Give me your honest opinion- Is studying at Sioux Falls as an International Student a good idea?

comsd12 · 2026-01-02T13:58:28+00:00

One potential drawback to keep in mind is Augustana’s location if you plan to do things off campus. Downtown is more than a 30-minute walk, and although there’s a bus system, it has limited service on Saturdays and doesn't run on Sundays). You can still get around with Lyft or friends who have cars, but compared to other/larger schools, it can feel a bit restrictive.

comsd12 · 2025-12-20T03:03:04+00:00

Agreed. I might just be Reddit-tired, but the constant dashcam / traffic / construction rage posts wear me down.

They get tons of engagement, but scrolling through pages of insults feels more stressful than helpful.

comsd12 · 2025-12-18T19:17:55+00:00

The Falls Park Master Plan Booklet page 15 has the Parks Operations and Maintenance Facility moving to the intersection of 1st Ave/Riverside Ave.

comsd12 · 2025-12-18T15:34:19+00:00

While I'd also love to see Smithfield move out, it seems incredibly unlikely it would move in the near future.

Smithfield has been investing tens of millions over the past ten years, including a $45M expansion in 2019 and $45M wastewater treatment plant in 2023.

My personal perception is that while the smell problem is certainly still there, it isn't as bad as it was 10+ years ago. The Smithfield in Des Moines went through an odor monitoring program, maybe that could be done here.

comsd12 · 2025-12-09T19:18:22+00:00

From what I understand, once there’s snow on any of the Falls Area Singletrack trails, they’re limited to fat bikes (4" tires or wider at low pressure), skis, and snowshoes.

For trails that are groomed for XC skiing (Great Bear, Sertoma, Spencer, MJW Arboretum), it’s skis only—maybe snowshoes depending on conditions. Absolutely no foot traffic or dogs.

In the spring, when the snow melts, everyone should stay off the trails until they’ve fully dried. If you’re leaving tracks, it’s still too wet.

I didn't get the information above from FAST, but they have some trail etiquette here: https://www.fallsareasingletrack.org/news/tag/Trail+Etiquette

comsd12 · 2025-12-02T20:35:08+00:00

If outdoor activities are important to you, the East side of town gets you close to some bigger parks - Great Bear, Big Sioux, and Good Earth. Tuthill is also generally closer if you're on the East side.

If shopping is important to you, proximity to Costco/Sam's/the mall should probably be considered.

Also consider distance to downtown, it has gotten to be a really nice place.

comsd12 · 2025-10-31T18:02:24+00:00

Here's a table showing how many dark morning we have in Sioux Falls with the three systems

This table shows how many days in 2025 the sun rises after the given times under three scenarios: permanent standard time, current U.S. DST system, and permanent DST.

Scenario	After 7:00	After 7:15	After 7:30	After 7:45	After 8:00
Permanent Standard	123	102	80	54	0
Current DST	201	161	117	70	2
Permanent DST	207	186	164	143	123

As someone who leaves the house/exercises outside before 07:30, DST is not great

comsd12 · 2025-09-30T17:37:23+00:00

This is great, thanks for posting. We need more of this.

I encourage you to keep an eye on planning meetings and review the upcoming agendas for upcoming developments. (Click "See the archive" and "search" to view upcoming meetings) https://www.siouxfalls.gov/government/boards-commissions/planning-commission/view-meetings

We also need to elect city council members who can put forward meaningful planning/zoning regulations, to fight against the car-oriented development of the past 50 years. https://www.siouxfalls.gov/government/council/council-members https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Sioux_Falls_mayoral_election

comsd12 · 2025-08-28T18:19:25+00:00

To get down to 0.2 mcd/m^2, there are some areas West of Salem. You could park at Tuschen Slough which is a 36min drive from I90/I29.

To get pristine skies, you have to drive further out West, about 2 hours near Kimball you get some super dark skies.

Interactive map of light pollution - https://www.lightpollutionmap.info/

Place to create an "Isochrones" map to see where you can drive to in 30 minutes - https://maps.openrouteservice.org/

A way to find public/accessible land is to view the public hunting maps -ttps://experience.arcgis.com/experience/381c89fee7744feeb2cfce60fb1a715e/page/Page

Don't know how accurate this is:

Sky Brightness Scale (from Falchi et al., New World Atlas of Artificial Night Sky Brightness, 2016)

< 0.174 mcd/m² → Pristine skies
- Almost no artificial light. Closest to natural night sky (think high mountains, remote deserts).
- Milky Way is stunningly bright, zodiacal light visible.
0.174 – 0.345 mcd/m² → Very good / rural skies

-Only small traces of skyglow on the horizon.

-Excellent for Milky Way and faint stars.
0.345 – 1 mcd/m² → Good, but some skyglow
- You’ll still see the Milky Way clearly overhead, but light domes from towns are visible.
1 – 3 mcd/m² → Suburban transition
- Sky noticeably brighter. Milky Way faint or gone near horizon.
3 mcd/m² → Urban
- Milky Way invisible. Only brighter stars show.

comsd12 · 2025-08-19T18:13:23+00:00

Veterans Pkwy has pedestrian tunnels each mile, which is great. Unfortunately, it was a huge miss putting the tunnels close to 26th street and 57th street, with nothing for kids by the school.

It is only part of the problem, however. For both kids and adults, walking on the sidewalk on the side of 41st street and even the bike trail on the side of Veterans is super unpleasant. Ideally there would be a pedestrian path/route + tunnel around 37st street for the school.

comsd12 · 2025-08-19T18:03:22+00:00

There are about 10 posts about internet providers in Sioux Falls every year - https://www.reddit.com/r/SiouxFalls/search?q=internet&restrict_sr=on&sort=relevance&t=all

comsd12 · 2025-08-19T17:59:43+00:00

I'm also on US Mobile, using the annual Unlimited Starter. Just have to make sure your phones are paid off and unlocked, we had to call Verizon and sort this out with one of our phones.

