In 1997, the Perry family agreed to sell 55.07 acres to the City of Sioux Falls and made an additional approximately $750,000 donation of land to Minnehaha County for the creation of Arrowhead Park and the Perry Nature Area. Before those plans could be realized, Minnehaha County spent extensive time and money cleaning up a site that had become overgrown and a dumping ground for trash and debris after the collapse of East Sioux Falls. The County cleared unwanted items and vegetation and added amenities such as a park shop, picnic shelters, signage, and walking trails, creating Arrowhead Park and the Perry Nature Area and preparing the surrounding area for further development. Mary Jo Wegner, a Sioux Falls resident with a strong commitment to the natural environment, envisioned that the city would someday have its own arboretum, an idea shaped by her love of nature, her work with Sioux Falls Beautiful, and the relief she found in the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum during her battle with leukemia. After her death in 2003, Dr. Karl Wegner and her family established an arboretum fund to honor her life and pursue that vision, and in 2006 the Wegner Arboretum Society was formed to guide the park’s direction and development. The Society sought to create a place for educational and recreational gathering, protect the history and culture of East Sioux Falls, enhance the site’s diverse plant life, and conserve open space, working closely with the City of Sioux Falls Parks and Recreation Department, Minnehaha County, Sioux Falls Beautiful, the Sioux Falls Area Community Foundation, and landscape architects. Sioux Falls Beautiful, begun in 1997 by Dr. Tom Kilian and local activists, promoted green landscaping, improved urban places, retrofitted undesirable public spaces, and sought a balance between urban and natural environments; Arrowhead Park and the Mary Jo Wegner Arboretum and East Sioux Falls Historic Site became two of its largest projects. The Sioux Falls Area Community Foundation supported the area’s quality of life through charitable giving, grants, nonprofit assistance, and endowments. The programming, planning, and development of the Mary Jo Wegner Arboretum and East Sioux Falls Historic Site were made possible through a public-private partnership funded equally by private fundraising through the Wegner Arboretum Society and by the City of Sioux Falls Parks budget from sales tax revenue. The arboretum also became a community gathering place, including annual Arbor Day tree planting on the last Friday in April, reflecting its mission to nurture connections between plants and people, past and present, in an inspiring natural setting that invites discovery.