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Sioux Falls, South Dakota

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Sioux Falls, South Dakota
City
Downtown Sioux Falls, near the intersection of 10th St. and Phillips Ave.
Downtown Sioux Falls, near the intersection of 10th St. and Phillips Ave.
Official seal of Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Seal
Nickname(s): 
Best Little City in America, Queen City of the West
Motto: 
The Heart of America
Location in Minnehaha County and in the state of South Dakota
Location in Minnehaha County and in the state of South Dakota
CountryUnited States
StateSouth Dakota
CountiesMinnehaha, Lincoln
Government
 • MayorMike Huether[1]
Area
[2]
 • City73.47 sq mi (190.29 km2)
 • Land72.96 sq mi (188.97 km2)
 • Water0.51 sq mi (1.32 km2)
Elevation
1,470 ft (448 m)
Population
 (2010)[3][4]
 • City153,888
 • Estimate 
(2014)[5]
168,586
 • RankUS: 147th
 • Density2,109.2/sq mi (814.4/km2)
 • Urban
156,777 (US: 212th)
 • Metro
248,351 (US: 186th)
Time zoneUTC-6 (Central)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-5 (Central)
ZIP codes
Zip codes[6]
Area code605
FIPS code46-59020
GNIS feature ID1267670[7]
Websitewww.siouxfalls.org

Sioux Falls (/ˌsuː ˈfɔːlz/) (Lakota: Íŋyaŋ Okábleča Otȟúŋwahe;[8] "Stone Shatter City") is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Dakota. It is the county seat of Minnehaha County,[9] and also extends into Lincoln County to the south. It is the 47th fastest-growing city in the United States[10] and the fastest-growing metro area in South Dakota, with a total increase of 22% since 2000.[11]

As of 2014, Sioux Falls had an estimated population of 168,586. The metropolitan population of 248,351 accounts for 29% of South Dakota's population. It is also the primary city of the Sioux Falls-Sioux City Designated Market Area (DMA), a larger media market region that covers parts of four states and has a population of 1,043,450.[12] 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.

History

Main articles: History of Sioux Falls, South Dakota and Timeline of Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Falls of the Big Sioux River

The history of Sioux Falls revolves around the cascades of the Big Sioux River. 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. The inhabitants maintained an agricultural society with 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.[13]

French voyagers/explorers visited the area in the early 18th century. 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".[14]

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-acre (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.[15] 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 1,200 acres (4.9 km2), was incorporated in 1876 and was granted a city charter by the Dakota Territorial legislature on March 3, 1883.[16]

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).

Downtown Sioux Falls in 1908, looking west.

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 relocated 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.[17]

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.

Downtown Sioux Falls in 2010, looking west.

Geography

Primary geographic features of Sioux Falls.

Sioux Falls is located at 43°32'11" North, 96°43'54" West (43.536285, −96.731780).[18] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 73.47 square miles (190.29 km2), of which, 72.96 square miles (188.97 km2) is land and 0.51 square miles (1.32 km2) is water.[2] The city is located in the extreme eastern part of South Dakota, about 15 miles (24 km) west of the Minnesota border. Sioux Falls has been assigned the ZIP codes 57101, 57103–57110, 57117–57118, 57188–57189 and 57192–57198 and the FIPS place code 59020.

Metropolitan area

The Sioux Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area consists of four counties, all of which are located in South Dakota: Lincoln, McCook, Minnehaha, and Turner. The estimated population of this MSA in 2014 was 248,351, an increase of 6.68% from the 2010 census.[4] According to recent estimates, Lincoln County is the ninth fastest-growing county (by percentage) in the United States.[19] In addition to Sioux Falls, several cities and towns included in the metropolitan area are Canton, Brandon, Dell Rapids, Tea, Harrisburg, Worthing, Beresford, Lennox, Hartford, Crooks, Baltic, Montrose, Salem, Renner, Rowena, Chancellor, Colton, Humboldt, Parker, Hurley, Garretson, Sherman, Corson, Viborg, Irene, and Centerville.

Parks and recreation

The South Dakota Department of Game, Fish, and Parks' Outdoor Campus.