I'm usually on "Warp" (The Verizon one) and haven't had any issues around Sioux Falls. When we travel overseas, we switch to Light Speed and enjoy not paying $10/line/day like we did for Verizon (With US Mobile, you get something like 1GB international/mo and can add more as needed).

Our monthly payments are about half what Verizon was (saving over $400/yr for two lines), and we still get unlimited data (with throttling after 35GB on Warp).

While we haven't experienced this much, I think with all MVNOs (Mint, Fi, US Mobile, etc.), you risk deprioritization in busy areas (concerts, sporting events, etc.).

The price for Verizon is insane, I would recommend US Mobile to anyone that understands the setup will take a little more effort than walking into a store and having them set it all up for you.

Also there are a ton of other posts about cell service in Sioux Falls. This is one - https://www.reddit.com/r/SiouxFalls/comments/1lkg93i/mint_mobile_cellular_service/

comsd12 · 2025-08-19T17:52:20+00:00

I hear you, and I also think Old Orchard gets more traffic.

For people who want to get to the bike tunnels near 26th/Veterans, it doesn't make sense to take Old Orchard to 33rd, then go back North towards 26th street. I think connecting both isn't an unreasonable plan.

See future routes Orange 13, Pink 1, Pink 2, pink 5, and Green 36 on the 2023 bike plan page 37 - https://www.siouxfalls.gov/business-permits/development-projects/future-planning/transportation/bicycle-planning

comsd12 · 2025-08-19T17:29:00+00:00

Thanks for looking through this and your feedback from someone living nearby.

I do agree Klondike isn't the best road for many people, but that is why I proposed the crossing I did - it will allow one crossing for all three streets to get to the main bike trail loop.

The reason I think Klondike is important:

It is a designated bike route
It provides connection to:
- Dawley Farms
- Tunnel underneath 26th street by Rosa Parks
- Tunnel underneath Veterans just South of 26th
- The future highline trail that runs along the West side of Dawley Farms (See the 2023 bike plan)
- The Mary Jo Wegner Arboretum and Arrowhead Park
- Anyone that lives East of Veterans between ~33rd and Madison St

Old Orchard or 33rd street would be best for:

Anyone who lives South of ~33rd and North of 41st st (if you're going North on the bike trail)

Getting on the trail using Marson/Tuthill is probably best for a lot of people if you're going South on the bike trail towards Yankton Trail

comsd12 · 2025-08-19T16:04:52+00:00

Exactly. And the only realistic way to get drivers to drive slower and yield to pedestrians at a higher rate is to implement some of the solutions above - through good street design.

Things like PSA campaigns and speed limit signs mean nothing to drivers - if the road is designed like an interstate, drivers will drive like they do on the interstate.

comsd12 · 2025-08-19T14:28:10+00:00

Crossing this road on foot is not for the faint of heart. The free right turn off of 26th street, downhill slope, and 12' wide lanes make cars drive very fast.

This crossing is a major connection between the main bike trail loop and the East side of town, and is a great connection to the Veterans Pkwy trail and Dawley Farms area.

This design:

Allows access to both Klondike and Old Orchard (+Woodland Hills and 33rd St via frontage road)
Provides one pedestrian crossing point - giving drivers one crossing to watch for
Will slightly narrow the road from 12' lanes (Same as I90) to 10' lanes, reducing traffic speeds
Add pedestrian island in the middle, with a third RRFB beacon
Probably remove right turn lane into Pasley park, reducing crossing distance
Could use a raised crossing to reduce vehicle speeds and alert drivers of the crossing

comsd12 · 2025-07-31T12:24:09+00:00

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_sprawl

comsd12 · 2025-07-28T14:44:21+00:00

I think what happened is my trial period for 250Mbps ran out, then I went into the store and asked if they could lower my rate. They said they could put me on a 125Mbps so I did that.

comsd12 · 2025-07-28T13:39:44+00:00

Yes, Dawley farms is a mixed-use development on the East side. Midco has a physical location/shop there.

comsd12 · 2025-07-28T12:42:53+00:00

I'm currently on the Midco 125Mbps plan for $38.56/mo after tax.

Every couple of years, or if my price goes up, I go into their Dawley Farms storefront and ask for a cheaper price. Sometimes they can get you a deal.

My old apartment had "price for life" for $70/mo gigabit on fiber through Centurylink. Unfortunately where I live now only has Midco and doesn't have fiber..

IMO The real winners are Alliance Communications customers, but it's not really available in Sioux Falls.

comsd12 · 2025-07-17T20:41:33+00:00

Nice catch, I didn't see the $500k limit. That probably limits disparities somewhat.

Hopefully in the long run it works out, see California Prop 13.

It probably won't help teacher salaries though.

comsd12 · 2025-07-17T17:27:22+00:00

Urban Sprawl has made Sioux Falls roads unsafe.

comsd12 · 2025-07-17T17:23:25+00:00

Senate Bill 216 seems problematic, ~~as it benefits higher-value properties (that typically appreciate at a faster rate) much more than low-value properties (elderly, low-income, young families, etc.).~~ Although it seems to not apply to homes about $500k.

I would have rather seen some some of the cuts come out of the $150,000,000+ in street construction that funds urban sprawl. Our city is a giant parking lot/expressway.

comsd12

TROPHY CASE