Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Encyclopedia
Sioux Falls ˌ is the largest city in the U.S. state
of South Dakota
. Sioux Falls is the county seat
of Minnehaha County
, and also extends into Lincoln County
to the south. It is the 47th fastest growing city in the United States and the fastest growing metro area in the State of South Dakota, with a total increase of 22% since 2000.
As of the 2010 census, Sioux Falls had a population of 153,888. The metropolitan population of 228,261 accounts for 28% of South Dakota's total state population. Sioux Falls is the largest city in the Sioux Falls-Sioux City, SD-IA-MN-NE Designated Market Area (DMA),with a population of 1,043,450. Chartered in 1856 on the banks of the Big Sioux River
, the city is situated on the prairie
of the Great Plains
at the junction of Interstate 90
and Interstate 29
.
. The falls were created about 14,000 years ago during the last ice age
. The lure of the falls has been a powerful influence. Ho-Chunk, Ioway, Otoe, Missouri, Omaha (and Ponca at the time), Quapaw, Kansa, Osage, Arikira, Dakota, Nakota and Cheyenne people inhabited the region previous to European descendants. Numerous burial mounds still exist on the high bluffs near the river. These people operated an agricultural society that built fortified villages on many of the same sites that were previously settled. Lakota populate urban and reservation communities in the contemporary state and many Lakota, Dakota, Nakota, and other Indigenous Americans reside in Sioux Falls today.
The first documented European visit was made by French voyagers/explorers, in the early 18th century, who mapped the area and took census counts of the Indigenous cities communities at that time (with the Blood Run population being 10,000 people, not outnumbered in population until the 19th century by Euro-American settlers, thus this area has been a thriving urban area for quite some time).
The first documented visit by an American (of European descent) was by Philander Prescott
, who camped overnight at the falls in December 1832. Captain James Allen led a military expedition out of Fort Des Moines in 1844. Jacob Ferris described the Falls in his 1856 book "The States and Territories of the Great West".
Two separate groups, the Dakota Land Company of St. Paul
and the Western Town Company of Dubuque
, Iowa
organized in 1856 to claim the land around the falls, considering a promising townsite for its beauty and water power. Each laid out 320 acres (1.3 km²) claims, but worked together for mutual protection. They built a temporary barricade of turf which they dubbed "Fort Sod," in response to hostilities threatened by native tribes. Seventeen men then spent "the first winter" in Sioux Falls. The following year the population grew to near 40.
Although conflicts in Minnehaha County between Native Americans
and white settlers were few, the Dakota War of 1862
engulfed nearby southwestern Minnesota
. The town was evacuated in August of that year when two local settlers were killed as a result of the conflict. The settlers and soldiers stationed here traveled to Yankton
in late August 1862. The abandoned townsite was pillaged and burned.
Fort Dakota, a military reservation established in present day downtown, was established in May 1865. Many former settlers gradually returned and a new wave of settlers arrived in the following years. The population grew to 593 by 1873, and a building boom was underway in that year.The Village of Sioux Falls, consisting of 1200 acres (4.9 km²), was incorporated in 1876 and was granted a city charter by the Dakota Territorial legislature on March 3, 1883.
The arrival of the railroads
ushered in the great Dakota Boom decade of the 1880s. The population of Sioux Falls mushroomed from 2,164 in 1880 to 10,167 at the close of the decade. The growth transformed the city. A severe plague of grasshoppers and a national depression halted the boom by the early 1890s. The city grew by only 89 people from 1890 to 1900.
But prosperity eventually returned with the opening of the John Morrell meat packing plant in 1909, the establishment of an airbase and a military radio and communications training school in 1942, and the completion of the interstate highways in the early 1960s. Much of the growth in the first part of the 20th century was fueled by agriculturally based industry, such as the Morrell plant and the nearby stockyards (one of the largest in the nation).
In 1955 the city decided to consolidate the neighboring incorporated city of South Sioux Falls
. At the time South Sioux Falls had a population of nearly 1,600 inhabitants, according to the 1950 census. It was third largest city in the county after Sioux Falls and Dell Rapids. By October 18, 1955 South Sioux Falls residents voted 704 in favor and 227 against to consolidate with Sioux Falls. On the same issue, Sioux Falls residents voted on November 15 by the vote 2,714 in favor and 450 against.
In 1981, to take advantage of recently relaxed state usury
laws, Citibank
decided to relocate its primary credit card center from New York
to Sioux Falls. Some claim that this event was the primary impetus for the increased population and job growth rates that Sioux Falls has experienced over the past quarter century. Others point out that Citibank's relocation was only part of a more general transformation of the city's economy from an industrially based one to an economy centered on health care, finance and retail trade.
Sioux Falls has grown at a rapid pace since the late 1970s, with the city's population increasing from 81,000 in 1980 to 153,888 in 2010.
Sioux Falls is located at 43°32'11" North, 96°43'54" West (43.536285, -96.731780). According to the United States Census Bureau
, as of 2000, the city had a total area of 56.3 square miles (145.8 km²), of which 56.3 square miles (145.8 km²) is land and 0.04 square mile (0.1035995244 km²) is water. The city is located in the extreme eastern part of South Dakota
, about 15 miles (24.1 km) west of the Minnesota
border and 8 miles (12.9 km) northwest of the Iowa
border. Sioux Falls has been assigned the ZIP code
s 57101, 57103-57110, 57117-57118, 57188-57189 and 57192-57198 and the FIPS place code 59020.
consists of four counties, all of which are located in South Dakota: Lincoln
, McCook
, Minnehaha
, and Turner
. The estimated population of this MSA in 2008 was 232,930, an increase of over 24% from the 2000 census. According to recent estimates, Lincoln County is the ninth-fastest growing county (by percentage) in the United States. In addition to Sioux Falls, several cities and towns included in the metropolitan area are Brandon
, Dell Rapids
, Tea
, Harrisburg
, Worthing
, Beresford
, Lennox
, Hartford
, Crooks
, Baltic
, Montrose
, Salem
, Renner, Chancellor, Colton, Canton, Humboldt, Parker, Hurley, Garretson, Sherman, Corson, and Centerville make up this Metro Area.
and snowshoe
ing. During the winter, Great Bear Recreation Park
offers skiing, snow boarding, and tubing. During the summer time Falls Park offers a free sound and light show telling the history of Sioux Falls from the people who settled around the falls to more recent history.
(Koppen
Dfa), which is characterized by hot, relatively humid summers and cold, drier winters. From mid-January to mid-July, monthly average highs range from 24 to 86 °F (-4.4 to 30 C) and monthly average lows from 2 to 61 °F (-16.7 to 16.1 C). Snowfall occurs mostly in light to moderate amounts during the winter, totaling 39.3 inches (100 cm). Precipitation, at 24.7 inches (627 mm), is concentrated in the warmer months. The sunshine amount, at 2140 hours, approximately 49% of the possible total, is considered low for the continental US. Extremes range from -42 F in 1899 to 110 °F (43 °C) as recently as 1988.
Originally centered on quarrying and agriculturally-based industries, the economy of Sioux Falls has become greatly diversified and more service-based over the last half-century, making the city an important location for financial services
, health care
, and retail
trade.
and Citigroup
. Other important financial service companies located in Sioux Falls include Great Western Bank
, Western Surety Company
(CNA Surety), Total Card Inc., Capital Card Services, Midland National Life Insurance Company, HSBC
, and First Premier Bank
.
Sioux Falls is a significant regional health care center. There are four major hospitals in Sioux Falls: Sanford Health
(formerly Sioux Valley), Avera
McKennan Hospital, the South Dakota Veterans Affairs
Hospital, and the Avera Heart Hospital of South Dakota. Sanford Health and Avera Health are the largest and second largest employers in the city, respectively. Emergency medical services
(EMS) are provided by both the Sioux Falls Rural/Metro Ambulance Service and the Sioux Falls Fire Rescue.
Corporate headquarters located here include:Carbase.com.
Other companies based in Sioux Falls include retailers Lewis Drug
and Sunshine Foods, as well as communications companies LodgeNet
and Midcontinent Communications
.
Because of the relatively long distances between Sioux Falls and larger cities, Sioux Falls has emerged as an important regional center of shopping and dining. The Empire Mall, with over 180 stores, anchors one of the primary retail zones in the southwest section of the city. This area, centered mainly around the intersection of 41st Street and Louise Avenue, contains many large national chain stores and restaurants. The Empire Mall is the largest one story mall in the United States.
Dawley Farm Village is a major commercial development located on the east side of the city. This growing shopping district is located at the intersection of (SD Highway 42
) and Powder House Road (SD Highway 11
). Downtown Sioux Falls is another important retail zone, offering more small, independent shops and restaurants.
"The Bridges" is an outdoor shopping center located at the intersection of 57th Street and Western Avenue on the south side of the city. The Bridges contains over 30 restaurants, boutiques, and private businesses. "The Bridges" is the only shopping center of its kind south of 57th Street in the Sioux Falls Metro.
Downtown offers shops in its different neighborhoods. In Central Downtown, shops line Phillips Avenue, and in the "EastBank" shops and restaurants fill a boardwalk style center called "8th and Railroad."
While no longer as economically dominant as it once was, the manufacturing
and food processing
sector remains an important component of the economy of Sioux Falls. The John Morrell meat packing plant is the third largest employer in the city. Other important manufacturing companies include Wheeler Tank Mfg, Maguire Iron, Amesbury Group, Teem, Raven Industries
, Bell Incorporated, Tyco
, Gage Brothers, and Rosenbauer America.
, there were 123,975 people, 49,731 households, and 30,783 families residing in the city. Currently, the city is home to 155,000 persons with 66,778 households, and 44,242 families. The population density
is 2,201.4 people per square mile (849.9/km²). There are 51,680 housing units at an average density of 917.7 per square mile (354.3/km²).
Of the 49,731 households, 32.1% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.4% are married couples
living together, 10.0% have a female householder with no husband present, and 38.1% are non-families. 29.8% of all households are made up of individuals and 8.9% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.40 and the average family size is 3.00.
for the city is $21,374. 8.4% of the population and 5.6% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 10.3% of those under the age of 18 and 7.4% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
was settled mainly by European immigrants, with Germans and Scandinavians representing the largest ethnic groups immigrating into the state. At present, the religious majority in the state and city is Lutheran, while Roman Catholics represent the second largest religious group. Sioux Falls still has a large Lutheran presence comprising the largest number of religious adherents in the city. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Sioux Falls
, one of two dioceses in the state, built St. Joseph's Cathedral on Duluth Avenue beginning in 1915 (completed in 1919), which is the largest church in South Dakota and one of the largest Roman Catholic cathedrals in the United States. Sioux Falls is also the seat of the Episcopal Diocese of South Dakota
. Calvary Cathedral, of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, is the mother church for South Dakota Episcopalians. Sioux Falls is also home to about 3,000 Muslims who are served by the Islamic Center of Sioux Falls.
, the University of Sioux Falls
, Sioux Falls Seminary, Kilian Community College, Southeast Technical Institute, National American University
, Colorado Technical University
, the South Dakota School for the Deaf
, Great Plains Baptist College, Globe University/Minnesota School of Business, the University of South Dakota's Sanford School of Medicine (Sioux Falls campus), Stewart School and the South Dakota Public Universities and Research Center
(formerly known as USDSU).