Sioux Falls has more than 70 parks and greenways. Probably the best known 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, McKennan Park, Sherman Park, and Yankton Trail park. A popular feature of the park system is a paved 16-mile (26 km) path used for biking, jogging, and walking. The path follows the course of the Big Sioux River, forming a loop around Sioux Falls, along with a few spurs off the main bike trail. Recently, the city stepped up efforts to beautify a stretch of the bike trails through downtown along an area known as the River Greenway. Currently, two out of three planned phases of construction and updates have occurred. Among the updates were newer widened bike paths, new landscaping and lighting, improved street access to the bike trails, a new interactive fountain, a new pedestrian bridge across the river, removal of the old "River Ramp" parking structure, new stepped terraces leading down to the rivers edge, new retaining walls along portions of the river, and a new amphitheater/performing space. New trailheads at Elmen, Dunham, and Lien parks have helped to improve access to outlying trail spurs as well. The city is in the process of expanding the bike trail network east from Sioux Falls at Lien Park to eventually connect to Brandon, South Dakota and ultimately the Big Sioux Recreation Area. The South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks has an Outdoor Campus in Sioux Falls at Sertoma Park where it has several outdoor areas and acreages devoted to fish and wildlife. The Outdoor Campus hosts many outdoor activities through the year as well; these activities include such things as star gazing and snowshoeing. During the winter, Great Bear Recreation Park offers skiing, snowboarding, and tubing.

Climate

Due to its inland location, Sioux Falls experiences a humid continental climate (Köppen Dfa), which is characterized by hot, relatively humid summers and cold, dry winters, and is located in USDA Plant Hardiness Zone 4b.[20] The monthly daily average temperature ranges from 16.6 °F (−8.6 °C) in January to 73.0 °F (22.8 °C) in July, while there are 18 days of 90 °F (32 °C)+ highs and 26 days with sub-0 °F (−18 °C) lows annually. Snowfall occurs mostly in light to moderate amounts during the winter, totaling 44.6 inches (113 cm). Precipitation, at 26.3 inches (668 mm) annually, is concentrated in the warmer months. Extremes range from −42 °F (−41 °C) on February 9, 1899 to 110 °F (43 °C) as recently as June 21, 1988.[21]

Climate data for Sioux Falls, South Dakota (1981−2010 normals)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °F (°C) 66
(19) 		70
(21) 		88
(31) 		98
(37) 		104
(40) 		110
(43) 		110
(43) 		109
(43) 		104
(40) 		94
(34) 		81
(27) 		63
(17) 		110
(43)
Mean daily maximum °F (°C) 26.4
(−3.1) 		31.3
(−0.4) 		43.1
(6.2) 		58.5
(14.7) 		69.8
(21.0) 		79.2
(26.2) 		84.1
(28.9) 		81.7
(27.6) 		73.2
(22.9) 		59.6
(15.3) 		42.5
(5.8) 		28.5
(−1.9) 		56.6
(13.7)
Mean daily minimum °F (°C) 6.9
(−13.9) 		11.7
(−11.3) 		22.7
(−5.2) 		34.4
(1.3) 		46.2
(7.9) 		56.4
(13.6) 		61.9
(16.6) 		59.6
(15.3) 		49.3
(9.6) 		36.1
(2.3) 		22.7
(−5.2) 		9.8
(−12.3) 		34.9
(1.6)
Record low °F (°C) −38
(−39) 		−42
(−41) 		−23
(−31) 		4
(−16) 		17
(−8) 		32
(0) 		34
(1) 		34
(1) 		13
(−11) 		−5
(−21) 		−17
(−27) 		−31
(−35) 		−42
(−41)
Average precipitation inches (mm) 0.56
(14) 		0.60
(15) 		1.75
(44) 		3.01
(76) 		3.39
(86) 		3.92
(100) 		3.08
(78) 		3.04
(77) 		2.77
(70) 		2.16
(55) 		1.36
(35) 		0.69
(18) 		26.34
(669)
Average snowfall inches (cm) 7.9
(20) 		7.0
(18) 		8.3
(21) 		4.5
(11) 		0
(0) 		0
(0) 		0
(0) 		0
(0) 		0
(0) 		1.3
(3.3) 		7.4
(19) 		8.2
(21) 		44.6
(113.3)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) 6.6 6.6 8.7 10.5 11.8 11.5 9.8 9.1 8.7 7.9 7.2 6.9 105.2
Average snowy days (≥ 0.1 in) 7.2 6.2 5.3 2.4 0 0 0 0 0 0.8 4.1 7.0 32.9
Source: NOAA (extremes 1893−present),[22][23] Weather.com (extremes) ,[21] HKO[24]

