This Month's Latest Tech News in Sioux Falls, SD - Saturday May 31st 2025 Edition

Sioux Falls is rapidly establishing itself as a Midwest AI and technology powerhouse, blending public- and private-sector momentum with active community engagement.

The city has invested $10 million in digital infrastructure, accelerated ethical AI adoption in schools, and grown a robust network of events like the Startup Sioux Falls AI Skills & Innovation Meetup and the upcoming Family Business Conference featuring tech futurist Sean Watson.

Major leadership transitions, such as the departure of South Dakota CIO Madhu Gottumukkala, underscore a commitment to innovation and security, with Gottumukkala noting,

“We are embracing innovation to deliver better, faster and more secure services for all the citizens.”

The city's AI ecosystem is further recognized nationally, as highlighted by the delegation's Maverick-level sponsorship at the AI Expo for National Competitiveness - an initiative celebrated for uniting stakeholders across government, academia, and industry (learn about SCSP's Expo partnerships).

From free business workshops focused on collaborative AI use to tech-forward strategies in digital government, Sioux Falls is positioning itself as a collaborative hub where innovation flourishes - read more about the city's digital transformation and AI investment on the Nucamp blog.

Sioux Falls is making bold strides in digital government transformation, investing $10 million in new tech infrastructure through a partnership with Dakota State University's Applied Research Lab to power innovation, cybersecurity, and responsible AI integration across city services.

Key initiatives include rebuilding the city's security framework with a migration to Microsoft 365 and establishing strong AI image restrictions, all while maintaining clear data governance to ensure taxpayer accountability.

Notably, the city is piloting AI-powered tools - such as an internal HR assistant - for workforce optimization, with a focus on return on investment and ethical deployment.

The broader community is also engaged, with robust public-private AI adoption and digital innovation programs enhancing service delivery. As Chief Information Officer Madhu Gottumukkala summarizes,

“The future of government services is digital, and South Dakota is committed to modernizing legacy systems, enhancing cybersecurity, and delivering innovative solutions that serve our citizens efficiently.”

For a detailed breakdown of these initiatives, see Sioux Falls Accelerates Digital Government and AI Integration.

The city's measured approach stands in contrast to other municipalities wrestling with the risks of overreliance on generative AI for sensitive government tasks, as highlighted in recent coverage of AI chatbots in New York City government at The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists' report on AI chatbot risks in government.

As more public employees recognize the productivity gains of AI, careful oversight and community involvement remain key to successful and secure digital transformation; see further insights on the impact and opportunities of AI adoption in government at FusionLP's analysis of the rising costs of AI for government.

Sanford Health in Sioux Falls has made national headlines by becoming the first health system in the United States to deploy Roche Diagnostics' Molecular Process Optimization - an AI-powered lab automation system that is transforming molecular diagnostics.

This innovative technology integrates advanced equipment and intelligent software to fully automate sample processing, enabling faster test results and freeing up staff for other critical tasks.

According to laboratory leadership, the automation expands the spectrum of diagnostic testing, crucially benefiting vulnerable populations such as transplant patients by making advanced, time-sensitive testing widely accessible.

“We are excited about the collaboration with Roche Diagnostics and the enhancements to Sanford Laboratories because of how it will elevate patient care. A more efficient and streamlined laboratory is an important benefit when it comes to providing results to our patients.” - Rochelle Odenbrett, vice president of Sanford Laboratories

Sanford Health's vice president of Sanford Laboratories shared this in a Midwest Medical Edition report on Sanford-Roche collaboration.

The implementation marks a significant leap in U.S. healthcare, with Sanford's molecular lab being just the eleventh worldwide to host this technology (KELOLAND News coverage on AI-powered diagnostics).

The upgrade ensures not only rapid and reliable test outcomes but also positions Sioux Falls as a hub for healthcare innovation. For further details on the rollout and its impact on patient care and operational efficiency, visit the Sanford Health official news release.