, Washington) and New Technology High School (grades 9-12), five middle schools (grades 6-8), and 26 elementary schools (grades K-5). Suburbs surround Sioux Falls continue to experience dramatic growth as Sioux Falls expands. Suburbs that are experiencing the most of this exponential growth are the districts in Brandon Valley
, Valley Springs
, Baltic
, Canton
, Harrisburg
, Tea Area
, and others. Many of these districts serve students that live on outer edges of Sioux Falls city limits, and serve thousands of Metro-Area students.
The Sioux Falls School District has signed an agreement that will allow the district to participate in an Athletic Conference known as the "Metro Conference." Sioux Falls Lincoln, Washington, and Roosevelt High School along with Sioux Falls O'Gorman and Brandon Valley High School's will compete in this conference, along with other potential suburban districts to help cut down on costs and to increase competition between school in the Sioux Falls Metro Area.
There are five public middle schools in the city: Axtell Park Middle School,
Edison Middle School,
Memorial Middle School,
Patrick Henry Middle School
, and
Whittier Middle School.
There are 26 public elementary schools in Sioux Falls (with an additional one planned to open and serve part of the city's west side in 2012): All-City at Jane Addams,
Laura B. Anderson,
Challenge Center,
Cleveland,
Discovery,
Harvey Dunn,
FIC at Jane Addams,
Eugene Field,
Robert Frost,
Garfield,
John Harris,
Hawthorne,
Hayward,
Oscar Howe,
Jefferson,
John F. Kennedy,
Longfellow,
Lowell,
Horace Mann,
Terry Redlin,
Renberg,
Rosa Parks,
Richard F. Pettigrew,
Anne Sullivan,
Mark Twain, and
Laura Wilder.
Other private schools include Christian Center, The Baan Dek Montessori
, Sioux Falls Christian Schools
, Cornerstone School and Sioux Falls Lutheran Schools.
Sioux Falls is also home to Central Baptist Preschool, the largest preschool in South Dakota.
Festival of Bands is a regional Competition that hosts over 40 marching bands each year from across the midwest. The parade runs from southern Downtown into northern Downtown, with the step-off located at 14th and Main, and ending at 6th and Main. Preliminaries are held from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM the entire first Saturday in October, with the top 10 scoring bands advancing to FOB Finals that evening at Howard Wood Field, the regions largest Football Stadium.
The Sioux Empire Spectacular draws Drum Corps participants and fans from across the nation to Sioux Falls for this regional competition. Thousands attend this event held at Howard Wood Memorial Field in July every summer. The event is run by DCI and by the music departments of the Sioux Falls School District.
LifeLight Festival, is the largest free Christian music
festival in the country with over 300,000 attendees in 2007 over the 3 day span. It is held yearly over Labor Day
weekend near Worthing,SD. The LifeLight Festival moved to near Worthing, SD in the far southern metro in 2010.
Party in the Park is an annual outdoor musical event held at Terrace Park. TNT Produktions holds this event at no charge to the public.
The Sioux Empire Fair
is a regional fair held at the W.H. Lyon Fairgrounds every year and attracts tens of thousands of attendees.
Jazz Fest is hosted at Yankton Trail Park on the south side of the city each year, and attracts thousands to listen to Jazz Groups and bands.
In the past decade, Sioux Falls experienced a renaissance of cultural interest. With a plethora of white collar jobs in the area, Sioux Falls' leaders saw a need for more arts and culture in the region.
The Sioux Empire Arts Council continues to be an initiating leader in the arts scene of the Sioux Falls area and give out Mayor's Awards each year in several categories for excellence demonstrated by Sioux Falls residents within the particular form.
Poetry and literary events began to come to greater popularity with the opening of the Sioux Empire Arts Council Horse Barn Gallery and due to a National Endowment for the Arts-supported Writer's Voice. The Writer's Voice included a reading series of 38 nationally known poets and writers (per year) who performed works and youth workshops through the Sioux Falls Writers Voice in local performance spaces, at the YMCA afterschool program, and in local area schools.
These two entities along with the resurgence of events regularly hosted at the Washington Pavilion's Leonardo's Cafe
(Lincoln High School Writer's Guild), the Sioux Empire Arts Council's Horse Barn Art Gallery, and several coffee house locations, including Black Sheep Coffee.
During this renaissance Allison Hedge Coke
moved to Sioux Falls from Rapid City
as she was serving the State of South Dakota, first as a part-time literary artist in the Sioux Falls Schools and then as a full-time literary artist in residence for the Sioux Falls school district. Later she held the literary artist role with the school district while simultaneously teaching at Kilian College and the University of Sioux Falls. She continually participated at-large in the national literary field as a visiting writer/performing artist. Tom Foster
moved to Sioux Falls (from California), having already developed a presence in the California Slam scene and was integral to keeping public open-mics going strong. Charles Luden continued to make poetry a typical presence throughout the art scene as he had advocated for decades by this time. Deb Klebanoff began to create more high-profile city spaces for poetry and literary events to be secured through the city and area government. Hedge Coke continued to initiate and implement new literary programming while advocating for youth involvement and neighborhood issues in Sioux Falls Arts & Cultural life. The Washington Pavilion continued to donate space for literary activities as well as the Siouxland Sioux Falls Library. Eventually, David Allan Evans
returned to Sioux Falls as the current State of South Dakota Poet Laureate and enhanced the literary scene with his reintroduction to the Sioux Falls community and presence as the state poet. Rosie Blunk, long-time theater teacher from Sioux Falls, retired from teaching and began hosting the Poetry Out Loud! state competitions as well.
The Sioux Falls Jazz and Blues Festival
, JazzFest, has become a huge summer event in Sioux Falls and the region. JazzFest is now a three-day outdoor musical event featuring two stages and is free to the public. The event is held the third weekend in July at Yankton Trail Park in Sioux Falls. The Sioux Falls Jazz & Blues Society plays host to national musicians during their annual concert series. Each year the concert series includes approximately five concerts with acts from all over the world.
The Washington Pavilion of Arts and Science
contains the Kirby Science Discover Center, as well as two performing arts centers that host several Broadway productions and operas. The South Dakota Symphony's home hosts dance groups as well as smaller theater and choral events. The Visual Arts Center, also part of the Pavilion complex, hosts six galleries of changing exhibits, all free of charge. The Wells Fargo Cinedome is a multiformat 60 ft (18.3 m) dome theater that plays several films each month.
The Great Plains Zoo & Delbridge Museum provides the area with natural history and animal exhibits in its 50 acres (202,343 m²) park, and has an impressive number of diorama
s depicting wildlife.
The memorial to the World War II battleship USS South Dakota is on State Highway 42 (West 12th Street) and Kiwanis Avenue.
The 114th Fighter Wing
, located at Joe Foss Field. The 114th houses F-16C/D fighter aircraft. This unit is well known for its support of community activities and services.
A replica of Michelangelo's
David
is near the downtown area at Fawick Park.
passes east to west across the northern edge of the city, while Interstate 29
bisects the western portion of the city from the north and south. Interstate 229
forms a partial loop
around Sioux Falls, and connects with Interstate 90 to the northeast and Interstate 29 to the southwest. A grid design system
for city streets is the standard for the central (older) area of the city, while secondary streets in newer residential areas have largely abandoned this plan.
Major north/south roads in Sioux Falls include: Ellis Road, Sertoma Avenue, Marion Road, I-29, Louise Avenue, Kiwanis Avenue, Western Avenue, Minnesota Avenue (South Dakota Highway 115, south of Benson Road), Cliff Avenue (South Dakota Highway 115, north of Benson Road), Sycamore Avenue, South Dakota Highway 11
/Future Highway 100, and Six Mile Road.
Major west/east roads include: I-90, 60th Street North (South Dakota Highway 38
, west of I-29), Benson Road (South Dakota Highway 115 between Minnesota Avenue and Cliff Avenue), Russell Street/Maple Street, Madison Street/Rice Street, 10th/11th/12th Street/Arrowhead Parkway (South Dakota Highway 42
), 26th Street, 41st Street, 57th Street, 69th Street, 85th Street, and 101st Street.
Due to current and expected regional growth, several large construction projects have been or will be undertaken. New interchanges have recently been added to Interstate 29. An interchange was also completed on I-90 at Marion Road. I-29 has recently been improved from I-90 to the 26th Street exit. This upgrade includes additional lanes and auxiliary lanes. Over the next decade, the city of Sioux Falls and the South Dakota Department of Transportation plan to construct a limited-access highway around the outer edges of the city to the south and east known as South Dakota Highway 100. This highway will start at the northern Tea exit (Exit 73 on I-29, 101st Street) and will travel east on 101st Street, and curve northeast east of Western Avenue, then turns northerly near Sycamore Avenue. The highway will end at the Timberline Avenue exit (Exit 402 on I-90).
Sioux Falls Transit
, the local public transit organization, runs Sioux Area Metro, which operates 16 bus lines within the city. Recently, the city added a new transfer station in Sioux Falls on Louise Avenue between 49th and 57th Streets. The Sioux Area Metro Paratransit serves members of the community who would otherwise not be able the travel by providing door to door service.
Sioux Falls also has several taxi companies that operate within the city.
Jefferson Lines
runs long-distance bus routes to Sioux Falls. Non-Transfer destinations include Grand Forks
, Kansas City
, Minneapolis, and Omaha
. There is no Amtrak
passenger train service that passes through South Dakota.
, American Airlines
, Allegiant Air
, and Frontier Airlines
) serve Sioux Falls Regional Airport
, also known as Joe Foss Field (in honor of famed aviator and former Governor Joe Foss
), offering non-stop flight service to a number of major U.S. airport hubs, including Chicago O'Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, Denver International Airport
, Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport
, Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, Orlando Sanford International Airport
, Las Vegas' McCarran International Airport
, Los Angeles International Airport
, and Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport
.
, an organization that began under President Dwight Eisenhower in 1956, Sioux Falls has been given three international sister cities in an attempt to foster cross-cultural understanding:
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of South Dakota
South Dakota
South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
. Sioux Falls is the county seat
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
of Minnehaha County
Minnehaha County, South Dakota
As of the census of 2000, there were 148,281 people, 57,996 households, and 37,581 families residing in the county. The population density was 183 people per square mile . There were 60,237 housing units at an average density of 74 per square mile...
, and also extends into Lincoln County
Lincoln County, South Dakota
As of the census of 2000, there were 24,131 people, 8,782 households, and 6,665 families residing in the county. The population density was 42 people per square mile . There were 9,131 housing units at an average density of 16 per square mile...
to the south. It is the 47th fastest growing city in the United States and the fastest growing metro area in the State of South Dakota, with a total increase of 22% since 2000.
As of the 2010 census, Sioux Falls had a population of 153,888. The metropolitan population of 228,261 accounts for 28% of South Dakota's total state population. Sioux Falls is the largest city in the Sioux Falls-Sioux City, SD-IA-MN-NE Designated Market Area (DMA),with a population of 1,043,450. Chartered in 1856 on the banks of the Big Sioux River
Big Sioux River
The Big Sioux River is a tributary of the Missouri River, long, in eastern South Dakota and northwestern Iowa in the United States. The United States Board on Geographic Names settled on "Big Sioux River" as the stream's name in 1961....
