AMA about South Dakota

[TDAS04]

Ask me questions about South Dakota.

[TDAS04]

Wasn't there a pizza place in Sioux Falls where robots would deliver your pizza?

Gigglebees was a children's arcade and pizza place, where a mechanical coyote on a tricycle would deliver pizza to customers. It was a popular place, but it closed in 2008 (the competition from Chuck E. Cheese didn't help; though it appears that the Sioux Falls location for Chuck E. Cheese closed just a couple of weeks ago).

Also, a Pizza Ranch hired a couple of robot bus boys two years ago.

[TDAS04]

This may sound like a general question, but what is life like in South Dakota? How does it differ from a place that is maybe more densely populated?

Is Sioux Falls an interesting city? Is there a lot to do there? What is it like to live there?

Living in Sioux Falls seems ordinary to me, since it's the only place I remember living in (my family moved here from Iowa City when I was a baby). Really, it doesn't seem that isolated or sparse or wild. Sioux Falls is a city, and it's a growing city. Maybe life in smaller towns tends to be a bit different, and small towns are still more important in South Dakota than in most states. Plus agriculture is still pretty big in SD. I live in roughly the center of Sioux Falls, and there's a lot of activity, but I've always been used to having easy access to the countryside, which is just a 15-minute can ride away. That may not be something that those in larger population centers can necessarily take for granted, but it doesn't take long to see corn and cows around here.

[TDAS04]

Have you ever ventured up to North Dakota to see what happens up there?

I’ve been to Fargo a few times. It’s a good small city, seemed more neatly organized than Sioux Falls.

I’ve been through western North Dakota coming back from Glacier National Park, and it wasn’t impressive (neither was eastern Montana). Williston’s a depressing place.

[TDAS04]

How is the bar/restaurant scene in South Dakota?

Considerably more diverse than it used to be, at least in Sioux Falls. At the start of the 21st century, there were 0 Indian, Japanese, and Thai restaurants. Now we have all of those, and Sioux Falls has several Ethiopian restaurants because of the immigrant population. Sioux Falls is still mostly a traditional chain establishment and steakhouse kind of town though; Restaurants in Sioux Falls have long been numerous; people like to eat out, but usually at the same places they’re used to.

Outside of Sioux Falls, options are more limited, even though even such towns as Rapid City and Brookings are now fairly diverse. Huron now apparently has good Southeast Asian food thanks to the large Karen refugee community.

Downtown Sioux Falls has bars, and the amount of nightlife options is increasing, but it’s still a town where most things close early.

[TDAS04]

Have you ever seen in person the statue called "Dignity" at the Interstate rest stop near Chamberlain?

Yes, a few years ago coming back home from Pierre. Very cool indeed.

One of my close friends moved to Aberdeen SD. What's it like?

I haven't been to Aberdeen since 1998. I remember being a lot flatter than Sioux Falls, and thinking that it would be a good place to ride a bike.

What is the coldest you ever remember it being?

-34.

[TDAS04]

Have you been to all of the various attractions near Rapid City besides Crazy Horse and the National Parks/Monuments?

There are several attractions, so it's hard to see all in a short visit, but I remember fondly my visit to Reptile Gardens (the largest reptile zoo in the world) during my first Black Hills trip when I was 7 (which was actually the only time I've been to Mt. Rushmore). My favorite place I've been to in the Black Hills region is probably Custer State Park, which is a beautiful place full of good wildlife viewing; but also a very horribly named park, and the town of Custer is full of unsavory characters, many of whom are racist hicks.

The Black Hills/Badlands region is beautiful and I want to see more of it (including Mammoth Site in Hot Springs), but I find the West River culture a bit off-putting. West River people are generally less pleasant and welcoming than East River people, from my experience. Even the West River I meet in Sioux Falls are usually not people I get along with much, and they complain about "liberal, snooty, uptight, big city" Sioux Falls.

[TDAS04]

Do you enjoy living in South Dakota despite its conservative politics?

Yes, I don’t even know the politics of most people I interact with (and I don’t ask), and while Sioux Falls is definitely a conservative city for its size, liberals are not that small a minority. People are mostly nice (I do sometimes wonder how seemingly decent people can support a cruel person like Trump, but it happens.)

Sioux Falls has good parks and neighborhoods, and the place isn’t too chaotic (yet). I like all that, but then again, I’m not as much of a big city person as most on here (East Coast posters think Indianapolis and Kansas City are “isolated,” lol). But there’s plenty of Sioux Falls that I dislike as well (lack of public transportation, lack of tall buildings, too many huge one-story buildings, too much sprawl, etc.)

[TDAS04]

Which of the state's Native American reservations have you visited, if any?

Crow Creek, Flandreau, Lake Traverse, Lower Brule, Rosebud, Yankton. Not sure about Pine Ridge or Cheyenne River, and I don't thank I've been to Standing Rock.

How locally acclaimed is Tom Brakow?

A little bit, but mostly by older people, and not as much as he used to be.

What is Rapid City like?

I actually don't remember experiencing much of the Rapid City city limits during any of my Black Hills Trips (last time I stayed in Deadwood), but it appears to be growing, and Rapid City is the largest metro of its size within a large, contiguous, geographical area. So it's a bit isolated. I remember my stay in similarly-sized city Cheyenne, Wyoming more―and it didn't seem like a bad place at all. Maybe Cheyenne and Rapid City are similar.

[TDAS04]

I'll be in Vermillion for a workshop at the end of July. Any recommendations when I'm not in a session?

Vermillion has the University, but it's still pretty small. Still a pretty nice place, and I enjoyed the National Music Museum quite a bit. The museum holds over 15,000 (!) musical instruments from around the world, and from thousands of years of history. Definitely worth a stop.

There are a few other other sites and historic downtown buildings, but people who aren't interested in farming might find Vermillion boring. There are agricultural attractions and events (e.g., farm shows). Plus the Missouri River helps make the area somewhat scenic, and Clay County Park (4 miles outside town) is a peaceful spot on the River to relax.

[TDAS04]

The weekend just before the workshop I'll be collecting counties in NW SD. Is there anything of interest I should put on my list?

I've been through Bel Fourche briefly by car, but that's it for my experience with the far northwest corner of SD (Butte, Harding, Perkins Counties). But honestly, I'm not sure there is much. It's pretty empty, but that should be okay if you like wide-open spaces.