Feature	Impact
Automated Sample Processing	Reduces turnaround and manual workload
Diagnostic Range Expansion	Supports more test types for broader patient groups
Operational Leadership	First U.S. system, 11th worldwide to adopt technology

The Sioux Falls School District is taking a deliberate, inclusive approach to artificial intelligence in education, emphasizing ethics, professional development, and community involvement as it shapes its future AI policies.

While there is currently no formal policy on AI use, administrators encourage its academically honest application, noting,

“We firmly believe that AI, as a tool, cannot take over for what you do, but enhance what you do. We believe in beginning and ending with the human,” according to Assistant Superintendent Dr. Kirk Zeeck.

Ongoing efforts include teacher-focused workgroups, draft guidance for educators and students, and Family Listening Sessions that invite community input on responsible AI integration.

The district also reviews classroom technology through a stringent Apps, Websites, Extensions (AWE) approval process to ensure student privacy and educational value.

Notably, the district's three-pronged guidance document recognizes AI's role for classroom instruction, educator support, and student assignments, adjusted by age and academic honesty expectations.

The recent federal executive order supporting K-12 AI training and a newly formed national task force further boost district initiatives. For a detailed look at these frameworks and upcoming listening sessions, visit the Sioux Falls School District's official coverage on AI and ethics in Sioux Falls schools, the district's Family Listening Sessions on AI in Education, and the latest district-wide tech strategy highlights from Nucamp's Sioux Falls Tech News.

Forty state attorneys general, including South Dakota's Marty Jackley, have united in opposition to a proposed federal budget amendment that would enforce a sweeping “AI gag rule” - blocking states from regulating artificial intelligence or automated decision-making systems for the next decade.

This initiative, if enacted, would strip local governments of the ability to address emerging AI risks, prompting AG Jackley to emphasize,

“As Attorney General, I fully support the State's ability to impose reasonable regulations on AI within South Dakota. AI has its benefits, but left unchecked, it could lead to real dangers to the public ranging from explicit material and election interference to deception, exploitation, and harassment against consumers.”

The bipartisan coalition of attorneys general, representing South Dakota and 39 other states, sent a letter to congressional leaders urging the amendment's removal from a key reconciliation bill, citing the need for states to safeguard their residents from evolving and potentially harmful AI applications.

For more detail on the coalition's arguments and implications for state sovereignty, see this report on the AI regulation pushback led by AG Jackley, along with local news coverage highlighting Jackley's stance on protecting South Dakota from unchecked AI and national reporting on attorneys general opposing the federal AI gag rule amendment.

The move underscores growing concern among state leaders about the balance of power between federal oversight and the need for agile, local AI regulation.

Visa is ushering in the next era of online commerce with the launch of its Intelligent Commerce platform, enabling AI-powered agents to securely browse, select, and complete purchases on behalf of consumers by utilizing tokenized digital payment credentials.

Through robust partnerships with leading AI and technology companies such as Anthropic, Microsoft, OpenAI, IBM, Samsung, and Stripe, Visa is embedding payment rails directly into AI assistants, allowing users to delegate routine or complex shopping tasks - ranging from grocery orders to travel bookings - while maintaining strict controls over spending, merchant categories, and approval settings.

As Visa's Chief Product and Strategy Officer, Jack Forestell, explains,

“Soon people will have AI agents browse, select, purchase, and manage on their behalf... These agents will need to be trusted with payments, not only by users, but by banks and sellers as well.”

The initiative incorporates advanced security protocols, including real-time fraud detection, payment tokenization, and a privacy-focused data-sharing framework, building on Visa's track record of blocking $40 billion in fraud last year.

The rollout represents a seismic shift poised to reduce friction at checkout and decrease cart abandonment rates as AI-driven commerce becomes more seamless and personalized.

For a deeper dive into Visa's Intelligent Commerce platform and its partnerships, visit the detailed launch coverage from VentureBeat's report on Visa's AI commerce initiative, a full overview in PYMNTS analysis of Visa's embedded AI agent payments, and a media reaction roundup in The Columbian's breakdown of Visa's AI agent partnerships.

A groundbreaking public health campaign, "Unfinished Legacies," is harnessing artificial intelligence to let fentanyl overdose victims share their stories in hopes of preventing future tragedy.