, the city is situated on the prairie
Prairie
Prairies are considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the dominant vegetation type...
of the Great Plains
Great Plains
The Great Plains are a broad expanse of flat land, much of it covered in prairie, steppe and grassland, which lies west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada. This area covers parts of the U.S...
at the junction of Interstate 90
Interstate 90
Interstate 90 is the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It is the northernmost coast-to-coast interstate, and parallels US 20 for the most part. Its western terminus is in Seattle, at Edgar Martinez Drive S. near Safeco Field and CenturyLink Field, and its eastern terminus is in...
and Interstate 29
Interstate 29
Interstate 29 is an Interstate Highway in the Midwestern United States. I-29 runs from Kansas City, Missouri, at a junction with Interstate 35 and Interstate 70 to the Canadian border near Pembina, North Dakota, where it connects with Manitoba Highway 75 via the short Manitoba Highway 29.-Route...
.
History
The history of Sioux Falls revolves around the cascades of the Big Sioux RiverBig Sioux River
The Big Sioux River is a tributary of the Missouri River, long, in eastern South Dakota and northwestern Iowa in the United States. The United States Board on Geographic Names settled on "Big Sioux River" as the stream's name in 1961....
. The falls were created about 14,000 years ago during the last ice age
Ice age
An ice age or, more precisely, glacial age, is a generic geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers...
. The lure of the falls has been a powerful influence. Ho-Chunk, Ioway, Otoe, Missouri, Omaha (and Ponca at the time), Quapaw, Kansa, Osage, Arikira, Dakota, Nakota and Cheyenne people inhabited the region previous to European descendants. Numerous burial mounds still exist on the high bluffs near the river. These people operated an agricultural society that built fortified villages on many of the same sites that were previously settled. Lakota populate urban and reservation communities in the contemporary state and many Lakota, Dakota, Nakota, and other Indigenous Americans reside in Sioux Falls today.
The first documented European visit was made by French voyagers/explorers, in the early 18th century, who mapped the area and took census counts of the Indigenous cities communities at that time (with the Blood Run population being 10,000 people, not outnumbered in population until the 19th century by Euro-American settlers, thus this area has been a thriving urban area for quite some time).
The first documented visit by an American (of European descent) was by Philander Prescott
Philander Prescott
Philander Prescott . He was a native of Phelps, Ontario County, New York...
, who camped overnight at the falls in December 1832. Captain James Allen led a military expedition out of Fort Des Moines in 1844. Jacob Ferris described the Falls in his 1856 book "The States and Territories of the Great West".
Two separate groups, the Dakota Land Company of St. Paul
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Saint Paul is the capital and second-most populous city of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city lies mostly on the east bank of the Mississippi River in the area surrounding its point of confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Minneapolis, the state's largest city...
and the Western Town Company of Dubuque
Dubuque, Iowa
Dubuque is a city in and the county seat of Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, located along the Mississippi River. In 2010 its population was 57,637, making it the ninth-largest city in the state and the county's population was 93,653....
, Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
organized in 1856 to claim the land around the falls, considering a promising townsite for its beauty and water power. Each laid out 320 acres (1.3 km²) claims, but worked together for mutual protection. They built a temporary barricade of turf which they dubbed "Fort Sod," in response to hostilities threatened by native tribes. Seventeen men then spent "the first winter" in Sioux Falls. The following year the population grew to near 40.
Although conflicts in Minnehaha County between Native Americans
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
and white settlers were few, the Dakota War of 1862
Dakota War of 1862
The Dakota War of 1862, also known as the Sioux Uprising, was an armed conflict between the United States and several bands of the eastern Sioux. It began on August 17, 1862, along the Minnesota River in southwest Minnesota...
engulfed nearby southwestern Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
. The town was evacuated in August of that year when two local settlers were killed as a result of the conflict. The settlers and soldiers stationed here traveled to Yankton
Yankton, South Dakota
Yankton is a city in, and the county seat of, Yankton County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 14,454 at the 2010 census. Yankton was the original capital of Dakota Territory. It is named for the Yankton tribe of Nakota Native Americans...
in late August 1862. The abandoned townsite was pillaged and burned.
Fort Dakota, a military reservation established in present day downtown, was established in May 1865. Many former settlers gradually returned and a new wave of settlers arrived in the following years. The population grew to 593 by 1873, and a building boom was underway in that year.The Village of Sioux Falls, consisting of 1200 acres (4.9 km²), was incorporated in 1876 and was granted a city charter by the Dakota Territorial legislature on March 3, 1883.
The arrival of the railroads
Rail transport
Rail transport is a means of conveyance of passengers and goods by way of wheeled vehicles running on rail tracks. In contrast to road transport, where vehicles merely run on a prepared surface, rail vehicles are also directionally guided by the tracks they run on...
ushered in the great Dakota Boom decade of the 1880s. The population of Sioux Falls mushroomed from 2,164 in 1880 to 10,167 at the close of the decade. The growth transformed the city. A severe plague of grasshoppers and a national depression halted the boom by the early 1890s. The city grew by only 89 people from 1890 to 1900.
But prosperity eventually returned with the opening of the John Morrell meat packing plant in 1909, the establishment of an airbase and a military radio and communications training school in 1942, and the completion of the interstate highways in the early 1960s. Much of the growth in the first part of the 20th century was fueled by agriculturally based industry, such as the Morrell plant and the nearby stockyards (one of the largest in the nation).
In 1955 the city decided to consolidate the neighboring incorporated city of South Sioux Falls
South Sioux Falls, South Dakota
South Sioux Falls was an incorporated community located in south-central Minnehaha County, South Dakota, United States until 1955. The community was centered in present day Sioux Falls alongside the Minnesota Ave. exit of Interstate 229, stretching from 33rd to street in the north, to 57th street...
. At the time South Sioux Falls had a population of nearly 1,600 inhabitants, according to the 1950 census. It was third largest city in the county after Sioux Falls and Dell Rapids. By October 18, 1955 South Sioux Falls residents voted 704 in favor and 227 against to consolidate with Sioux Falls. On the same issue, Sioux Falls residents voted on November 15 by the vote 2,714 in favor and 450 against.
In 1981, to take advantage of recently relaxed state usury
Usury
Usury Originally, when the charging of interest was still banned by Christian churches, usury simply meant the charging of interest at any rate . In countries where the charging of interest became acceptable, the term came to be used for interest above the rate allowed by law...
laws, Citibank
Citibank
Citibank, a major international bank, is the consumer banking arm of financial services giant Citigroup. Citibank was founded in 1812 as the City Bank of New York, later First National City Bank of New York...
decided to relocate its primary credit card center from New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
to Sioux Falls. Some claim that this event was the primary impetus for the increased population and job growth rates that Sioux Falls has experienced over the past quarter century. Others point out that Citibank's relocation was only part of a more general transformation of the city's economy from an industrially based one to an economy centered on health care, finance and retail trade.
Sioux Falls has grown at a rapid pace since the late 1970s, with the city's population increasing from 81,000 in 1980 to 153,888 in 2010.
Geography
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, as of 2000, the city had a total area of 56.3 square miles (145.8 km²), of which 56.3 square miles (145.8 km²) is land and 0.04 square mile (0.1035995244 km²) is water. The city is located in the extreme eastern part of South Dakota
South Dakota
South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
, about 15 miles (24.1 km) west of the Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
border and 8 miles (12.9 km) northwest of the Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
border. Sioux Falls has been assigned the ZIP code
ZIP Code
ZIP codes are a system of postal codes used by the United States Postal Service since 1963. The term ZIP, an acronym for Zone Improvement Plan, is properly written in capital letters and was chosen to suggest that the mail travels more efficiently, and therefore more quickly, when senders use the...
s 57101, 57103-57110, 57117-57118, 57188-57189 and 57192-57198 and the FIPS place code 59020.
Metropolitan Area
The Sioux Falls Metropolitan Statistical AreaSioux Falls metropolitan area
The Sioux Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of four counties in South Dakota, anchored by the city of Sioux Falls...
consists of four counties, all of which are located in South Dakota: Lincoln
Lincoln County, South Dakota
As of the census of 2000, there were 24,131 people, 8,782 households, and 6,665 families residing in the county. The population density was 42 people per square mile . There were 9,131 housing units at an average density of 16 per square mile...
, McCook
McCook County, South Dakota
As of the census of 2000, there were 5,832 people, 2,204 households, and 1,558 families residing in the county. The population density was 10 people per square mile . There were 2,383 housing units at an average density of 4 per square mile...
, Minnehaha
Minnehaha County, South Dakota
As of the census of 2000, there were 148,281 people, 57,996 households, and 37,581 families residing in the county. The population density was 183 people per square mile . There were 60,237 housing units at an average density of 74 per square mile...
, and Turner
Turner County, South Dakota
As of the census of 2000, there were 8,849 people, 3,510 households, and 2,478 families residing in the county. The population density was 14 people per square mile . There were 3,852 housing units at an average density of 6 per square mile...
. The estimated population of this MSA in 2008 was 232,930, an increase of over 24% from the 2000 census. According to recent estimates, Lincoln County is the ninth-fastest growing county (by percentage) in the United States. In addition to Sioux Falls, several cities and towns included in the metropolitan area are Brandon
Brandon, South Dakota
There were 1,909 households out of which 53.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 71.0% were married couples living together, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 16.6% were non-families. 13.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.3% had someone...
, Dell Rapids
Dell Rapids, South Dakota
Dell Rapids is a city in Minnehaha County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 3,633 at the 2010 census. It is known as "The little city with the big attractions."-Geography:...
, Tea
Tea, South Dakota
Tea is a city in Lincoln County, South Dakota, United States and is a suburb of Sioux Falls. The population was 3,806 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Tea is located at ....
, Harrisburg
Harrisburg, South Dakota
Harrisburg is a city in Lincoln County, South Dakota, United States and is a suburb of Sioux Falls. The population was 4,089 by the 2010 census, having grown from 958 in 2000...
, Worthing
Worthing, South Dakota
Worthing is a city in Lincoln County, South Dakota, United States and is a suburb of Sioux Falls. The population was 877 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Worthing is located at ....
, Beresford
Beresford, South Dakota
Beresford is a city in Lincoln and Union counties in the U.S. state of South Dakota. The population was 2,005 as of the 2010 census. The southern two-thirds is part of the Sioux City, IA–NE–SD Metropolitan Statistical Area, while the northern one-third is part of the Sioux Falls...
, Lennox
Lennox, South Dakota
Lennox is a city in Lincoln County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 2,111 at the 2010 census.-History:The city was named for Ben Lennox, a railroad official.The mayor of Lennox is Orville Wiebers.-Geography:...
, Hartford
Hartford, South Dakota
Hartford is a city in Minnehaha County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 2,534 at the 2010 census. The creators of the international Christian television show Burnnie the Bunnie: Tails From the Light Side live in Hartford.-Geography:...
, Crooks
Crooks, South Dakota
Crooks is a city in Minnehaha County, South Dakota, United States and is a suburb of Sioux Falls. The population was 1,269 at the 2010 census. Crooks was named New Hope until 1904.-Geography:Crooks is located at ....
, Baltic
Baltic, South Dakota
Baltic is a city in Minnehaha County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 1,089 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Baltic is located at , along the Big Sioux River....
, Montrose
Montrose, South Dakota
Montrose is a city in McCook County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 472 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Montrose is located at ....
, Salem
Salem, South Dakota
Salem is a city in and the county seat of McCook County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 1,347 at the 2010 census. The current mayor is Kennth Scott, a long-time resident. Salem at one time was called Melas...
