Sioux Falls mayor going ahead with shelter-in-place ordinance

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) – The mayor of Sioux Falls is going ahead with a city-wide shelter-in-place ordinance, now that Gov. Kristi Noem has rejected his request to issue a county-wide order.

Mayor Paul TenHaken did not say how the ordinance would differ from his stay-at-home proclamation. The Argus Leader reports the first reading of the ordinance will come at a meeting Wednesday night with a second reading scheduled for next week.

TenHaken’s request for Noem comes as Minnehaha County saw its number of cases reach 768. The state of South Dakota has reported 988 cases, and 438 of Minnehaha County’s cases are workers at Smithfield Foods pork processing plant in Sioux Falls, according to the Department of Health. And 107 involve people connected to Smithfield workers, such as family members.

TenHaken said residents would still be able to travel for work and to get groceries and other essential items. The ordinance also wouldn’t stop people from doing activities outside as long as they are social distancing.