Sioux Falls Parks and Recreation plan to be fully open for the summer

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) - The Sioux Falls Parks and Recreation Department is gearing up for the summer announcing nearly 200 jobs available for seasonal employees.

Last year many activities and events were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

As more and more people get vaccinated, many are waiting for life to return to normal.

Sioux Falls Parks and Recreation hope to bring a little sense of normalcy back to the city this summer.

“Our plans are really to roll out the summer of activities as if it was pre-COVID, certainly the vaccination rates that are happening at this time really bodes well for us to have all our facilities open and our staff is really eager to serve the community.”

With plans to have all their facilities open in the summer, parks, and rec will need a lot of seasonal help.

“Right now, we have three positions were really looking for lifeguards for the Midco aquatic center and our outdoor pools were also looking for pool maintenance folks, and then we also have athletic field maintenance at our baseball and softball complexes.”

Residents of Sioux Falls I talked with are excited to get out and enjoy the outdoors after being cooped up all year.

“I’m excited to do more things, especially with a 2-year-old. Keeping him entertained at home is really hard to do.”

Visitors to Sioux Falls are also glad it’s starting to feel like the beginning of the end of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It’s great, I think as things open up and we can do more activities safely and enjoy our parks and the outdoors, I’m looking forward to that, it’s a great thing to be moving on.”

Parks and rec are already seeing more people wanting to get and have some fun.

“People are just thirsty for recreation, we see that all across, even the zoo is having great attendance right now with their programs and classes, they are filling up faster than they normally would and so people are really excited about being able to get out this summer and just be able to get back to normal.”

While their current plan is to have all activities and programs back this year, I was told they are prepared to adjust the opening of facilities if any new changes or problems with COVID-19 happen before the summer.

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