, Renner, Chancellor, Colton, Canton, Humboldt, Parker, Hurley, Garretson, Sherman, Corson, and Centerville make up this Metro Area.
Parks and recreation
Sioux Falls maintains a network of more than 50 parks and greenways that are spread throughout the city. Probably the best known of these is Falls Park, established around the city's namesake waterfalls on the Big Sioux River, just north of downtown. Other notable parks include Terrace Park (Terrace Park History), McKennan Park, Sherman Park, and Yankton Trail park. A popular feature of the park system is a paved 16 miles (25.7 km) path used for biking, jogging, and walking. The path follows the course of the Big Sioux River, forming a loop around central Sioux Falls, with a few spurs off the main bike trail. The South Dakota Department of Game, Fish, and Parks has an Outdoor Campus in Sioux Falls where it has several outdoor areas devoted to wildlife. The Outdoor Campus hosts many outdoor activities through the year as well; these activities include such things as star gazingAmateur astronomy
Amateur astronomy, also called backyard astronomy and stargazing, is a hobby whose participants enjoy watching the night sky , and the plethora of objects found in it, mainly with portable telescopes and binoculars...
and snowshoe
Snowshoe
A snowshoe is footwear for walking over the snow. Snowshoes work by distributing the weight of the person over a larger area so that the person's foot does not sink completely into the snow, a quality called "flotation"....
ing. During the winter, Great Bear Recreation Park
Great Bear Recreation Park
Great Bear Recreation Park, more commonly referred to as Great Bear, is a small ski hill in the northeastern section of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, in the United States. It is owned by the city of Sioux Falls, and co-managed by Great Bear Recreation Park Inc....
offers skiing, snow boarding, and tubing. During the summer time Falls Park offers a free sound and light show telling the history of Sioux Falls from the people who settled around the falls to more recent history.
Climate
Due to its inland location, Sioux Falls experiences a humid continental climateHumid continental climate
A humid continental climate is a climatic region typified by large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot summers and cold winters....
(Koppen
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by Crimea German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen himself, notably in 1918 and 1936...
Dfa), which is characterized by hot, relatively humid summers and cold, drier winters. From mid-January to mid-July, monthly average highs range from 24 to 86 °F (-4.4 to 30 C) and monthly average lows from 2 to 61 °F (-16.7 to 16.1 C). Snowfall occurs mostly in light to moderate amounts during the winter, totaling 39.3 inches (100 cm). Precipitation, at 24.7 inches (627 mm), is concentrated in the warmer months. The sunshine amount, at 2140 hours, approximately 49% of the possible total, is considered low for the continental US. Extremes range from -42 F in 1899 to 110 °F (43 °C) as recently as 1988.
Law and government
| Mayor | Mike Huether |
| Southeast | Sue Aguilar |
| Southwest | Greg Jamison |
| Northeast | Kenny Anderson Jr. |
| Northwest | Dean Karsky |
| Central | Michelle Erpenbach |
| At-large | Vernon Brown |
| At-large | Jim Entenman |
| At-large | Rex Rolfing |
- City Government: The city of Sioux Falls is led by a mayor-council (strong mayor) form of government. Mayoral elections occur every four years. City council seats are also contested every four years. However, not all of the council members are elected in the same year, as the council elections are staggered throughout even-numbered years. The council consists of five members elected to represent specific sections of the city and three additional seats that represent the city as a whole (that is, at-largeAt-LargeAt-large is a designation for representative members of a governing body who are elected or appointed to represent the whole membership of the body , rather than a subset of that membership...
). The council member position is designed to be part time. Sioux Falls operates under a home ruleHome ruleHome rule is the power of a constituent part of a state to exercise such of the state's powers of governance within its own administrative area that have been devolved to it by the central government....
charter as permitted by the South Dakota constitution.
- Crime: The per-capita general violent crime rate in Sioux Falls is roughly half the United States average. The Sioux Falls Police DepartmentSioux Falls, South Dakota Police DepartmentSioux Falls Police Department is the municipal law enforcement agency serving Sioux Falls, South Dakota, U.S.A. It has 230 sworn police officers.In September 2008, the department acquired a new police dog, Andor, who is a Belgian Malinois.-Rank Structure:...
is the municipal law enforcementPoliceThe police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
agency. - Politics: In the 2004 presidential election, George W. BushGeorge W. BushGeorge Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
won both Minnehaha and Lincoln counties, receiving 56% and 65% of the vote, respectively. In 2008, Barack ObamaBarack ObamaBarack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
won Minnehaha County by 0.7%, while John McCainJohn McCainJohn Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
won Lincoln County by 15%.
Economy
| Organization | Employees |
| Sanford Health Sanford Health-MeritCare Sanford Health is a non-profit, integrated health care delivery system, with its headquarters based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota with additional offices in Fargo, North Dakota. It was formed on with the merger of Sanford Health, based out of Sioux Falls and MeritCare Health System, based out of... |
7,225 |
| Avera Health Avera Health Avera Health is a ministry of the Benedictine Sisters of Yankton, South Dakota and Presentation Sisters of Aberdeen, South Dakota.The network serves eastern South Dakota and surrounding states with hospitals, nursing homes, clinics and other health services at more than 100 locations.-Regional... |
5,251 |
| John Morrell & Co. | 3,400 |
| Wells Fargo Wells Fargo Wells Fargo & Company is an American multinational diversified financial services company with operations around the world. Wells Fargo is the fourth largest bank in the U.S. by assets and the largest bank by market capitalization. Wells Fargo is the second largest bank in deposits, home... |
3,303 |
| Citigroup Citigroup Citigroup Inc. or Citi is an American multinational financial services corporation headquartered in Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States. Citigroup was formed from one of the world's largest mergers in history by combining the banking giant Citicorp and financial conglomerate... |
3,000 |
| Sioux Falls School Dist. Sioux Falls School District (South Dakota) Sioux Falls School District is a public school district located in Sioux Falls, Minnehaha County, South Dakota. Sioux Falls School District serves over 21,000 students as Sioux Falls is the most populated city in the state of South Dakota.... |
3,000 |
| Hy-Vee Hy-Vee Hy-Vee is an employee-owned chain of supermarkets located in the Midwestern United States. Over 100 of its supermarkets are located in Iowa, with additional stores in Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota and now Madison, Wisconsin... |
2,085 |
| The Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society |
1,303 |
| First Premier Bank First Premier Bank First Premier Bank, headquartered in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, is the 10th largest issuer of Visa and MasterCard brand credit cards in the United States... /Premier Bankcard |
1,199 |
| Walmart/Sam's Club Sam's Club Sam's Club is a chain of membership-only retail warehouse clubs owned and operated by Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., founded in 1983 and named after Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton. , the Sam's Club chain serves more than 47 million U.S. members... |
1,162 |
| City of Sioux Falls | 1,127 |
| Sioux Falls VA Medical Center Veterans Health Administration The Veterans Health Administration is the component of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs led by the Under Secretary of Veterans Affairs for Health that implements the medical assistance program of the VA through the administration and operation of numerous VA outpatient clinics,... |
950 |
Originally centered on quarrying and agriculturally-based industries, the economy of Sioux Falls has become greatly diversified and more service-based over the last half-century, making the city an important location for financial services
Financial services
Financial services refer to services provided by the finance industry. The finance industry encompasses a broad range of organizations that deal with the management of money. Among these organizations are credit unions, banks, credit card companies, insurance companies, consumer finance companies,...
, health care
Health care
Health care is the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in humans. Health care is delivered by practitioners in medicine, chiropractic, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy, allied health, and other care providers...
, and retail
Retail
Retail consists of the sale of physical goods or merchandise from a fixed location, such as a department store, boutique or kiosk, or by mail, in small or individual lots for direct consumption by the purchaser. Retailing may include subordinated services, such as delivery. Purchasers may be...
trade.
Industry
Partially due to the lack of a state corporate income tax, Sioux Falls is the home of a number of financial companies. The largest employers among these, and fourth and largest employers overall, are Wells FargoWells Fargo
Wells Fargo & Company is an American multinational diversified financial services company with operations around the world. Wells Fargo is the fourth largest bank in the U.S. by assets and the largest bank by market capitalization. Wells Fargo is the second largest bank in deposits, home...
and Citigroup
Citigroup
Citigroup Inc. or Citi is an American multinational financial services corporation headquartered in Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States. Citigroup was formed from one of the world's largest mergers in history by combining the banking giant Citicorp and financial conglomerate...
. Other important financial service companies located in Sioux Falls include Great Western Bank
Great Western Bank (Midwest)
Great Western Bank is a community bank based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. There are nearly 200 locations in Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and South Dakota. Great Western Bank currently has assets in excess of $8 billion.-History:...
, Western Surety Company
Western Surety Company
Western Surety Company is an insurance company based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. It was founded in 1900 by attorney Joe Kirby who periodically needed court bonds in connection with his law practice....
(CNA Surety), Total Card Inc., Capital Card Services, Midland National Life Insurance Company, HSBC
HSBC
HSBC Holdings plc is a global banking and financial services company headquartered in Canary Wharf, London, United Kingdom. it is the world's second-largest banking and financial services group and second-largest public company according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine...
, and First Premier Bank
First Premier Bank
First Premier Bank, headquartered in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, is the 10th largest issuer of Visa and MasterCard brand credit cards in the United States...
.
Sioux Falls is a significant regional health care center. There are four major hospitals in Sioux Falls: Sanford Health
Sanford Health-MeritCare
Sanford Health is a non-profit, integrated health care delivery system, with its headquarters based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota with additional offices in Fargo, North Dakota. It was formed on with the merger of Sanford Health, based out of Sioux Falls and MeritCare Health System, based out of...
(formerly Sioux Valley), Avera
Avera Health
Avera Health is a ministry of the Benedictine Sisters of Yankton, South Dakota and Presentation Sisters of Aberdeen, South Dakota.The network serves eastern South Dakota and surrounding states with hospitals, nursing homes, clinics and other health services at more than 100 locations.-Regional...
McKennan Hospital, the South Dakota Veterans Affairs
United States Department of Veterans Affairs
The United States Department of Veterans Affairs is a government-run military veteran benefit system with Cabinet-level status. It is the United States government’s second largest department, after the United States Department of Defense...
Hospital, and the Avera Heart Hospital of South Dakota. Sanford Health and Avera Health are the largest and second largest employers in the city, respectively. Emergency medical services
Emergency medical services
Emergency medical services are a type of emergency service dedicated to providing out-of-hospital acute medical care and/or transport to definitive care, to patients with illnesses and injuries which the patient, or the medical practitioner, believes constitutes a medical emergency...
(EMS) are provided by both the Sioux Falls Rural/Metro Ambulance Service and the Sioux Falls Fire Rescue.
Corporate headquarters located here include:Carbase.com.
Other companies based in Sioux Falls include retailers Lewis Drug
Lewis Drug
Lewis Drug is a Sioux Falls, South Dakota based operator of over 30 drugstores under the Lewis Drug and the Lewis Family Drug banners in South Dakota, Minnesota and Iowa....
and Sunshine Foods, as well as communications companies LodgeNet
Lodgenet Interactive
LodgeNet Interactive Corporation is a provider of media and connectivity solutions for hospitality, healthcare and other guest-based businesses. LodgeNet provides digital video on demand solutions, broadband Internet solutions, satellite TV and professional services to approximately 10,000...
and Midcontinent Communications
Midcontinent Communications
Midcontinent Communications is a regional cable provider, providing a triple play service of cable television, cable modem Internet service, and cable telephone service for both North Dakota and South Dakota, along with several communities in western Minnesota...
