Sioux Falls, South Dakota

Sioux Falls 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 and a metropolitan area population of 228,261. Sioux Falls and the surrounding areas are sometimes referred to as the Sioux Empire. 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. Sioux Falls is a regional center of urban and rural interaction.

History
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. 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 acre 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 acre, 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 a 2009 estimate of 158,008.

Geography
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 (145.9 km²). 56.3 square miles (145.9 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km²) of it is water. The total area is 0.04% water. The city is located in the extreme eastern part of South Dakota, about 15 mi west of the Minnesota border and 8 mi northwest of the Iowa 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 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.

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 mi 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 gazing and snowshoeing. 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.

Climate
Due to its inland location, Sioux Falls experiences a humid continental climate (Koppen Dfa), which is characterized by hot, relatively humid summers and cold, drier winters. From mid-January to mid-July, highs range from 24 to 86 F and lows from 2 to 61 F. Snowfall occurs mostly in light to moderate amounts during the winter, totaling 39.3 in. Precipitation, at 24.7 in, 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 as recently as 1988.

Law and government

 * 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.
 * Crime: The per-capita general violent crime rate in Sioux Falls is roughly half the United States average. 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. In 2008, Barack Obama won Minnehaha County by 0.7%, while John McCain won Lincoln County by 15%.

Economy
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.

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 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, 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.

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. Dawley Farm Village is a major commercial development that is being constructed for the east side of Sioux Falls. This major shopping district will be located at the intersection of Arrowhead Parkway (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 than the Empire Mall area.

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, and Gage Brothers.

Sioux Falls also boasts the lowest unemployment rate in the United States.

Households
According to the 2000 census, 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.

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 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. 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.

Higher education
Sioux Falls is home to Augustana College, the University of Sioux Falls, 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, Sioux Falls Seminary, 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 nearly 21,000 students living in Sioux Falls; there are three high schools (Lincoln, Roosevelt, and Washington) (grades 9-12), five middle schools (grades 6-8), and 26 elementary schools (grades K-5). Because of sprawl, districts around Sioux Falls continue to grow at dramatic rates. Brandon Valley, Valley Springs, Baltic, Canton, Harrisburg, Tea Area, Tri-Valley, and West-Central school districts serve many metro-area students.

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.

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, 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.

Culture
Sioux Falls is the Cultural center of South Dakota. Home to Universities, a Cathedral, Parks, and Museums, along with many art influences in the city.

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.

Festival of Bands is a regional festival that hosts over 40 bands each year. The parade is in downtown Sioux Falls. Preliminaries are now held at Bob Young Field (Sanford Health Sports Complex), and Field Finals are held at Howard Wood Field.

LifeLight Festival, largest free Christian music festival in the country with over 300,000 attendees in 2007, is held yearly over Labor Day weekend near Worthing,SD. The LifeLight Festival moved to near Worthing, SD 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 entertain crowds.

Arts
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.

Landmarks
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 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 park, and has an impressive number of dioramas 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.

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.

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).

Public/Mass Transit
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.

Air Travel
Several domestic 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, and Los Angeles International Airport.

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, have won four consecutive championships in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008, winning 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 2005-06 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.

Foldings
On September 26, 2007, the Sioux Falls Spitfire suspended operations.

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:

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.
 * 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, 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. 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 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.

Notable natives and residents

 * James Abourezk - First Arab-American Senator in U.S. History, now practices law in Sioux Falls
 * Shayna Baszler-Women's MMA fighter.
 * George Botsford, Composer, Pianist, noted for Black and White Rag.
 * Chris Browne - American comic strip artist and cartoonist. Browne writes and draws the comic strip Hägar the Horrible.
 * Benny Castillo - Retired 11 year minor league baseball player, former manager of the Duluth-Superior Dukes, Jamestown Jammers, Yuma Scorpions, and Sioux City Explorers, and former Sioux Falls Canaries hitting coach
 * Dave Dedrick (1928–2010) - Long-time host of the children's television show, "Captain 11".
 * William Dougherty, South Dakota politician
 * Joe Foss - World War II "ace of aces" fighter pilot hero, first Commissioner of the American Football League (which later became the AFC of the NFL), and 20th governor of South Dakota
 * Michael E. Fossum - astronaut
 * Neil Graff - Former NFL Quarterback with the New England Patriots, Pittsburgh Steelers, Minnesota Vikings, Seattle Seahawks, and Green Bay Packers
 * Mary Hart - entertainer, Entertainment Tonight
 * Allison Hedge Coke - author of Blood Run, American Book Award Winner: 1998, 2003 Sioux Falls Mayor's Award Winner, Excellence in Literary Arts. Huron/Cherokee Writer/Educator. Reynolds Chair, UNK.
 * January Jones - actress; best-known for her role as Betty Draper on the television series Mad Men.
 * Kevin Kaesviharn - Former NFL strong safety resides in Sioux Falls
 * Alexis LeVan - Miss South Dakota USA 2006
 * Mike Martz - former coach of the St. Louis Rams (now offensive coordinator for the Chicago Bears) and architect of the "greatest show on turf" was born in Sioux Falls.
 * Milton J. Nieuwsma - author, Emmy-winning filmwriter-producer
 * Pat O'Brien - entertainer, Access Hollywood, model/actor
 * David Soul - actor, "Starsky & Hutch" and recording artist "Don't Give Up On Us"
 * John Thune - Current South Dakota Senator
 * Dallas Clark - pro football player for Indianapolis Colts
 * Donn Clendenon - Major League Baseball first baseman, 1969 World Series MVP
 * Jerry verDorn - Actor; 'Clint Buchanan' from the Soap 'One Life To Live'
 * Nick Thomas - Lead vocalist, and a guitarist from "The Spill Canvas"