Law and government

2014 Mayor and City Council
Mayor Mike Huether[1]
Southeast Rick Kiley
Southwest Greg Jamison
Northeast Kenny Anderson Jr.
Northwest Dean Karsky
Central Michelle Erpenbach
At-large Kermit Staggers
At-large Christine Erickson
At-large Rex Rolfing
City Hall
  • 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-large). The council member position is designed to be part-time. Sioux Falls operates under a home rule charter as permitted by the South Dakota constitution.[25]
  • Crime: The per-capita general violent crime rate in Sioux Falls is roughly half the United States average.[26] The Sioux Falls Police Department is the municipal law enforcement agency.
  • Politics: In the 2004 presidential election, George W. Bush won both Minnehaha and Lincoln counties, receiving 56% and 65% of the vote, respectively.[27] In 2008, Barack Obama won Minnehaha County by 0.7%, while John McCain won Lincoln County by 15%.[28]

Economy

Major Area Employers 2014[29]
Employees Organization
8,571 Sanford Health
6,259 Avera Health
3,350 Smithfield Foods/John Morrell & Co.
3,000 Sioux Falls School District
2,884 Wells Fargo
2,813 Hy-Vee
2,300 Citigroup
1,363 The Evangelical Lutheran
Good Samaritan Society
1,159 City of Sioux Falls
1,151 LifeScape
1,150 Walmart/Sam's Club
1,130 First Premier Bank/Premier Bankcard
1,049 Department of Veterans Affairs
Medical & Regional Office
960 Midcontinent Communications/Midco Connections
950 Raven Industries
925 Capital One
858 Esurance
725 Cigna
620 Sammons Financial Group/Midland National Life
616 Billion Automotive
600 Lewis Drug
593 StarMark Cabinetry
565 United States Postal Service
556 USGS EROS Data Center/SGT
524 Minnehaha County

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.

Commerce and 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 fifth largest employers overall,[29] are Wells Fargo 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, Capital One, 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 Paramedics Plus and Sioux Falls Fire Rescue.

Companies based in Sioux Falls include Raven Industries, retailers Lewis Drug and Sunshine Foods, as well as communications companies SONIFI Solutions and Midcontinent Communications.

The John Morrell plant, owned by Smithfield Foods Inc., has always been a major employer in Sioux Falls, although the city's economy has become more diversified in recent decades.

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.

In Central Downtown, shops line Phillips Avenue, and in the "EastBank" shops and restaurants fill a boardwalk style center called "8th and Railroad." "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. Dawley Farm Village is a major commercial development located on the east side of the city at the intersection of SD Highway 42 and Powder House Road (SD Highway 11).

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 Smithfield Foods/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.

The USGS Earth Resources Observation and Science Center is located approximately 10 miles north of Sioux Falls. It currently houses one of the largest computer complexes in the Department of the Interior. EROS has approximately 600 government and contractor employees.

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
18802,164—
189010,177370.3%
190010,2660.9%
191014,09437.3%
192025,20278.8%
193033,36232.4%
194040,83222.4%
195052,96929.7%
196065,46623.6%
197072,48810.7%
198081,18212.0%
1990100,81424.2%
2000123,97523.0%
2010153,88824.1%
2014 (est.)168,586[30]9.6%
U.S. Decennial Census[31]
2014 Estimate[5]

2010 census

As of the census[3] of 2010, there were 153,888 people, 61,707 households, and 37,462 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,109.2 inhabitants per square mile (814.4/km2). There were 66,283 housing units at an average density of 908.5 per square mile (350.8/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 86.8% White, 4.2% African American, 2.7% Native American, 1.8% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 2.0% from other races, and 2.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.4% of the population.

There were 61,707 households of which 31.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.5% were married couples living together, 10.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.4% had a male householder with no wife present, and 39.3% were non-families. 30.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 3.02.

Saint Joseph Cathedral

The median age in the city was 33.6 years. 24.6% of residents were under the age of 18; 10.7% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 29.7% were from 25 to 44; 24.1% were from 45 to 64; and 10.9% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.6% male and 50.4% female.