.
Dawley Farm Village is a major commercial development located on the east side of the city. This growing shopping district is located at the intersection of (SD Highway 42
South Dakota Highway 42
South Dakota Highway 42 travels from Ethan, SD to Rowena, SD , then turning to Iowa State Highway 9 in Iowa.Highway 42 travels through Sioux Falls, where it is known as 12th Street from the western city limits to Menlo Avenue. At Menlo Avenue, Highway 42 curves north slightly and becomes 11th...
) and Powder House Road (SD Highway 11
South Dakota Highway 11
South Dakota Highway 11 is a 2-part state route that runs across southeast South Dakota. The longer of the alignments begins at South Dakota Highway 48 east of Spink, and runs northerly through Sioux Falls to the Minnesota border north of Sherman where it continues as Minnesota State Highway 269. ...
). Downtown Sioux Falls is another important retail zone, offering more small, independent shops and restaurants.
"The Bridges" is an outdoor shopping center located at the intersection of 57th Street and Western Avenue on the south side of the city. The Bridges contains over 30 restaurants, boutiques, and private businesses. "The Bridges" is the only shopping center of its kind south of 57th Street in the Sioux Falls Metro.
Downtown offers shops in its different neighborhoods. In Central Downtown, shops line Phillips Avenue, and in the "EastBank" shops and restaurants fill a boardwalk style center called "8th and Railroad."
While no longer as economically dominant as it once was, the manufacturing
Manufacturing
Manufacturing is the use of machines, tools and labor to produce goods for use or sale. The term may refer to a range of human activity, from handicraft to high tech, but is most commonly applied to industrial production, in which raw materials are transformed into finished goods on a large scale...
and food processing
Food processing
Food processing is the set of methods and techniques used to transform raw ingredients into food or to transform food into other forms for consumption by humans or animals either in the home or by the food processing industry...
sector remains an important component of the economy of Sioux Falls. The John Morrell meat packing plant is the third largest employer in the city. Other important manufacturing companies include Wheeler Tank Mfg, Maguire Iron, Amesbury Group, Teem, Raven Industries
Raven Industries
Raven Industries is a U.S manufacturer of plastic, electronic, and "special apparel" products established in 1956 to make commercial and recreational hot air balloons. After its establishment the company's product offerings expanded to include items such as large plastic storage containers for use...
, Bell Incorporated, Tyco
Tyco International
Tyco International Ltd. is a highly diversified global manufacturing company incorporated in Switzerland, with United States operational headquarters in Princeton, New Jersey...
, Gage Brothers, and Rosenbauer America.
Households
According to the 2000 censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
, there were 123,975 people, 49,731 households, and 30,783 families residing in the city. Currently, the city is home to 155,000 persons with 66,778 households, and 44,242 families. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
is 2,201.4 people per square mile (849.9/km²). There are 51,680 housing units at an average density of 917.7 per square mile (354.3/km²).
Of the 49,731 households, 32.1% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.4% are married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 10.0% have a female householder with no husband present, and 38.1% are non-families. 29.8% of all households are made up of individuals and 8.9% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.40 and the average family size is 3.00.
Distribution
The 2006 American Community Survey's estimates of the racial makeup of the city is 88.9% White, 2.6% African American, 2.2% Native American, 1.3% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 3.0% from other races, and 2.0% from two or more races. 4.1% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race. In the city the population is spread out with 25.2% under the age of 18, 11.8% from 18 to 24, 32.4% from 25 to 44, 19.6% from 45 to 64, and 11.1% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 33 years. For every 100 females there are 97.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 94.4 males.Income
In 1999, the median income for a household in the city was $41,221; in 2003 HUD reported Minnehaha County had a median household income of $45,872, while Lincoln County had a median household income of $59,571. The median income for a family in 1999 was $51,516; in 2005 HUD reported that the city's family median income was $56,150. Males have a median income of $32,216 versus $24,861 for females. The per capita incomePer capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the city is $21,374. 8.4% of the population and 5.6% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 10.3% of those under the age of 18 and 7.4% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
Religion
After statehood in 1889, South DakotaSouth Dakota
South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
was settled mainly by European immigrants, with Germans and Scandinavians representing the largest ethnic groups immigrating into the state. At present, the religious majority in the state and city is Lutheran, while Roman Catholics represent the second largest religious group. Sioux Falls still has a large Lutheran presence comprising the largest number of religious adherents in the city. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Sioux Falls
Roman Catholic Diocese of Sioux Falls
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Sioux Falls is a Roman Catholic diocese in the U.S. state of South Dakota. It was founded on November 12, 1889 by Pope Leo XIII and comprises that part of South Dakota east of the Missouri River. The architect for the St...
, one of two dioceses in the state, built St. Joseph's Cathedral on Duluth Avenue beginning in 1915 (completed in 1919), which is the largest church in South Dakota and one of the largest Roman Catholic cathedrals in the United States. Sioux Falls is also the seat of the Episcopal Diocese of South Dakota
Episcopal Diocese of South Dakota
The Episcopal Diocese of South Dakota is a diocese of the Episcopal Church with jurisdiction over the state of South Dakota.-Membership:The Diocese is composed of 76 member congregations in South Dakota, two in Nebraska and one in Minnesota, organized geographically into seven deaneries...
. Calvary Cathedral, of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, is the mother church for South Dakota Episcopalians. Sioux Falls is also home to about 3,000 Muslims who are served by the Islamic Center of Sioux Falls.
Education
Higher education
Sioux Falls is home to Augustana CollegeAugustana College (South Dakota)
Augustana College is a private, liberal arts college affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America located in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States. The campus makes the school the largest private university in South Dakota...
, the University of Sioux Falls
University of Sioux Falls
The University of Sioux Falls is a private, liberal arts college affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA. It is also commonly called USF.-History:...
, Sioux Falls Seminary, Kilian Community College, Southeast Technical Institute, National American University
National American University
National American University is a private for-profit university owned by National American University Holdings, Inc. Headquartered in Rapid City, SD, NAU operates multiple locations in the United States and an online division....
, Colorado Technical University
Colorado Technical University
Colorado Technical University is a for-profit university in the United States. Founded in 1965, CTU offers undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral degrees in a number of subjects, focused primarily in the business, management, and technology disciplines...
, the South Dakota School for the Deaf
South Dakota School for the Deaf
The South Dakota School for the Deaf is a state-supported school located in Sioux Falls, South Dakota that provides services to meet the educational needs of children who are deaf, hard-of-hearing, or have cochlear implants...
, Great Plains Baptist College, Globe University/Minnesota School of Business, the University of South Dakota's Sanford School of Medicine (Sioux Falls campus), Stewart School and the South Dakota Public Universities and Research Center
South Dakota Public Universities and Research Center
South Dakota Public Universities and Research Center is a cooperative higher education delivery system in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Four universities, University of South Dakota, Dakota State University, South Dakota State University, and Northern State University, offer classes at this site...
(formerly known as USDSU).
Public schools
The Sioux Falls School District serves nearly 21,000 students living in Sioux Falls and its surrounding suburbs; there are four high schools (Lincoln, RooseveltRoosevelt High School (Sioux Falls, South Dakota)
Roosevelt High School is a high school located in Sioux Falls. The current enrollment is 2,055 students ..-History:Theodore Roosevelt High School opened in September 1991 on a campus in southwest Sioux Falls....
, Washington) and New Technology High School (grades 9-12), five middle schools (grades 6-8), and 26 elementary schools (grades K-5). Suburbs surround Sioux Falls continue to experience dramatic growth as Sioux Falls expands. Suburbs that are experiencing the most of this exponential growth are the districts in Brandon Valley
Brandon, South Dakota
There were 1,909 households out of which 53.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 71.0% were married couples living together, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 16.6% were non-families. 13.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.3% had someone...
, Valley Springs
Valley Springs, South Dakota
Valley Springs is a city in Minnehaha County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 759 at the 2010 census. Valley Springs was founded on November 13, 1872 and incorporated on February 22, 1879.-Geography:...
, Baltic
Baltic, South Dakota
Baltic is a city in Minnehaha County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 1,089 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Baltic is located at , along the Big Sioux River....
, Canton
Canton, South Dakota
Canton is a city in and the county seat of Lincoln County, South Dakota, United States. The city was named by Norwegian settler and former legislator James M. Wahl...
, Harrisburg
Harrisburg, South Dakota
Harrisburg is a city in Lincoln County, South Dakota, United States and is a suburb of Sioux Falls. The population was 4,089 by the 2010 census, having grown from 958 in 2000...
, Tea Area
Tea, South Dakota
Tea is a city in Lincoln County, South Dakota, United States and is a suburb of Sioux Falls. The population was 3,806 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Tea is located at ....
, and others. Many of these districts serve students that live on outer edges of Sioux Falls city limits, and serve thousands of Metro-Area students.
The Sioux Falls School District has signed an agreement that will allow the district to participate in an Athletic Conference known as the "Metro Conference." Sioux Falls Lincoln, Washington, and Roosevelt High School along with Sioux Falls O'Gorman and Brandon Valley High School's will compete in this conference, along with other potential suburban districts to help cut down on costs and to increase competition between school in the Sioux Falls Metro Area.
There are five public middle schools in the city: Axtell Park Middle School,
Edison Middle School,
Memorial Middle School,
Patrick Henry Middle School
Sioux Falls School District (South Dakota)
Sioux Falls School District is a public school district located in Sioux Falls, Minnehaha County, South Dakota. Sioux Falls School District serves over 21,000 students as Sioux Falls is the most populated city in the state of South Dakota....
, and
Whittier Middle School.
There are 26 public elementary schools in Sioux Falls (with an additional one planned to open and serve part of the city's west side in 2012): All-City at Jane Addams,
Laura B. Anderson,
Challenge Center,
Cleveland,
Discovery,
Harvey Dunn,
FIC at Jane Addams,
Eugene Field,
Robert Frost,
Garfield,
John Harris,
Hawthorne,
Hayward,
Oscar Howe,
Jefferson,
John F. Kennedy,
Longfellow,
Lowell,
Horace Mann,
Terry Redlin,
Renberg,
Rosa Parks,
Richard F. Pettigrew,
Anne Sullivan,
Mark Twain, and
Laura Wilder.
Private schools
Sioux Falls Catholic Schools is a centralized Catholic school system that includes eight schools: six elementary schools, all PreK-6 (St. Mary, St. Lambert, St. Michael-St. Katharine Drexel, Holy Spirit and Christ the King); one junior high (O'Gorman Junior High, grades 7-8); and one high school, O'Gorman (9-12). Both the junior and senior high are on the same O'Gorman High School campus. Approximately 2,800 students attend Sioux Falls Catholic Schools. Although as of the 2009-2010 school year St. Joseph Cathedral school is closed.Other private schools include Christian Center, The Baan Dek Montessori
The Baan Dek Montessori
The Baan Dek Montessori is located in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The school is an accredited Association Montessori Internationale and implements the principles and methods as set forth by Maria Montessori .-About:...
, Sioux Falls Christian Schools
Sioux Falls Christian Schools
Sioux Falls Christian Schools is a private school located in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The school was founded in 1958 as an elementary school named Calvin Christian...
