Sioux City

 

city (1990 pop. 80,505), seat of Woodbury co., NW Iowa, at the junction of the Big Sioux and Floyd rivers with the Missouri; inc. 1857. It is a shipping, wholesale trade, and industrial center for an extensive agricultural and livestock area (including nearby states). It has a huge, central livestock market, a leading hog market, meatpacking houses, and processing plants for popcorn, poultry, and honey. Chemicals and fertilizers, electric and electronic goods, consumer products, feeds, apparel, machinery, transportation and computer equipment, communication towers, and seed are among its diverse products. The city was named to a honor a Sioux chief who aided the area's early pioneers. Morningside College and Briar Cliff Univ. are there. Nearby is a monument commemorating the death and burial (1804) of Sgt. Charles Floyd of the Lewis and Clark expedition.

Sioux City, Iowa
Motto: Successful Surprising Sioux City
Location in Iowa
Coordinates: 42°29′53″N 96°23′44″W / 42.49806, -96.39556
Country	United States
State	Iowa
Counties	Woodbury, Plymouth
Founded	1854
Incorporated	1857
Government
- Mayor	Craig Berenstein
- City manager	Paul Eckert
Area
- City	km²  ( sq mi)
- Land	km² ( sq mi)
- Water	km² ( sq mi)  2.06%
Elevation	m ( ft)
Population (2006)
- City
- Density	/km² (/sq mi)
- Metro
Time zone	Central (UTC-6)
- Summer (DST)	Central (UTC-5)
Area code(s)	712
FIPS code	19-73335
GNIS feature ID	0461653
Website: http://www.sioux-city.org

Sioux City (IPA: [su: 'sɪti]) is a city located in northwest Iowa in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 85,013. The 2006 census estimate indicated a slight decline to 83,262.^[1] It is the county seat of Woodbury County.⁶

Sioux City is at the navigational head of the Missouri River, about  miles ( km) north of the Omaha-Council Bluffs metropolitan area. Sioux City and the surrounding areas of northwestern Iowa, northeastern Nebraska and southeastern South Dakota are sometimes referred to as Siouxland, especially by the local media.

Sioux City is the home of Morningside College, Briar Cliff University, St. Luke's College and Western Iowa Tech Community College.

In 2005, Sioux City, along with Coon Rapids, Iowa and Clinton was awarded one of the inaugural Iowa Great Places designations.[1]

History

Main article: History of Sioux City, Iowa

Geography and Climate

Sioux City is located at 42°29′53″N, 96°23′45″W (42.497957, -96.395705).¹ Sioux City is at an altitude of  feet ( m) above sea level.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 144.9 km² (56.0 mi²). 141.9 km² (54.8 mi²) of it is land and 3.0 km² (1.2 mi²) of it (2.06%) is water.

Metropolitan area

As of the 2000 census, the Sioux City metropolitan area had 143,053 residents in four counties; the population was estimated at 143,474 in 2006.^[2] As defined by the Office of Management and Budget, the counties comprising the metropolitan area are (in descending order of population):

• Woodbury County, Iowa

• Dakota County, Nebraska
• Union County, South Dakota
• Dixon County, Nebraska

Two of these counties -- Union and Dixon -- were added to the metro area in 2003. In reality, only Woodbury, Dakota, and Union counties contain any metropolitan character; Dixon County is entirely rural.

Plymouth County is not considered part of metropolitan Sioux City although the extreme north and northwest sides of the city spill over into Plymouth County. It is also estimated that 40-50% of Plymouth county works in Woodbury county. ^{[citation needed]}

Climate

Monthly Normal and Record High and Low Temperatures
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Rec High °F	71	71	91	97	102	108	108	104	103	94	81	70
Norm High °F	28.7	35	47.3	61.7	73.2	82.5	86.2	83.7	76	63.7	44.8	31.7
Norm Low °F	8.5	15.3	25.7	37.3	49.2	58.5	62.9	60.6	50.1	38	24.8	12.8
Rec Low °F	-26	-26	-22	-2	25	38	42	37	24	12	-9	-24
Precip (in)	0.59	0.62	2	2.75	3.75	3.61	3.3	2.9	2.42	1.99	1.4	0.66
Source: USTravelWeather.com [2]

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there were 85,013 people, 32,054 households, and 21,091 families residing in the city. The population density was 599.0/km² (1,551.3/mi²). There were 33,816 housing units at an average density of 238.3/km² (617.1/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 85.23% White, 2.41% African American, 1.95% Native American, 2.82% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 5.27% from other races, and 2.28% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 10.89% of the population.

