The push for an arboretum began with Sioux Falls Beautiful. During her lifetime, Mary Jo was a member of the local advocacy group and a leader of several organizations that serve the arts, the humanities, and the environment. In the months before leukemia claimed her life, Mary Jo found respite in visiting the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum and pleasure in imagining the day when Sioux Falls residents could enjoy their own arboretum.

When she passed away in 2003, Mary Jo’s husband, Dr. Karl Wegner, and her family established a memorial fund at the Sioux Falls Area Community Foundation to benefit a future arboretum. This past winter, Dr. Wegner and his family gifted a $1 million charitable life insurance policy to SFACF. The Community Foundation will use the proceeds to enhance and maintain the arboretum.

This is a public-private partnership. The City's Parks and Recreation Department and the Arboretum Committee of Sioux Falls Beautiful will be working hand-in-hand with SFACF to develop the park. The Committee is made up of more than a dozen master gardeners, horticulture enthusiasts, and community members. To make a contribution or learn how you can help shape this project, call Jennifer Sanderson at 336-7055, extension 11.