, Cornerstone School and Sioux Falls Lutheran Schools.
Sioux Falls is also home to Central Baptist Preschool, the largest preschool in South Dakota.
Events
Downtown Sioux Falls plays host to a Sculpture Walk every summer. The exhibits change yearly and most often reflect historical significance and progressive standards for the city. Downtown Sioux Falls also hosts "First Fridays." "First Fridays" are the first friday of each summer month, and all businesses and associations in the Downtown area take part in creating a major evening event. Concerts are held at the EastBank, and stores and restaurants are open with live music all along Phillips Avenue in south central Downtown.Festival of Bands is a regional Competition that hosts over 40 marching bands each year from across the midwest. The parade runs from southern Downtown into northern Downtown, with the step-off located at 14th and Main, and ending at 6th and Main. Preliminaries are held from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM the entire first Saturday in October, with the top 10 scoring bands advancing to FOB Finals that evening at Howard Wood Field, the regions largest Football Stadium.
The Sioux Empire Spectacular draws Drum Corps participants and fans from across the nation to Sioux Falls for this regional competition. Thousands attend this event held at Howard Wood Memorial Field in July every summer. The event is run by DCI and by the music departments of the Sioux Falls School District.
LifeLight Festival, is the largest free Christian music
Christian music
Christian music is music that has been written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding Christian life and faith. Common themes of Christian music include praise, worship, penitence, and lament, and its forms vary widely across the world....
festival in the country with over 300,000 attendees in 2007 over the 3 day span. It is held yearly over Labor Day
Labor Day
Labor Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the first Monday in September that celebrates the economic and social contributions of workers.-History:...
weekend near Worthing,SD. The LifeLight Festival moved to near Worthing, SD in the far southern metro in 2010.
Party in the Park is an annual outdoor musical event held at Terrace Park. TNT Produktions holds this event at no charge to the public.
The Sioux Empire Fair
Sioux Empire Fair
The Sioux Empire Fair is the largest fair in the state of South Dakota. It is held annually at the end of the summer in Sioux Falls at the W. H. Lyon Fairgrounds. Attendance at the 2009 fair was 263,091.-External links:*.*More information can be found at ....
is a regional fair held at the W.H. Lyon Fairgrounds every year and attracts tens of thousands of attendees.
Jazz Fest is hosted at Yankton Trail Park on the south side of the city each year, and attracts thousands to listen to Jazz Groups and bands.
Arts
The Sioux Empire Arts Council continues to be an initiating leader in the arts scene of the Sioux Falls area and give out Mayor's Awards each year in several categories for excellence demonstrated by Sioux Falls residents within the particular form.
Poetry and literary events began to come to greater popularity with the opening of the Sioux Empire Arts Council Horse Barn Gallery and due to a National Endowment for the Arts-supported Writer's Voice. The Writer's Voice included a reading series of 38 nationally known poets and writers (per year) who performed works and youth workshops through the Sioux Falls Writers Voice in local performance spaces, at the YMCA afterschool program, and in local area schools.
These two entities along with the resurgence of events regularly hosted at the Washington Pavilion's Leonardo's Cafe
Café
A café , also spelled cafe, in most countries refers to an establishment which focuses on serving coffee, like an American coffeehouse. In the United States, it may refer to an informal restaurant, offering a range of hot meals and made-to-order sandwiches...
(Lincoln High School Writer's Guild), the Sioux Empire Arts Council's Horse Barn Art Gallery, and several coffee house locations, including Black Sheep Coffee.
Allison Hedge Coke
Allison Adelle Hedge Coke is an American Book Award-winning American/Canadian poet of mixed Wendat/Huron/Metis/Tsalagi/ Creek/French Canadian/Portuguese/Irish/Scot/English ancestry.-Background:...
moved to Sioux Falls from Rapid City
Rapid City, South Dakota
Rapid City is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of South Dakota, and the county seat of Pennington County. Named after Rapid Creek on which the city is established, it is set against the eastern slope of the Black Hills mountain range. The population was 67,956 as of the 2010 Census. Rapid...
as she was serving the State of South Dakota, first as a part-time literary artist in the Sioux Falls Schools and then as a full-time literary artist in residence for the Sioux Falls school district. Later she held the literary artist role with the school district while simultaneously teaching at Kilian College and the University of Sioux Falls. She continually participated at-large in the national literary field as a visiting writer/performing artist. Tom Foster
Tom Foster
Thomas Foster is a fictional comic book superhero published by Marvel Comics, and is the fifth person to hold the mantle of Goliath. He was created by Reginald Hudlin, Greg Pak and Koi Turnbull, he first appeared in Black Panther vol. 3 #23 .-Publication history:Tom Foster made his first appearance...
moved to Sioux Falls (from California), having already developed a presence in the California Slam scene and was integral to keeping public open-mics going strong. Charles Luden continued to make poetry a typical presence throughout the art scene as he had advocated for decades by this time. Deb Klebanoff began to create more high-profile city spaces for poetry and literary events to be secured through the city and area government. Hedge Coke continued to initiate and implement new literary programming while advocating for youth involvement and neighborhood issues in Sioux Falls Arts & Cultural life. The Washington Pavilion continued to donate space for literary activities as well as the Siouxland Sioux Falls Library. Eventually, David Allan Evans
David Allan Evans
David Allan Evans USA is an American poet. Since 2002, he is the poet laureate of the U.S. state of South Dakota.-Life:...
returned to Sioux Falls as the current State of South Dakota Poet Laureate and enhanced the literary scene with his reintroduction to the Sioux Falls community and presence as the state poet. Rosie Blunk, long-time theater teacher from Sioux Falls, retired from teaching and began hosting the Poetry Out Loud! state competitions as well.
The Sioux Falls Jazz and Blues Festival
Sioux Falls Jazz and Blues Festival
The Sioux Falls Jazz and Blues Festival is an annual three-day outdoor musical event, featuring two stages and is free to the public...
, JazzFest, has become a huge summer event in Sioux Falls and the region. JazzFest is now a three-day outdoor musical event featuring two stages and is free to the public. The event is held the third weekend in July at Yankton Trail Park in Sioux Falls. The Sioux Falls Jazz & Blues Society plays host to national musicians during their annual concert series. Each year the concert series includes approximately five concerts with acts from all over the world.
Landmarks
Washington Pavilion of Arts and Science
The Washington Pavilion of Arts and Science opened in 1999 and houses an art gallery, concert hall, large-format theater, and science museum in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States.-History:...
contains the Kirby Science Discover Center, as well as two performing arts centers that host several Broadway productions and operas. The South Dakota Symphony's home hosts dance groups as well as smaller theater and choral events. The Visual Arts Center, also part of the Pavilion complex, hosts six galleries of changing exhibits, all free of charge. The Wells Fargo Cinedome is a multiformat 60 ft (18.3 m) dome theater that plays several films each month.
The Great Plains Zoo & Delbridge Museum provides the area with natural history and animal exhibits in its 50 acres (202,343 m²) park, and has an impressive number of diorama
Diorama
The word diorama can either refer to a nineteenth century mobile theatre device, or, in modern usage, a three-dimensional full-size or miniature model, sometimes enclosed in a glass showcase for a museum...
s depicting wildlife.
The memorial to the World War II battleship USS South Dakota is on State Highway 42 (West 12th Street) and Kiwanis Avenue.
The 114th Fighter Wing
114th Fighter Wing
The United States Air Force's 114th Fighter Wing is an Air National Guard fighter unit located at Joe Foss Field, South Dakota.-Mission:To provide combat capable aircraft, air crew, support personnel, and equipment to augment existing active forces during times of crisis, national emergencies or...
, located at Joe Foss Field. The 114th houses F-16C/D fighter aircraft. This unit is well known for its support of community activities and services.
A replica of Michelangelo's
Michelangelo
Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni , commonly known as Michelangelo, was an Italian Renaissance painter, sculptor, architect, poet, and engineer who exerted an unparalleled influence on the development of Western art...
David
David (Michelangelo)
David is a masterpiece of Renaissance sculpture created between 1501 and 1504, by the Italian artist Michelangelo. It is a marble statue of a standing male nude. The statue represents the Biblical hero David, a favoured subject in the art of Florence...
is near the downtown area at Fawick Park.
Roads
Most residents of Sioux Falls travel and commute by car. Interstate 90Interstate 90
Interstate 90 is the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It is the northernmost coast-to-coast interstate, and parallels US 20 for the most part. Its western terminus is in Seattle, at Edgar Martinez Drive S. near Safeco Field and CenturyLink Field, and its eastern terminus is in...
passes east to west across the northern edge of the city, while Interstate 29
Interstate 29
Interstate 29 is an Interstate Highway in the Midwestern United States. I-29 runs from Kansas City, Missouri, at a junction with Interstate 35 and Interstate 70 to the Canadian border near Pembina, North Dakota, where it connects with Manitoba Highway 75 via the short Manitoba Highway 29.-Route...
bisects the western portion of the city from the north and south. Interstate 229
Interstate 229 (South Dakota)
Interstate 229 in South Dakota runs just more than ten miles mostly within the city limits of Sioux Falls, the largest city in the state. It runs from Interstate 29 to Interstate 90...
forms a partial loop
Loop route
A loop route is a highway or other major road that extends out from a typically longer, more important parents road to enter and circle a large city. A loop can function as a bypass for through traffic and also to service outlying suburbs....
around Sioux Falls, and connects with Interstate 90 to the northeast and Interstate 29 to the southwest. A grid design system
Grid plan
The grid plan, grid street plan or gridiron plan is a type of city plan in which streets run at right angles to each other, forming a grid...
for city streets is the standard for the central (older) area of the city, while secondary streets in newer residential areas have largely abandoned this plan.
Major north/south roads in Sioux Falls include: Ellis Road, Sertoma Avenue, Marion Road, I-29, Louise Avenue, Kiwanis Avenue, Western Avenue, Minnesota Avenue (South Dakota Highway 115, south of Benson Road), Cliff Avenue (South Dakota Highway 115, north of Benson Road), Sycamore Avenue, South Dakota Highway 11
South Dakota Highway 11
South Dakota Highway 11 is a 2-part state route that runs across southeast South Dakota. The longer of the alignments begins at South Dakota Highway 48 east of Spink, and runs northerly through Sioux Falls to the Minnesota border north of Sherman where it continues as Minnesota State Highway 269. ...
/Future Highway 100, and Six Mile Road.
Major west/east roads include: I-90, 60th Street North (South Dakota Highway 38
South Dakota Highway 38
South Dakota Highway 38 is a state highway in the state of South Dakota. The highway runs from Mitchell to Sioux Falls....
, west of I-29), Benson Road (South Dakota Highway 115 between Minnesota Avenue and Cliff Avenue), Russell Street/Maple Street, Madison Street/Rice Street, 10th/11th/12th Street/Arrowhead Parkway (South Dakota Highway 42
South Dakota Highway 42
South Dakota Highway 42 travels from Ethan, SD to Rowena, SD , then turning to Iowa State Highway 9 in Iowa.Highway 42 travels through Sioux Falls, where it is known as 12th Street from the western city limits to Menlo Avenue. At Menlo Avenue, Highway 42 curves north slightly and becomes 11th...
), 26th Street, 41st Street, 57th Street, 69th Street, 85th Street, and 101st Street.