There were 32,054 households out of which 33.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.1% were married couples living together, 12.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.2% were non-families. 27.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.14.

In the city the population was spread out with 27.1% under the age of 18, 11.0% from 18 to 24, 28.5% from 25 to 44, 20.2% from 45 to 64, and 13.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 95.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.2 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $37,429, and the median income for a family was $45,751. Males had a median income of $31,385 versus $22,470 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,666. About 7.9% of families and 11.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.0% of those under age 18 and 7.8% of those age 65 or over.

Neighborhoods, commercial districts, and suburbs

City neighborhoods

Main article: Neighborhoods of Sioux City, Iowa

Nearby communities

• South Sioux City, Nebraska is directly across the Missouri River in Dakota County. With nearly 12,000 residents, it is by far the largest suburb of Sioux City. It was an All America City in 2003. Two bridges -- the Veterans Memorial Bridge and the Interstate 129 bridge -- connect Sioux City with South Sioux City.
• Dakota City, Nebraska is just south of South Sioux City. It is the county seat of Dakota County. Large beef-processing plants are located in Dakota City.
• North Sioux City, South Dakota is just across the Big Sioux River in Union County. It is home to a number of casinos. It is also the home to several major industrial concerns, including Iams Pet Food, Interbake Foods, and Gateway, Inc., the computer company.
• Dakota Dunes, South Dakota is an unincorporated "master-planned community" just west of Sioux City in the extreme southeast corner of South Dakota. Construction began circa 1989. Expensive new homes, suburban-style office parks, and a country club golf course designed by Arnold Palmer characterize this area.
• Sergeant Bluff is a mainly residential suburb adjacent to the southern city limits of Sioux City, less than a mile east of the Sioux City airport.

Parks, recreation, and locations of interest

• Stone State Park is in the northwest corner of the city, overlooking the South Dakota/Iowa border. Stone Park is near the northernmost extent of the Loess Hills, and is at the transition from clay bluffs and prairie to sedimentary rock hills and bur oak forest along the Iowa side of the Big Sioux River. Popular for decades with picnickers and day hikers, it has been a local hot spot for mountain biking since the late 1980s.

• Dorothy Pecaut Nature Center is a destination nature preserve for Woodbury County, and is located within the boundaries of Stone State Park. The butterfly garden is unique to the area; wild turkeys and white-tail deer are commonly sighted from the well-marked trails.

• KD Station, once listed on National Register of Historic Places, destroyed by fire in 2006.

• Grandview Park is located north of the downtown area, up from Rose Hill, between The Northside and The Heights. The Municipal Bandshell is located in the park. In summer, Sunday evening municipal band concerts are a longstanding Sioux City tradition. The Saturday in the Park music festival is held there annually. Behind the bandshell is an extensive rose garden with an elaborate arbor and trellises which has long been a popular site for outdoor weddings, prom and other special occasion photographs, and for children to play during the Sunday evening band concerts and other events.

• Pulaski Park is named for the Polish General Kazimierz Pułaski, who fought in the American Revolution. This park features baseball diamond facilities, and is located in western Morningside along old U.S. Highway 75 (South Lewis Blvd.). It is largely built on the filled lakebed of Half Moon Lake, which was originally created in the 1890s by the excavation of fill dirt to build the approaches for the iron railroad bridge spanning the Missouri near the Stockyards. The neighborhood on the bluff overlooking the park was historically settled by Lithuanian and Polish immigrants, many of whom worked in the meatpacking industry during the early 20th century.

• Latham Park is located in an old residential area of Morningside, and is the only privately owned and maintained open-to-the-public park within the city limits. It was left in trust in 1937 under the terms of Clara Latham's will; her family had built the house on one acre of ground in 1915. The house and grounds are currently being restored by the Friends of Latham Park.