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 income 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 Dakota 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. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Sioux Falls, one of two dioceses in the state, built St. Joseph Cathedral on Duluth Avenue beginning in 1915 and completed in 1919. Sioux Falls is also the seat of the Episcopal Diocese of South Dakota.

Education

Augustana U's mascot, Ole, with the Administration Building, East Hall, and Old Main visible in the background

Higher education

Sioux Falls is home to the University of Sioux Falls, Augustana University(formerly Augustana College) , Sioux Falls Seminary, Kilian Community College, Southeast Technical Institute, National American University, the South Dakota School for the Deaf, 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).

Public schools

The Sioux Falls School District serves over 23,000 students living in Sioux Falls and some of its surrounding suburbs.[32] Suburbs around Sioux Falls continue to experience dramatic growth as Sioux Falls expands. Suburbs experiencing rapid growth are in Brandon, Valley Springs, Baltic, Garretson, West-Central, Tri-Valley, Lennox, Parker, Canton, Harrisburg, and Tea Area. Many of these districts serve students who live on the 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 will compete in this conference, along with other potential suburban districts to help cut down on costs and to increase competition between schools in the Sioux Falls Metro Area.

High schools

There are three public high schools, serving grades 9-12:

School Enrollment (Fall 2014)
Lincoln 1,790
Roosevelt 1,978
Washington 1,831
Total 5,599

The school district also operates two alternative high schools serving grades 9-12, and one specialized middle/high school alternative education center:

School Enrollment (Fall 2014)
Axtell Park 326
Career and Technical Education Academy 875
New Technology High School 310
Total 1,511
  • Note: Axtell Park replaced the former Joe Foss High School beginning fall 2014 to consolidate both middle and high school alternative programs into one location.

Middle schools

There are five public middle schools in the city, serving grades 6-8:

School Enrollment (Fall 2014)
Edison 862
Memorial 1,205
Patrick Henry 1,136
George McGovern 711
Whittier 929
Total 4,843
  • Note: George McGovern Middle School replaced Axtell Park as one of the 5 primary middle schools serving Sioux Falls beginning with the 2014-2015 school year.

Elementary schools

There are 25 public elementary schools in Sioux Falls, serving grades K-5. Some also serve early childhood:

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 O'Gorman schools 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 Sioux Falls Christian Schools, Christian Center, The Baan Dek Montessori, Cornerstone School and Sioux Falls Lutheran Schools.

Sioux Falls is home to several Lutheran schools teaching students from pre-school through high school. Lutheran schools include: Open Arms Christian Child Development Center, Sioux Falls Lutheran School, Lutheran High School of Sioux Falls.

Culture

Events

Downtown Sioux Falls plays host to a SculptureWalk[33] 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 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 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.

Party in the Park is an annual outdoor musical event held at Terrace Park. The Sioux Empire Fair is a regional fair held at the W.H. Lyon Fairgrounds and the Sioux Falls JazzFest is hosted at Yankton Trail Park each year.

Arts

Replica of Michelangelo's Moses at Augustana University.

In the past decade, Sioux Falls experienced a renaissance of cultural interest. 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.[34]

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.[35]

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 houses.

Washington Pavilion of Arts and Science.

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. 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.

The Sioux Falls Jazz and Blues Festival is 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.[36] 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 LifeLight Music Festival is held yearly in nearby Worthing, South Dakota over the last weekend in August. One of the largest outdoor Christian music festivals in the world, yearly attendance has continued to grow from less than 2,000 people in its first year (1998) to over 300,000+ attendees in 2013. The festival is a major attraction and has drawn multiple performances over the years from some of biggest names in Christian music including Skillet, Newsboys, Tenth Avenue North, and Remedy Drive.

Landmarks

Replica of Michelangelo's David in Fawick Park

The Washington Pavilion 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 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-acre (200,000 m2) park, and has dioramas depicting wildlife.[37]

The U.S.S. South Dakota Battleship 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.

Transportation

Roads

Most residents of Sioux Falls travel and commute by car. Interstate 90 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.

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 57th Street. 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.[38] 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 turn northerly near Sycamore Avenue. The highway will end at the Timberline Avenue exit (Exit 402 on I-90).

Public/mass transit

Main downtown bus terminal.