Due to current and expected regional growth, several large construction projects have been or will be undertaken. New interchanges have recently been added to Interstate 29. An interchange was also completed on I-90 at Marion Road. I-29 has recently been improved from I-90 to the 26th Street exit. This upgrade includes additional lanes and auxiliary lanes. Over the next decade, the city of Sioux Falls and the South Dakota Department of Transportation plan to construct a limited-access highway around the outer edges of the city to the south and east known as South Dakota Highway 100. This highway will start at the northern Tea exit (Exit 73 on I-29, 101st Street) and will travel east on 101st Street, and curve northeast east of Western Avenue, then turns northerly near Sycamore Avenue. The highway will end at the Timberline Avenue exit (Exit 402 on I-90).
Public/Mass Transit
Sioux Falls Transit
Sioux Area Metro, also referred to as SAM, is the local governmental transit agency in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and the largest operator of public transportation in the state. They provide multiple scheduled fixed routes, school routes, a downtown "trolley" and paratransit services...
, the local public transit organization, runs Sioux Area Metro, which operates 16 bus lines within the city. Recently, the city added a new transfer station in Sioux Falls on Louise Avenue between 49th and 57th Streets. The Sioux Area Metro Paratransit serves members of the community who would otherwise not be able the travel by providing door to door service.
Sioux Falls also has several taxi companies that operate within the city.
Jefferson Lines
Jefferson Lines
Jefferson Lines is a regional intercity bus company operating in United States. The company's name originates in the Jefferson Highway, a north-south route in the early National Auto Trail system which once ran from Winnipeg in Manitoba, Canada, south to New Orleans, Louisiana. The service to...
runs long-distance bus routes to Sioux Falls. Non-Transfer destinations include Grand Forks
Grand Forks, North Dakota
Grand Forks is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Grand Forks County. According to the 2010 census, the city's population was 52,838, while that of the city and surrounding metropolitan area was 98,461...
, Kansas City
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
, Minneapolis, and Omaha
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...
. There is no Amtrak
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
passenger train service that passes through South Dakota.
Air Travel
Five domestic airlines (Delta Airlines, United AirlinesUnited Airlines
United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees (which includes the entire holding company United Continental...
, American Airlines
American Airlines
American Airlines, Inc. is the world's fourth-largest airline in passenger miles transported and operating revenues. American Airlines is a subsidiary of the AMR Corporation and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas adjacent to its largest hub at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport...
, Allegiant Air
Allegiant Air
Allegiant Air is an American low-cost airline owned by Allegiant Travel Co. that operates scheduled and charter flights. Allegiant Travel Company is a publicly traded company with 1,300 employees and one billion USD market capitalization...
, and Frontier Airlines
Frontier Airlines
Frontier Airlines, Inc., is an American airline headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. The carrier, which is a subsidiary and operating brand of Republic Airways Holdings, operates flights to 83 destinations throughout the United States, Mexico, and Costa Rica and maintains hubs at...
) serve Sioux Falls Regional Airport
Sioux Falls Regional Airport
Sioux Falls Regional Airport , also known as Joe Foss Field, is a joint civil and military use airport located three nautical miles northwest of the central business district of Sioux Falls, a city in Minnehaha County, South Dakota, United States...
, also known as Joe Foss Field (in honor of famed aviator and former Governor Joe Foss
Joe Foss
Joseph Jacob "Joe" Foss was the leading fighter ace of the United States Marine Corps during World War II and a 1943 recipient of the Medal of Honor, recognizing his role in the air combat during the Guadalcanal Campaign...
), offering non-stop flight service to a number of major U.S. airport hubs, including Chicago O'Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, Denver International Airport
Denver International Airport
Denver International Airport , often referred to as DIA, is an airport in Denver, Colorado. By land size, at , it is the largest international airport in the United States, and the third largest international airport in the world after King Fahd International Airport and Montréal-Mirabel...
, Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport
Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport
Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport , usually called Detroit Metro Airport, Metro Airport locally, or simply DTW, is a major international airport covering in Romulus, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. It is Michigan's busiest airport....
, Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, Orlando Sanford International Airport
Orlando Sanford International Airport
Orlando-Sanford International Airport is a public commercial air service airport in Sanford, Florida, near Orlando. It was originally constructed as a military installation known as Naval Air Station Sanford that was in operation as a Master Jet Base for carrier-based attack and reconnaissance...
, Las Vegas' McCarran International Airport
McCarran International Airport
McCarran International Airport is the principal commercial airport serving Las Vegas and Clark County, Nevada, United States. The airport is located five miles south of the central business district of Las Vegas, in the unincorporated area of Paradise in Clark County. It covers an area of and...
, Los Angeles International Airport
Los Angeles International Airport
Los Angeles International Airport is the primary airport serving the Greater Los Angeles Area, the second-most populated metropolitan area in the United States. It is most often referred to by its IATA airport code LAX, with the letters pronounced individually...
, and Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport
Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport
Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport , formerly Williams Gateway Airport and Williams Air Force Base , is a commercial airport located in the southeastern area of the city of Mesa, Arizona, and southeast of Phoenix, in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. The airport is owned and operated by the...
.
Sports
| Club | League | Venue | Established | Championships |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sioux Falls Fighting Pheasants | AAIPB, Baseball | Sioux Falls Stadium Sioux Falls Stadium Sioux Falls Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium, in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. It originally opened in 1941 and was renovated in 2000. It holds 4,500 people.... |
1993 | 1 |
| Sioux Falls Stampede Sioux Falls Stampede The Sioux Falls Stampede is a Tier 1 junior ice hockey team playing in the West Division of the United States Hockey League . Based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, the Stampede plays its home games at the Sioux Falls Arena.... |
USHL United States Hockey League The United States Hockey League is the top junior ice hockey league in the United States. The USHL has 16 member teams located in the Midwestern United States, consisting of players who are 20 years of age and younger... , Ice hockey |
Sioux Falls Arena Sioux Falls Arena The Sioux Falls Arena is an 7,500 seat multi-purpose arena, in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The facility was originally built in 1961. It seats 6,113, for basketball games and 4,760, for indoor football and hockey.... |
1999 | 2 |
| Sioux Falls Storm Sioux Falls Storm The Sioux Falls Storm are a professional indoor football team. They are a member of the Indoor Football League. They play their home games at Sioux Falls Arena... |
IFL Indoor Football League The Indoor Football League began in 1999 as an offshoot of the troubled Professional Indoor Football League. Keary Ecklund, the owner of the Green Bay Bombers and Madison Mad Dogs, left the PIFL after its first, financially-troubled, season to start his own league. Unlike the PIFL, the IFL was an... , Indoor football |
Sioux Falls Arena Sioux Falls Arena The Sioux Falls Arena is an 7,500 seat multi-purpose arena, in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The facility was originally built in 1961. It seats 6,113, for basketball games and 4,760, for indoor football and hockey.... |
2000 | 5 |
| Sioux Falls Skyforce Sioux Falls Skyforce The Sioux Falls Skyforce is a professional basketball team that plays in the NBA Development League. They are based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, United States. The team plays at the Sioux Falls Arena. The Skyforce began in the CBA in 1989... |
NBA-DL NBA Development League The NBA Development League, or NBA D-League, is the National Basketball Association's official minor league basketball organization. Known until summer 2005 as the National Basketball Development League , the NBA D-League started with eight teams in the fall of 2001... , Basketball |
Sioux Falls Arena Sioux Falls Arena The Sioux Falls Arena is an 7,500 seat multi-purpose arena, in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The facility was originally built in 1961. It seats 6,113, for basketball games and 4,760, for indoor football and hockey.... |
1989 | 2 |
Championships
- The then Sioux Falls Canaries, now the Sioux Falls Pheasants, won the 2008 American Association championship, beating the Grand Prairie Airhogs in a 5-game series that was capped off with a 5 to 4 walk-off win in the 12th inning of Game 4.
- The Sioux Falls Skyforce have reached the playoffs nine times, winning the CBA Championship during the 1995-96 season, and later during the 2004-05 season. They currently play in the NBDL (the minor league of the NBA).
- The Sioux Falls Storm, who currently play in the IFL, won four consecutive championships from 2005 to 2008, and now a fifth in 2011. The Storm won 40 straight games from July 30, 2005 to March 29, 2008, the longest winning streak in professional sports history.
- The Storm is one of two arena football teams to ever post a shutout, beating the Peoria Roughriders 72-0 in 2006.
- The Sioux Falls Stampede won the United States Hockey League'sUnited States Hockey LeagueThe United States Hockey League is the top junior ice hockey league in the United States. The USHL has 16 member teams located in the Midwestern United States, consisting of players who are 20 years of age and younger...
Anderson Cup during the 2005-06 season and Clark Cup during the 2006-07 season.
Special events
Sioux Falls has also had its share of special sporting events.- Sioux Falls Stadium played host to the 2007 American Association All-Star Game.
- Sioux Falls Arena has hosted the Continental Basketball Association All-Star Game 3 Times, in 1996, 2000 and 2003. It also hosted the D-League Showcase in early 2007.
- Sioux Falls Arena has also hosted the USHL Prospects/All-Star Game in 2002 and 2009 season.
- Sioux Falls Arena hosted the Summit League Basketball Championships in 2009 & 2010 and will host in 2011 & 2012.
- Currently, Sioux Falls is also home to the USA Deaf Sports Federation
- In July 2009, Sioux Falls hosted the 16U ASA A National Championship of Fastpitch softball.
Sister cities
In accordance with Sister Cities InternationalSister Cities International
Sister Cities International is a nonprofit citizen diplomacy network that creates and strengthens partnerships between United States and international communities. More than 2,000 cities, states and counties are partnered in 136 countries around the world...
, an organization that began under President Dwight Eisenhower in 1956, Sioux Falls has been given three international sister cities in an attempt to foster cross-cultural understanding:
 |
Potsdam Potsdam Potsdam is the capital city of the German federal state of Brandenburg and part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. It is situated on the River Havel, southwest of Berlin city centre.... , Germany Germany Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate... |
| Strabane Strabane Strabane , historically spelt Straban,is a town in west County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It contains the headquarters of Strabane District Council.... , Northern Ireland Northern Ireland Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west... |
|
 |
Surgut Surgut Surgut is a city in Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, Russia, located on the Ob River near its junction with the Irtysh River, the largest in the autonomous okrug and the second largest in Tyumen Oblast. Population:... , Russia Russia Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects... |
Awards
- In 1992, a healthy economy, low unemployment, and a low crime rate led to Sioux Falls being named "the best place to live in America" by Money MagazineMoney (magazine)Money is published by Time Inc. Its first issue was published in October 1972. Its articles cover the gamut of personal finance topics ranging from investing, saving, retirement and taxes to family finance issues like paying for college, credit, career and home improvement...
. - In 2006, Men's Health Magazine ranked Sioux Falls as the 93rd Angriest City in the Nation, out of 100 cities studied in the survey.
- In 2007, AllstateAllstateThe Allstate Corporation is the second-largest personal lines insurer in the United States and the largest that is publicly held. The company also has personal lines insurance operations in Canada. Allstate was founded in 1931 as part of Sears, Roebuck and Co., and was spun off in 1993...
awarded Sioux Falls with the Allstate Safety Leadership Award in recognition of the safe drivers of the area, with Sioux Falls residents averaging an accident once every 13.7 years. Sioux Falls was honored with the award again in 2008. - Also in 2007, Street & Smith's Sports Business Journal ranked Sioux Falls the 9th Best City for Minor League Sports, In its ranking of Minor League Markets.