• The Sergeant Floyd Monument commemorates the burial site of U.S. Army Sergeant Charles Floyd, the only man to die on the Lewis and Clark Expedition. It is a National Historic Landmark, with its prominent  foot ( m) obelisk situated on 23 acres of parkland, high on a river bluff with a splendid view of the Missouri River valley.
• First Bride's Grave is near the Sergeant Floyd monument, and located in Morningside's South Ravine Park. A short hike brings one to the stone monument which marks the final resting place of Rosalie Menard Leonais (d. 1865), the bride of Joseph Leonais in the first Christian wedding to take place in Sioux City.
• War Eagle Park is named for the Yankton Sioux chief Wambdi Okicize (d. 1851) who befriended early settlers. An impressive monument overlooks the confluence of the Big Sioux and Missouri Rivers; the sculpture represents the chief in his role as a leader and peacemaker, wearing the eagle feather bonnet and holding the peace pipe.
• Riverside Park is located on the banks of the Big Sioux River. One of the oldest recreational areas of the city, it is home to the Sioux City Boat Club and Sioux City Community Theater. The park is on land that once belonged to the first white settler in the area, Theophile Bruguier; his original cabin is preserved in the park.
• Bacon Creek Park is located northeast of Morningside and features fishing, canoe rentals, and a scenic walking trail.
• Chris Larsen Park, informally known as "The Riverfront", is the launching point for the riverboat casino and includes the Anderson Dance Pavilion, the Sergeant Floyd Riverboat Museum and the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center, opened in 2004. Massive Missouri River development began in 2005 with the opening of the MLR Tyme Marina area, which includes Beverly's, an upscale restaurant.
• Golf courses, city parks, and aquatics: Sioux City is also home to several municipal public golf courses, including Floyd Park in Morningside, Green Valley near the Southern Hills, Sun Valley on the northern West Side, and Hidden Acres in nearby Plymouth County. Sioux City also has a number of private golf clubs, including Sioux City Country Club, Southern Hills Country Club, and Whispering Creek Golf Club. The city has over  acres ( km²) of public parkland located at 53 locations, including the beautiful riverfront and many miles of recreation trails. Five public swimming pools/aquatics centers are located within Sioux City neighborhoods.
• The Sioux City Public Museum is located in a Northside neighborhood of fine Victorian mansions. The portico-and-gabled stone building was originally the home of the banker, John Peirce, and was built in 1890. The museum features Native American, pioneer, early Sioux City, and natural history exhibits.
• The Sioux City Art Center was formed in 1938 as part of the WPA’s support of the arts. The Art Center is committed to supporting artists from Iowa and the greater Midwest. Also, the Center has a general program of acquisition of work by national and international artists, including important works by Thomas Hart Benton, Salvador Dalí, Käthe Kollwitz, Robert Motherwell, Claes Oldenburg, James McNeil Whistler, and Grant Wood. It is located Downtown.
• The Sioux City Symphony Orchestra and The Sioux City Municipal Band
• The Woodbury county courthouse

Media

Television stations

• KTIV, Channel 4, NBC affiliate
• KCAU, Channel 9, ABC affiliate
• KMEG, Channel 14, CBS affiliate
• KSIN, Channel 27, PBS member station
• KPTH, Channel 44, Fox affiliate

Radio stations

FM stations

• K-LOVE, 88.9, Plays commercial free contemporary Christian music. Also can be picked up on 107.5 out of Castana, Iowa.
• KMSC, 88.3, operated by Morningside College
• KWIT, 90.3, public radio, operated by Western Iowa Technical Community College
• KGLI, 95.5, "KG95" -- adult contemporary; previously played top 40; signed on in 1983
• KSEZ, 97.9, "Z98" -- plays rock music (classic and new rock); previously top 40 station "Rock 98" in the 1980s
• KKMA, 99.5, "Kool 99.5" -- plays Classic Hits; formerly adult contemporary "Magic 99"; call letters were KZZL in the early 1980s as an easy listening format Home of Iowa State Cyclones athletics
• KKYY, 101.3, "Y101.3" -- country music; the newest FM signal in the market
• KZSR, 102.3, "102.3 Bob-FM" -- a "adult hits" station; signed on as Bob-FM on March 13, 2006
• KTFC, 103.3, Religious radio station ("Midwest Bible Radio")
• WNAX-FM, 104.1, country; broadcasts from Yankton, South Dakota; low-power translator K283AG broadcasts at 104.5 FM in Sioux City, but both frequencies are audible in Sioux City. Previously oldies/classic hits KCLH; was top 40 KQHU "Q104" in 1990.
• KSUX, 105.7, "The SuperPig, K-Sioux 105.7"; has played country music since the signal went on-air in the fall of 1990; reportedly the station's first owners named the station after the airport abbreviation (SUX) and did not recognize the latent humor in the KSUX calls until it was too late.
• KSFT, 107.1, "Kiss 107FM" -- top 40 station as of March 13, 2006; previously played adult contemporary; signed on in the mid-1990s.

AM stations

• WNAX, 570, talk radio and farm news from Yankton, South Dakota; massive signal covering much of the upper Midwest
• KMNS, 620, sports talk radio; for a long time, was "62 Country"
• KSCJ, 1360, talk radio; call letters derive from the Sioux City Journal, which once owned the station
• KWSL, 1470, spanish language music; previously sports talk; was a top 40 station into at least the 1980s.

