that it can be controversial. So keep an eye on this proposal, which would convert ag land to apartments, town homes, single-family homes and live-work property north of East Paddington Street and east of Veterans Parkway in northeastern Sioux Falls. The proposal calls for three high-density apartments, six townhomes/duplexes and 11 single-family homes, plus a block of live-work office developments. Whether or not there is objection to this remains to be seen, but it’s a big project.

Raises: City employees will likely be getting a pay increase. To keep up with inflation and make Sioux Falls competitive with other municipalities across the country, the city is proposing that employees receive an average 6.5% pay increase, though it could vary by employee.

Potholes: Who doesn’t hate potholes? We’ve finally found something we can all get behind. The city is asking that $500,000 be taken from the general fund to help fix potholes, which have been especially bad this year because of all the snow we’ve gotten.

See the full agenda and see supporting documents here.

POLITICS

Final Sioux Falls Legislative Coffee this weekend

With the 2023 Legislature close to winding down, the Chamber of Commerce is hosting its third and final Legislative Coffee.

Legislators from districts 10 (northeast Sioux Falls), 12 (southwestern Sioux Falls) and 25 (Minnehaha County outside of Sioux Falls and Brandon) have been invited to attend.

The event starts at 10 a.m. and ends at 11:45 a.m. at Southeast Technical College. It’s free and open to the public, but it will also be live-streamed on the Chamber’s Facebook page.