- In the November 2007 issue of Men's Health Magazine, Sioux Falls was ranked #2 on the list of cities with the least debt, finishing just behind BillingsBillings, MontanaBillings is the largest city in the U.S. state of Montana, and is the principal city of the Billings Metropolitan Area, the largest metropolitan area in over...
, MontanaMontanaMontana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
. - ForbesForbesForbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
named Sioux Falls the #1 Best Small Place For Business And Careers in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009. - ForbesForbesForbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
also released the University of Cincinnati'sUniversity of CincinnatiThe University of Cincinnati is a comprehensive public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, and a part of the University System of Ohio....
2006 "United States Drinking Water Quality Study Report", which had Sioux Falls ranked 3rd in Cleanest Drinking Water. - In 2009, CNNCNNCable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
ranked Sioux Falls the 45th best place to live and launch a business out of a list of 100.
Notable natives and residents
- James AbourezkJames AbourezkJames George Abourezk is a former Democratic United States Representative and United States Senator, and was the first Arab-American to serve in the United States Senate. He represented South Dakota in the U.S...
- First Arab-American Senator in U.S. History, now practices law in Sioux Falls - Shayna BaszlerShayna BaszlerShayna Baszler is an American mixed martial artist. She currently trains under former UFC Heavyweight Champion Josh Barnett. She has a record of 14 wins and 6 losses, with 13 wins coming by way of submission....
-Women's MMA fighter. - George BotsfordGeorge BotsfordGeorge Botsford was an American composer of ragtime and other forms of music.Botsford was born in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and grew up in Iowa. His first copyrighted number was "The Katy Flyer -- Cake Walk," published in 1899. His most important rag is "Black and White Rag," published in 1908...
, Composer, Pianist, noted for Black and White RagBlack and White RagBlack and White Rag is a 1908 ragtime composition by George Botsford.The first known recording of this piece was by Albert Benzler, recorded on Lakeside/U.S.Everlasting Cylinder #380 in June of 1911. This recording is somewhat rare , and significant...
. - Chris BrowneChris BrowneChris Browne is an American comic strip artist and cartoonist. He is the son of cartoonist Dik Browne and the brother of cartoonist Chance Browne...
- American comic strip artist and cartoonist. Browne writes and draws the comic strip Hägar the HorribleHägar the HorribleHägar the Horrible is the title and main character of an American comic strip created by cartoonist Dik Browne , and syndicated by King Features Syndicate. It first appeared in February 1973, and was an immediate success. Since Browne's retirement in 1988 , his son Chris Browne has continued the...
. - Benny CastilloBenny CastilloBenigno Enrique "Benny" Castillo is a former professional baseball player and manager.- Early life :...
- Retired 11 year minor league baseball player, former manager of the Duluth-Superior Dukes, Jamestown JammersJamestown JammersThe Jamestown Jammers are a minor league baseball team in Jamestown, New York, United States. The team is the Short-Season A classification affiliate of the Miami Marlins and plays in the New York - Penn League...
, Yuma ScorpionsYuma ScorpionsThe Yuma Scorpions are a professional baseball team based in Yuma, Arizona, in the United States. The Scorpions are a member of the Western Division of the independent North American League. From the 2005 season to the present, the Scorpions have played their home games at Desert Sun Stadium at the...
, and Sioux City ExplorersSioux City ExplorersThe Sioux City Explorers are a professional baseball team based in Sioux City, Iowa, in the United States. The Explorers are a member of the North Division of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball.They were originally to be...
, and former Sioux Falls Canaries hitting coach - Dallas ClarkDallas ClarkDallas Dean Clark is an American football tight end for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Colts 24th overall in the 2003 NFL Draft. He played college football at the University of Iowa...
- pro football player for Indianapolis Colts - Donn ClendenonDonn ClendenonDonn Alvin Clendenon was a Major League Baseball first baseman. He is best remembered as the World Series MVP for the Amazin' Mets.-Early life:...
- Major League Baseball first baseman, 1969 World Series MVP - William DoughertyWilliam DoughertyWilliam "Bill" Dougherty was an American businessman, lobbyist, and Democratic politician who was the Lieutenant Governor of South Dakota from 1971 to 1975.-Early career:...
, South Dakota politician - Joe FossJoe FossJoseph Jacob "Joe" Foss was the leading fighter ace of the United States Marine Corps during World War II and a 1943 recipient of the Medal of Honor, recognizing his role in the air combat during the Guadalcanal Campaign...
- World War IIWorld War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
"ace of aces" fighter pilot hero, first Commissioner of the American Football LeagueAmerican Football LeagueThe American Football League was a major American Professional Football league that operated from 1960 until 1969, when the established National Football League merged with it. The upstart AFL operated in direct competition with the more established NFL throughout its existence...
(which later became the AFC of the NFL), and 20th governor of South Dakota - Michael E. FossumMichael E. FossumMichael Edward Fossum is an American astronaut. He flew into space on board the NASA Space Shuttle missions STS-121 and STS-124 as a mission specialist and is currently aboard the international space station as commander of Expedition 29.-Education:Michael Fossum spent his early life in McAllen,...
- astronaut - Paul Gordon - 2007 U.S. Junior National Swim Team member
- Neil GraffNeil GraffNeil Graff is a former quarterback in the National Football League. He was drafted in the sixteenth round of the 1972 NFL Draft by the Minnesota Vikings and later played with the New England Patriots for two seasons...
- Former NFL Quarterback with the New England PatriotsNew England PatriotsThe New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...
, Pittsburgh SteelersPittsburgh SteelersThe Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
, Minnesota VikingsMinnesota VikingsThe Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...
, Seattle SeahawksSeattle SeahawksThe Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team...
, and Green Bay PackersGreen Bay PackersThe Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions... - Mary Hart - entertainer, Entertainment TonightEntertainment TonightEntertainment Tonight is a daily tabloid television entertainment television news show that is syndicated by CBS Television Distribution throughout the United States, Canada and in many countries around the world. Linda Bell Blue is currently the program's executive producer...
- Allison Hedge CokeAllison Hedge CokeAllison Adelle Hedge Coke is an American Book Award-winning American/Canadian poet of mixed Wendat/Huron/Metis/Tsalagi/ Creek/French Canadian/Portuguese/Irish/Scot/English ancestry.-Background:...
- author of Blood RunBlood Run (book)Blood Run is a volume of free verse poetry written by Allison Hedge Coke. It was published in the UK by Salt Publications in November 2006, and was subsequently published in the US in February 2007....
, American Book Award Winner: 1998, 2003 Sioux Falls Mayor's Award Winner, Excellence in Literary Arts. Huron/Cherokee Writer/Educator. Reynolds Chair, UNK. - January JonesJanuary JonesJanuary Kristen Jones is an American actress. She is best known for playing Betty Draper on Mad Men.-Early life:...
- actress; best-known for her role as Betty DraperBetty DraperElizabeth "Betty" Francis is a fictional character on AMC's television series Mad Men, portrayed by January Jones...
on the television series Mad MenMad MenMad Men is an American dramatic television series created and produced by Matthew Weiner. The series premiered on Sunday evenings on the American cable network AMC and are produced by Lionsgate Television. It premiered on July 19, 2007, and completed its fourth season on October 17, 2010. Each...
. - Kevin KaesviharnKevin KaesviharnKevin Robert Kaesviharn is an American football safety who is currently a free agent. He was signed by the Iowa Barnstormers as a street free agent in 1998...
- Former NFL strong safety resides in Sioux Falls - Alexis LeVanAlexis LeVanAlexis LeVan is a beauty queen from Sioux Falls, South Dakota who has competed in the Miss USA pageant.LeVan won the Miss South Dakota USA 2006 title in a state pageant held in Watertown, South Dakota in late 2005...
- Miss South Dakota USAMiss South Dakota USAThe Miss South Dakota USA competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of South Dakota in the Miss USA pageant. This state pageant is currently directed by Future Productions....
2006 - Mike MartzMike MartzMichael Martz is a former NFL head coach and currently the offensive coordinator for the National Football League's Chicago Bears....
- former coach of the St. Louis RamsSt. Louis RamsThe St. Louis Rams are a professional American football team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are currently members of the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Rams have won three NFL Championships .The Rams began playing in 1936 in Cleveland,...
(now offensive coordinator for the Chicago BearsChicago BearsThe Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
) and architect of the "greatest show on turf" was born in Sioux Falls. - Milton J. NieuwsmaMilton J. NieuwsmaMilton John Nieuwsma is an American writer, journalist and filmmaker noted for his work on the Holocaust. His 1998 book Kinderlager, about three young concentration camp survivors, was the basis for the 2005 Emmy Award-winning documentary, "Surviving Auschwitz: Children of the Shoah," which he...
- author, Emmy-winning filmwriter-producer - Pat O'Brien - entertainer, Access HollywoodAccess HollywoodAccess Hollywood is a weekday television entertainment news program covering events and celebrities in the entertainment industry. It was created by former Entertainment Tonight executive producer Jim Van Messel, and is currently directed by Robert Silverstein. In previous years, Doug Dougherty and...
, model/actor - David SoulDavid SoulDavid Soul is an American-British actor and singer, best known for his role as Detective Kenneth "Hutch" Hutchinson in the television programme Starsky and Hutch . He gained British citizenship in 2004.-Early life:...
- actor, "Starsky & Hutch" and recording artist "Don't Give Up On Us" - Joan TaborJoan TaborThis is an article about the US actress. For the English folksinger see June Tabor.Joan Tabor was an US film and TV actress.She was born on September 16, 1932, in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, USA....
- actress - Nick ThomasNick ThomasNick Thomas is a Welsh politician and member of Plaid Cymru. Nick Thomas stood for the Bridgend constituency in the National Assembly for Wales election, 2007.Nick Thomas was born in Bridgend and now lives in Porthcawl...
- Lead vocalist, and a guitarist from "The Spill Canvas" - John ThuneJohn ThuneJohn Randolph Thune is the junior U.S. Senator from South Dakota and a member of the Republican Party. He previously served as a U.S. Representative for .-Early Life, Education:...
- Current South Dakota Senator - Shane Van Boening - Professional pool player
- Jerry verDorn - Actor; 'Clint BuchananClint BuchananClinton "Clint" Buchanan is a fictional character on the ABC daytime soap opera One Life to Live.-Casting:The role was originated in September 10, 1979 by actor Clint Ritchie, portraying the role nearly continuously through December 30, 1999. Ritchie reappeared in the 2003 and 2004. Actor Jerry...
' from the Soap 'One Life To LiveOne Life to LiveOne Life to Live is an American soap opera which debuted on July 15, 1968 and has been broadcast on the ABC television network. Created by Agnes Nixon, the series was the first daytime drama to primarily feature racially and socioeconomically diverse characters and consistently emphasize social...
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External links
- City of Sioux Falls government website
- Sioux Falls Area Chamber of Commerce
- Sioux Falls Convention and Visitors Bureau
- Sioux Falls Development Foundation
- Sioux Falls School District
- Sioux Falls Airport
- Sioux Falls Argus Leader - the city's daily newspaper
- Sioux Falls Events
- Sioux Falls Transit information
- Greetings from Sioux Falls - A look at the history of Sioux Falls through postcards
- South Dakota Rock and Roll Hall of Fame