Author: Grant Wentzel

Flashback: The Sioux Sea Serpent!

You’ve really got to stop and read those weird green metal “historical markers” from time to time. You just never know what you might learn.

Think you’re safe splashing around the E. coli-infested waters of The Big Sioux? Think it makes sense to wade through the muck down by Tuthill Park to find your lost frisbee-golf discs?

You’ve got more than rusted-out tractor parts and heavy-metal pollution to watch out for. You might also run into our local version of the Loch Ness Monster.

Back in 1887 a few fisherman casting about in the river on the far east side of town spotted what they thought was a floating log. Then the thing started moving and scared the god-fearing pioneering daylights out of them. They described it as a “monster snake,” a good “20 feet long and a foot thick.”

Fortunately, it slithered off into the depths, never to been seen again. But is it gone for good? Or is it just biding it’s time, waiting for a day-drinking kayaker to take asunder? Time will tell…

You can read all about it on the gravel-road sign pictured here. It’s hiding in the weeds where 41st makes a last-ditch effort to get you to Iowa before the river takes over. Eventually, Mother Nature always wins.

Fernson Taps a Crow Beer at the Crow Bar

Much as we enjoy a lovingly-hopped craft brew paired with an inspired locally-sourced amuse-bouche…sometimes you just want a beer, at a bar. What kind of beer? What kind of bar? Who cares. Just a beer. At a bar. Done.

Now you can do both at the same time! You can impress your fancy-pants friends with a slice of local culture while, at the same time, simply kicking back and getting your suds on.

Fernson’s rolled a few kegs of a new collab down to the fine folks at The Crow Bar. What’s it called? That’s right: The Crow Beer.

What’s it like? They describe it as a “white-label lager” something “classic, malty, and smooth.” In other words, nothing special. But also, there’s nothing better to get you through a few more too-hot August nights.

Get on down and try it out before it taps out. It’s also a great excuse to take a look at the new remodeling job at The Crow Bar. They cleaned it up while keeping the vibe. In other words, it’s just like a tall draft of a local lager: Nothing fancy. Just kinda perfect.

Hey Catholic Kids! Time To Get Back To Mass!

Dakota News Now brings the infallible revelation.

Time to stop living like Lionel Ritchie and taking it easy on Sunday morning.

For all of you who got a nice white dress and party for your confirmation, you know you’re supposed to show up to mass on Sundays. However, Covid’s given you all a nice free pass for the last few months.

With an official dispensation from the Bishops to skip the sacraments for safety’s sake, you’ve gotten used to sleeping in and nursing your own spiritual needs, whatever they may be.

Time’s up! South Dakota is the first diocese in the nation to “lift the dispensation,” meaning it’s time to dust off the Sunday best and catch up on the Our Fathers you’ve might have missed.

Or not. You could stay home. But be prepared to feel pretty darn guilty about it if you do.

Then again, isn’t that what confession is for?

Get Outta Bed Kids! It’s Record Store Day!

What? Record Store Day in August? WTF!!

Oh yeah, that’s right, RSD got Corona’d back in April, pushed out to August with the expectation that we’d all be safe and sound by then. And we are, right? Right? Well, maybe not, but we’re learning to live with it. And music helps. It’s just the medicine your soul needs most right about now.

Two spots in Sioux Falls have got the hook-up: Last Stop (10th St. location) and Total Drag.

Get there early. And if you need a little wake-up, be sure to grab a coffee from the brand-new joint next door to Total Drag: The Breaks Coffee.

More details on what might (might!) be available are here. But if you don’t go…you’ll never know! Mask-up, make some new friends and raid the crates before your fellow geeks beat you to it!

The Market Shuts Up Shop!

Looks like The Market – a local favorite for the wine ‘n cheese crowd – is calling it quits, having dished up their last last locally-sourced seasonally-specific gourmet meal yesterday.

The Market - Sioux Falls

The owners are heading to a long-earned retirement after years of dedicated service. They were innovators around town, bringing up-market options to town before the foodie scene was much of a thing. They’ve had a few establishments, starting off with Food ‘n Fermentation in the space last occupied by Luciano’s on the north end of the Phillips strip. (It was at Food ‘n Fermentation that your correspondent made the fateful decision to relocate to town, encouraged by some belly-warming cabernet on a dreary winter’s day.)

You’ve got one last chance to stop by and offer thanks. Next week they’ll be having a clear-the-racks sale. Head over and bring home a few fancy bottles to put up for a special occasion…or just when you need something wonderful to lift your spirits on a cold winter’s eve.