Sioux Area Metro, the local public transit organization, operates 16 bus lines within the city.[39] 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. Amtrak passenger trains do not pass through South Dakota.

Air travel

Five domestic airlines (Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, American Airlines, Allegiant Air, and Frontier Airlines) serve Sioux Falls Regional Airport.[2] The airport is also known as Joe Foss Field (in honor of famed aviator and former Governor Joe Foss). Airlines offer non-stop flight service to a number of major U.S. airports, including Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport, 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, Los Angeles International Airport, Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport, McCarran International Airport(Las Vegas) and St. Pete–Clearwater International Airport.

Sports

Club League Venue Established Championships
Sioux Falls Canaries AAIPB, Baseball Sioux Falls Stadium 1993 1
Sioux Falls Stampede USHL, Ice hockey Denny Sanford Premier Center 1999 3
Sioux Falls Storm IFL, Indoor football Denny Sanford Premier Center 2000 7
Sioux Falls Skyforce NBA-DL, Basketball Sanford Pentagon 1989 2

The Sioux Falls Canaries were known as the Sioux Falls Fighting Pheasants from 2010 to 2013.

Championships

  • The Sioux Falls Canaries 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 2004–5 season. They currently play in the NBADL (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 have now won in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015 for a total of nine titles. 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's Anderson Cup during the 2005–6 season and two Clark Cup championships in the 2006–7 season and the 2014-2015 season.

Special sporting events

Sioux Falls has several multipurpose athletic stadiums: the primarily-baseball Sioux Falls Stadium, indoor Sioux Falls Arena, indoor Sanford Pentagon, and indoor Denny Sanford Premier Center. Sioux Falls Stadium played host to the 2007 American Association of Independent Professional Baseball all-star game.[40] Sioux Falls Arena hosted the Continental Basketball Association all-star game in 1996, 2000 and 2003. It also hosted the NBA Development League Showcase in early 2007 and the United States Hockey League Prospects/All-Star Game in the 2002 and 2009 seasons.

Constructed in 2014, the Denny Sanford Premier Center is home to The Summit League Men's Basketball Tournament and The Summit League Women's Basketball Tournament.[41]

Sioux Falls hosted the 16U Amateur Softball Association A National Championship of fastpitch softball in July 2009 and the 14U ASA A National Championship of fastpitch softball in July 2012. In August 1989 and 2009, Sioux Falls hosted the Air National Guard National Softball Tournament at Sherman Park Complex.

Foldings

On September 26, 2007, the Sioux Falls Spitfire suspended operations.[42]

Sister cities

In accordance with Sister Cities International, 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:

Germany Potsdam, Germany[43]
United Kingdom Newry and Mourne District Council, Northern Ireland

Media

See also: Media in Sioux Falls, South Dakota

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 magazine.[44]
  • 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.[45]
  • In 2007, Allstate 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.[46] 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.[47]
  • 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 Billings, Montana.
  • Forbes named Sioux Falls the #1 Best Small Place For Business And Careers in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009.
  • Forbes also released the University of Cincinnati's 2006 "United States Drinking Water Quality Study Report", which had Sioux Falls ranked 3rd in Cleanest Drinking Water.
  • In 2009, CNN ranked Sioux Falls the 45th best place to live and launch a business out of a list of 100.[48]

Notable people

References

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  41. ^ Reusse, Patrick (March 6, 2015). "Sioux Falls sports scene benefits from Sanford". Minneapolis Star Tribune. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
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Further reading

  • Olson, Gary D. "Norwegian Immigrants in Early Sioux Falls: A Demographic Profile," Norwegian-American Studies, 36 (2011), pp 45–84.
  • Olson, Gary D. "A Dakota Boomtown: Sioux Falls, 1877-1880," Great Plains Quarterly (2004) 24#1 pp 17–30
  • Oyos, Lynwood E. (2014). Reveille for Sioux Falls: A World War II Army Air Forces Technical School Changes a South Dakota City. The Center for Western Studies, Augustana College. ISBN 9780931170973. The author is Professor Emeritus of History at Augustana College.
  • Tingley, Ralph and Tingley, Kathleen. Mission in Sioux Falls: The First Baptist Church, 1875-1975 (1975)
  • History of Southeastern Dakota: Its Settlement and Growth (1881)
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article "Sioux Falls".
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Sioux Falls.
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