Print

• Sioux City Journal, daily newspaper serving entire Siouxland region www.siouxcityjournal.com
• Dakota County Star, weekly newspaper serving northeast Nebraska
• Sioux City Hispanos Unidos, bi-weekly Spanish readers paper
• The Weekender, weekly arts and entertainment magazine serving the entire Siouxland region www.siouxland.net

Notable natives

• John W. Aldridge, literary critic, author in 1951 of After the Lost Generation: A Critical Study of the Writers of Two Wars
• Dave Bancroft, Major League Baseball Hall of Fame shortstop.
• Patricia Barber, internationally famous jazz singer-diva, pianist, bandleader, recording artist. Although born in Chicago, she was raised and educated in South Sioux City, Nebraska, where she completed high school.
• Ben Bernstein, noted jazz, bluegrass and rock bassist, including as a member of New Monsoon
• Tommy Bolin, guitarist who had a solo career and was also a member of Deep Purple and The James Gang.
• Brandon Brooks, Leading professor in Quantum Mechanical Phenomena, coined the phrase "Qubits" in article for SIAM Journal on Computing.
• Macdonald Carey, actor. The longtime patriarch on Days of Our Lives.
• Eric Carter, member of Kansas House of Representatives.]
• Colonel George E. "Bud" Day U.S. Air Force, Vietnam POW, recipient of the Medal of Honor is the United States' most highly decorated officer since General Douglas MacArthur. The Sioux City Airport is named Colonel Bud Day Field in his honor as is 6th Street (Honorable Bud Day Street).
• W. Edwards Deming, 1900–1993, American statistician and quality-control expert - Deming helped to improve Japan's quality control and management processes.
• Zeron Flemister, NFL player, Oakland Raiders.
• Esther and Paulline Friedman, better known as Ann Landers and Abigail Van Buren. Graduates of Central High School.
• Peggy Gilbert, jazz saxophonist and bandleader.
• Dan Goldie, former tennis player, winner of 2 ATP singles titles
• Fred Grandy, actor, congressman, former CEO of Goodwill; currently morning drive-time color jock for WMAL Radio, Washington, D.C.
• Dick Green, Former MLB second baseman with the Kansas City and Oakland Athletics.
• John Hardy, NFL player, San Francisco 49ers.
• Noah Holcomb, Professional Cyclist.
• William L. Harding, Governor of Iowa (1919-1921).
• Jules Harlow, conservative Jewish rabbi and liturgist.
• Kirk Hinrich, Chicago Bulls guard.
• Harry Hopkins, Secretary of Commerce, advisor to FDR during World War II.
• Robert Lowry, Classical clarinetist.
• Al McIntosh, distinguished newspaper editor whose columns are featured in Ken Burns' The War.
• Jerry Mathers, Beaver Cleaver on TV's "Leave It To Beaver".
• Daniel ("Danny") Matousek, lead singer and guitarist for The Velaires. Graduate of Central High School.
• Lori Petty, actress best known for her starring role opposite Geena Davis and Tom Hanks on "A League of Their Own".
• Frances Rafferty, MGM actress of the 1940s & early TV star best known for playing opposite Spring Byington on the sitcom "December Bride."
• Edward J. Sperling, Jewish writer and humorist.
• Brian Wansink -- Cornell University Professor and author of Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think
• Ted Waitt and Norman Waitt, co-founders of Gateway, Inc.
• Pierre Watkin, talented and prolific character actor in radio, films and TV from 1930s-1950s, most famously portrayed Daily Planet Editor Perry White in the original Superman serials and the Banker in the 1940 W.C. Fields film, "The Bank Dick."

Sister City

• Sioux City is the sister city of Lake Charles, Louisiana.

References

This article or section is missing citations or needs footnotes. Using inline citations helps guard against copyright violations and factual inaccuracies.

External links

• Sioux City History
• Sioux City 1848-1923
• Sioux City and Woodbury County 1890 (fascinating natural and early civic history, including interviews with original settlers)
• City of Sioux City
• Attractions and Recreation
• Sioux City Public Museum
• Sioux City Art Center
• Sioux City Journal (local newspaper)
• Saturday in the Park (annual music festival)
• Siouxland.net (local arts and entertainment paper)
• Mary Treglia Community Center
• History of the Stockyards

Coordinates: 42.497957° N 96.395705° W

Municipalities and communities of Woodbury County, Iowa
County seat: Sioux City
Cities	Anthon | Bronson | Correctionville | Cushing | Danbury | Hornick | Lawton | Moville | Oto | Pierson | Salix | Sergeant Bluff | Sioux City | Sloan | Smithland

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