Sioux Falls Mayor Opens Up About His COVID-19 Battle

Believe it or not, hundreds of people around the Sioux Empire have been faced with fighting the COVID-19 virus. Everyone has their own COVID story to share. Now our own Sioux Falls Mayor, Paul TenHaken is opening up about his and his family's COVID-19 battle. Yes...Mayor Paul TenHaken had COVID.

It's been almost two years since COVID became everyone's new reality. Within those two years, Mayor TenHaken was able to avoid contracting the virus until just recently. A few weeks ago, something just felt off for Mayor TenHaken. He felt sick and decided to stay home. Needless to say, he made the right decision.

Get our free mobile app

Our friends at Pigeon605 were able to sit down with Mayor Paul TenHaken to talk about his and his family's COVID journey. As he describes it, COVID "burned through our house."

“I just didn’t feel good one morning, just woke up feeling off … and I’ve been preaching for a year and a half if you’re sick don’t go to work, and that’s honestly the first time I’ve felt sick. I thought I would have caught it by now, but I hadn’t.”

Mayor TenHaken shared with Pigeon605 he experienced mild symptoms which involved a loss of taste and smell and he endured a "brain fog." He was locked in the basement of his residence with his son while working from home relying on the internet and Zoom meetings.

Since his COVID-19 battle, Mayor TenHaken is encouraging the community now more than ever to get vaccinated in an effort to fight COVID-19. "I’m glad I was vaccinated," states Mayor TenHaken to Pigeon605. "Get your vax. We know people who get it are less likely to get it in a bad way and be hospitalized. I still think just the confusion among people is so great, it’s hard to correct at this point."

Prior to his interview with Pigeon605, Mayor Paul TenHaken shared a Facebook Live video and told viewers that he is recovering from COVID. His daughter, Nora also joined the video to share some city news and what she's up to! It's a cute and informative video if you have the opportunity to watch it.

TRENDING FROM RESULTS-TOWNSQUARE SIOUX FALLS:

Sioux Falls: Then and Now

The City of Sioux Falls has changed dramatically over the past several years. Some of the streets, landscapes, and neighborhoods look vastly different than just 10-15 years ago.

Here's a look at Sioux Falls, then-and-now. See if you can recognize some of these old buildings, businesses, and city streets.