Best and worst of Brandon
November 20th, 2009 by 
Alica
What do you think are Brandon’s strengths? What improvements would you like to see Brandon make?
No matter how good a city is, it always can get better. For example, I personally think Brandon would be a much better place with the addition of a full-menu Greek restaurant. An outdoor amphitheater. An airport. I’d like to see Huset’s incorporated into the city limits. But that’s just me.
Recently, people have been asking for an improved swimming pool. The city is now looking into that. People have been asking for better traffic flow on the west side of Brandon, near The Bluffs. Traffic studies have been done, and financing is being sought. Perhaps you wish these things would move along more quickly.
How long have you lived in Brandon? How does it compare to other places you’ve lived? How likely are you to stay here?
Posted in Uncategorized | 
November 20th, 2009 at 11:20 am
I would like to see a fryn’ pan, perkins or even a deny’s come to town. As it is now we have to drive all the way to SF if you want an early (or late night) breakfast
November 20th, 2009 at 12:34 pm
Although there are several 24-hour places on the east side of Sioux Falls that serve breakfast all the time, it’s always better for Brandon if the business (and therefore the sales tax dollars and property taxes) are right here in town.
I know that the deli in the Sunshine store serves breakfast starting at 6 a.m. I hope that helps you. But if you’re a night worker and want a bite to eat after the night shift, then you’re right. There are few, if any, options in Brandon.
November 20th, 2009 at 3:03 pm
Brandon needs a community center. Somewhere that the public can go play basketball, volleyball, indoor pool, have meeting rooms. Adult recreation programs like Sioux Falls has, it would be wonderful, as of now there is NOTHING for adults to do in Brandon. How about a movie theater, somewhere to play Mini Golf or what not. Just more things to keep people wanting to stay in Brandon and not drive to Sioux Falls.
November 20th, 2009 at 3:41 pm
To #3,
Check out the community ed courses that are available. Many good classes available. Brandon also has mens/womens/coed volleyball leagues. There are also open gyms on certain nights, again, check out the community ed schedule. There are also several organizations that are always looking for volunteers. Get a pamphlet from the chamber. Have you ever attended any of the events at the PAC or the MCAP theater in Corson. Buy an activity ticket and attend the home games for volleyball, bb, football, wrestling. You’d be surprised - they are quite entertaining and you wouldn’t be alone. Several churches offer classes or seminars. If you can’t find anything to do in Brandon, you’re not looking very hard. Enjoy what you have in this town - parks, bike trails, skateboard parks, sand volleyball, tennis courts, ….
You want BIG city life, move to the CITY.
November 20th, 2009 at 3:51 pm
To #3: More gyms and sports activities would do me, personally, no good at all, especially after last week’s knee surgery. I’m more of a sitting around type of person. But I understand that many people are more active than I.
It would be cool if there were some free meeting rooms with attached kitchens like the one they have at the Sioux Valley Energy building. But sometimes it’s hard to book that room, it’s so busy, and sometimes you just want a room for only a dozen or so people.
To #4: You are correct, there are many things to do in Brandon, from outdoor recreation activities in the city and state parks, to attending sporting or theater events, to being involved in church or civic activities. On brandoninfo.com today is a story about a coffee tasting that was one of the recent Community Education courses.
I suppose a city could offer hundreds of things to do, but if none of them is your particular interest, it would seem like there is nothing to do. I personally would be interested in a board/card game club that would meet once a month or something. I would enjoy that a lot.
November 22nd, 2009 at 12:18 am
Even though I lived outside of Brandon, I did go to Brandon on a regular basis for various reasons. Currently I live in Brookings, so Brandon doesn’t really compare, because Brookings has many different commercial opputunities. Brandon would be a great place to live especially in the near future, with the developments on the east side of Sioux Falls.
In the future the only thing that would keep Sioux Falls from annexing Brandon, would be more commercial services here in Brandon. For me more places to eat would be nice along with a nice little community center. Transportation to and from SF is also a problem, which needs to be a bigger issue than it already is.
November 23rd, 2009 at 10:09 am
To #6: Sioux Falls and Brandon almost certainly will meet up at some point, but Sioux Falls won’t annex Brandon. Brandon will still have its own city government. But driving through, I’m sure there will come a time when you don’t know when you’re leaving one city and entering the other.
You bring up a good point about transportation. Brandon has two city buses and a van, but they travel only within Brandon. They don’t go to Sioux Falls. As demand increases, though, a city bus might go to Sioux Falls. People at City Hall have told me that the most likely scenario is that a Brandon bus would take people to a dropping off point in Sioux Falls, like the Center for Active Generations, and then riders can take Sioux Falls city transit from there to their destinations.