South Dakota

SFBJ cover story: Growing the arts as an industry in Sioux Falls

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Here’s a preview of the Sioux Falls Business Journal cover story for January 13, 2016, about the ways the arts are growing in Sioux Falls, what might be holding them back and the possible ways the arts industry can grow going forward.
You can read the full story here.

Most people would have seen a somewhat drab, empty office building.

When Zach DeBoer looked at the vacant DM&E building downtown, he saw a one-of-a-kind chance to showcase local art.

“It was very sterile, and that was the beauty of it: The sadness and emptiness of the building. So seeing the work in that was kind of fun,” he said. Continue reading →

USF memory play explores holocaust with young actors – review

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Play review by matthew stoffel of the university of sioux falls' I Never Saw Another Butterfly
Promotional image, taken from USF Theatre’s Facebook event

Playgoers at USF theatre’s latest show found themselves walking through an arch and onto a painted set of railroad tracks, the other end of which disappeared into black curtains.

While we stepped off the path before that unknown darkness to find seats, the effect set a tone for director Joseph Obermueller’s attempt to put us in the place of holocaust prisoners.

The University of Sioux Falls’ I Never Saw Another Butterfly by Celeste Raspanti ran from November 11-15. Continue reading →

A Big Search for Little Deer – 2013 SD Conservation Digest Story

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This is a piece I wrote as while working as the public relations intern at The Outdoor Campus in Sioux Falls. It appeared in the Sept./Oct. 2013 issue of South Dakota Conservation Digest, and is reprinted here with the permission of  Casey Archibald, SD Game, Fish and Parks information officer and current editor of the magazine.

A Big Search For Little Deer by Matthew Stoffel, writing for South Dakota Conservation Digest
Reprint from South Dakota Conservation Digest‘s Sept./Oct. 2013 issue.

“They’ll be curled up in a ball. Look for red. Good luck,” Kevin Robling offered a group as they began to search a field in Turner County.

The night before, Robling, a big game biologist for Game, Fish and Parks (GFP), had been out with a spotlight, searching for deer. Having spotted a doe in the area, a search party was assembled to try locating her fawns. Continue reading →

Links to Matt’s Augustana Mirror stories

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While I was a student at Augustana College (now Augustana University), I was always weary of starting a blog because I didn’t want to put out content that was sub-par or would make me look bad later on. That concern had me hesitating for a long time, but it was probably unwarranted. These days, almost everything can be tracked down. So I figure, while my old articles for Augie’s school newspaper are laying around on the net, why not rake them together? Continue reading →