TenHaken talks 2025 priorities, focus on getting projects ‘across the finish line’

If being mayor could be compared to running a marathon, Paul TenHaken estimates that he’s somewhere between mile 20 and 21.

Of the 26-mile run, that segment “is the worst because you’re still far enough away from the finish line that it’s a long way to go, but you’re close enough you can kind of see the end, and you really have to dig deep to finish,” he said.

“There are things we have to dig deep on and make sure we run through the tape.”

TenHaken, whose eight-year term runs through the spring of 2026, has a lengthy “to do” list in front of him and his team for 2025.

There’s the city’s next quality-of-life bond, slated to fund pool replacements at Frank Olson and Kuehn parks, which has been delayed for months and is scheduled for a vote early this year.

“We want it passed in January so we can finally begin work on that,” he said. “It’s been a long time in process, probably too long if you ask me, and it needs to be done.”

In the meantime, the city is starting operations of the former Sanford Wellness Center as a west-side recreation center, and “pass sales have been going crazy,” he added. “We’re really happy with how that’s going. A lot of seniors are becoming active and engaged out there. As pass holders, they’re very attracted to the price and the programming.”

Other multiyear projects include Jacobson Plaza, which will open its all-abilities playground, dog park and splash pad this spring and summer, and will open the ice ribbon sometime next winter.

By the third quarter, the hope is to have a clear direction on what could become of the Riverline District, the land east of downtown near 10th Street and Cliff Avenue, along with options for repurposing all or part of the Sioux Falls Convention Center.

“We lost three or four months delaying the purchase of the land, and now we need to get going on the plan and the vision of how to build it and pay for it,” TenHaken said. “One, can we afford that? Two, will the public support it? I don’t know if it gets voted on in my term. We may put a plan and cost together and put it on the shelf for the right time. I’m not going to force a vote to get it done.”

While those quality-of-life projects are pressing to move forward, the more bread-and-butter work of city government — public safety and infrastructure — takes priority, TenHaken said.

A multiyear upgrade to the city’s wastewater treatment plant “that will set water reclamation up for the next handful of decades” wraps up this year, major interchange and other road projects are scheduled in multiple locations, and the Police Department is stepping up a recruitment campaign.

“Public safety will remain my No. 1 priority through the end of my term,” TenHaken said, adding that despite the city’s record 16 homicides in 2024, “a lot of our public safety metrics trend positively. Looking at the totality of crime, it was a really good year, so the big focus is going to be we have to make sure we continue to recruit and retain officers who want to do this work, and that is becoming super-hard every single day.”

The recruitment effort extends to the broader city government workforce, he added. The city launched a communications campaign late last year and has enhanced its internships program to position itself as a strong option for talent, TenHaken said.

“I have one of the best and sharpest teams I’ve ever worked with in city government,” he said. “What we’re trying to do with that is tell a story. When people come to Sioux Falls or talk to a friend about Sioux Falls and they ask about good places to work … we want them to say the city (government) is an incredible employer. You can make history with a job with us. You can craft the future of this city through one of these 1,500 jobs.”

No matter what your role, though, “we need people to step up and mentor and help people in the community who need a hand up,” he continued.

That specifically includes people coming out of incarceration, who are likely to commit crimes again without stability such as in housing, and young people like those struggling with mental health.

“I worry about issues with kids, with youth,” TenHaken said. “Our educators are being asked to be therapists and meal planners and day care providers and tutors. We’re leaning so much on our schools right now to do so many things that historically were the job of the home. It worries me globally about our community — will we continue to step up to help those disadvantaged kids and help parents understand the responsibility of parenting?”

He points to the recent weapons violation at The Empire Mall in which shots were fired as an example of the kind of thing “that can ruin a community,” he said.

“Why does a kid have a gun at the mall? If we don’t deal with juvenile issues, they become crime issues. This community has an expectation and a right to feel like it’s a safe community, and for the most part, it still is. But if we don’t look at these warning lights ticking on the dashboard, our car is going to be in tough shape.”

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