By using AI technology, the campaign recreates victims' likenesses and voices, allowing them to deliver warnings and recount how counterfeit pills and accidental exposure led to their deaths - making the risks of fentanyl powerfully real for teens and young adults, the most affected demographic.

According to reporting by WDBJ7, overdose deaths involving counterfeit pills in the U.S. more than doubled from 2% in 2019 to 4.7% in 2021, reflecting the surging danger.

One mother, Juanita Coburn, whose 23-year-old son Jordan died after unknowingly ingesting fentanyl, described her initial reservations and her emotional reaction:

"We all cried, it was like so real, but you know it's not... He always wanted the spotlight so he's probably like I got you."

The creative team, as detailed by KCTV5, worked directly with families and relied on existing photos and videos to ethically recreate these digital legacies, while making transparency about AI generation a cornerstone of their approach.

Efforts like this align with national initiatives such as the DEA's "Faces of Fentanyl" memorial, which invites families to honor their loved ones and raise awareness through storytelling (learn more about the DEA's Fentanyl Awareness programs).

The combination of AI-powered storytelling and public education marks a new chapter in the fight against America's worsening overdose crisis.

Epique Realty has established itself as a leader in artificial intelligence for real estate by securing seven international honors at the 2025 Globee® Awards for Artificial Intelligence.

Recognized for its integrated AI platform, Epique AIPRO, and a suite of tools designed to streamline agent tasks - from property description generation to automated marketing - the company won both Silver and Bronze accolades for innovation, operational excellence, and leadership.

As detailed in the Herald-Tribune's press release on Epique Realty's AI achievements, CEO Joshua Miller was personally recognized with four awards, reflecting the company's agent-first ethos.

Epique Realty offers AI-powered resources and substantial benefits such as healthcare, CRM access, and marketing materials at no cost to its agents, who report annual savings of $30,000 and improved business performance.

The awards program, judged by more than 2,995 global experts, highlights the growing industry respect for breakthrough AI applications.

"Winning the 2025 Globee Awards for AI means we're delivering on the promise. Technology, especially AI, should be a powerful force for good, changing the equation. This recognition confirms that our commitment to real-world impact for agents and clients is a reality. We're building not just tools but the future." - Joshua Miller, CEO

For a comprehensive breakdown, see the award categories below:

Award	Category
Silver Globee®	Real Estate AI Solutions; Most Innovative AI Product for Real Estate
Bronze Globee®	Best Achievement in AI Operations; AI Thought Leadership; AI Expertise Achievement; AI Technology Leadership; AI Leadership Achievement

Learn more about their agent-centric approach and the significance of this achievement in Newswire's coverage of Epique Realty's award sweep.

Sioux Falls Mayor Paul TenHaken has strongly condemned the recent wave of political AI image misuse, following national controversy ignited by the White House's posting of AI-generated depictions of President Trump dressed as the pope and as a Star Wars villain.

The AI-generated pope image, shared just days after the passing of Pope Francis, drew widespread backlash from Catholic leaders and experts, with the New York State Catholic Conference's statement on AI-generated Pope Francis image controversy remarking,

“There is nothing clever or funny about this image. We just buried our beloved Pope Francis and the cardinals are about to enter a solemn conclave to elect a new successor of St. Peter. Do not mock us.”

While President Trump dismissed the criticism as overblown, stating,

“It was just, somebody did it in fun. It's fine. Have to have a little fun don't you?”

(President Trump's response to AI Pope image controversy), civic leaders and academics warn that such tactics blur fact and fiction, eroding trust in public discourse.

The controversy also extends to school systems struggling to address deepfakes, as AI-generated content becomes increasingly common in both national political messaging and local digital environments.

Experts, such as John Wihbey of Northeastern University, have called for proactive regulation and public education on the responsible use of AI, highlighting how generative tools are now routinely used to

“creat[e] a visual fantasy” for political power and narrative control

(New York Times coverage on AI and politics).

Sioux Falls' response underscores a growing demand for ethical guardrails in the digital era - to ensure technology advances do not come at the expense of civic respect or community trust.

Avant Technologies and Ainnova Tech are moving to transform early disease detection by integrating a patented, AI-powered dementia screening capability into their Vision AI preventative health platform.

Vision AI, which currently uses non-invasive methods like retinal imaging and a 5-minute blood test to detect cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, liver fibrosis, and chronic kidney disease, will soon expand to include detection of dementia - one of the world's fastest-growing neurodegenerative conditions.

The combined platform leverages proprietary algorithms trained on over two million clinical records and is already deployed in clinical environments across Latin America, showing detection sensitivity above 90%.

As Vinicio Vargas, CEO of Ainnova, explains,

This accessible, fast, and scalable solution is designed to support early intervention and targeted treatment strategies, with the ambition of reaching millions of patients globally in the coming years. Adding early detection of dementia through this patented technology would greatly advance our leadership in early disease detection.

This development aligns with major health tech trends for 2025, as affordable and scalable AI tools become central to proactive disease management and risk prediction according to industry reports.

With the Alzheimer's blood test already cleared by US regulators and AI platforms being brought to market by innovators like Avant, real-world adoption of such technologies signals readiness for scale and broad clinical impact as detailed in recent healthcare technology analyses.

Further coverage of the Avant Technologies and Ainnova joint effort, including the global licensing strategy and expansion into dementia detection, can be found in dedicated health tech releases here.

The Sioux Falls School District is implementing a revised cellphone policy for its high schools starting in the 2025-26 school year, following a sweeping community survey that drew over 12,000 responses from students, parents, teachers, and principals.

Under the new policy, high school students will be permitted to use their phones only during lunch periods but are now prohibited from using them in classrooms and hallways during passing periods - a shift from the prior rules that allowed use between classes.

This change stems from concerns over classroom distractions and enforcement challenges, with Board President Carly Reiter emphasizing the need to support face-to-face conversations and teacher focus.

The policy was developed by a 36-member committee and revealed notable community differences: while 99% of students favored phone use during lunch, only 62% supported use during passing periods - contrasting sharply with the majority of parents and teachers who favored tighter restrictions.

Survey findings are detailed below for context:

Group	Support Phone Use During Academic Class Time
High School Students	89%
High School Parents	49%
High School Teachers	32%
High School Principals	44%

“Difficult for teachers to enforce cell phone policy every class period... Without the change, teachers might have to remind students every 50 minutes not to use phones, causing distractions,” said Board President Carly Reiter.

For more on the policy decision and survey data, see the official analysis from the Argus Leader on the Sioux Falls School District's updated cellphone rules, review the in-depth Sioux Falls Live coverage of the working group's recommendations, and access detailed survey results provided by Yahoo News detailed survey results.

Sioux Falls stands at a pivotal intersection of technology advancement and public dialogue, harnessing responsible AI integration and digital innovation across sectors.

In 2025, the city's robust $10 million investment in collaboration with Dakota State University's Applied Research Lab is propelling digital government modernization, improved workforce experiences, and secure, well-governed data operations - an effort underscored by leaders at the South Dakota Digital Government Summit.

As the Sioux Falls School District proactively shapes AI literacy and ethics for its 24,000 K-12 students, community engagement and transparent policymaking remain central; as Assistant Superintendent Dr. Kirk Zeeck emphasized,

“We firmly believe that AI, as a tool, cannot take over for what you do, but enhance what you do… We believe in beginning and ending with the human.”

Key community initiatives include the large-scale revision of cellphone policies informed by 12,100 stakeholder voices and the elevation of cybersecurity capacity, as seen at the 2025 Sioux Falls Cybersecurity Conference.

These efforts reflect a climate of collaboration, training, and upskilling - also supported by accessible tech education, including Nucamp's specialized bootcamps that offer scholarships and flexible financing for aspiring professionals.

In summary, with investments in secure infrastructure, ethical AI adoption, and responsive education, Sioux Falls is modeling how cities can lead at the crossroads of tech progress and civic trust.

Dive deeper into the city's latest digital initiatives by visiting This Month's Latest Tech News in Sioux Falls, SD.