Sioux City, Iowa

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Some information in this article or section is not attributed to sources and may not be reliable.
Please check for inaccuracies, and modify and cite sources as needed.
Sioux City, Iowa
Motto: Successful,Surprising,Sioux City
Location in Iowa
Location in Iowa
Coordinates: 42°29′53″N, 96°23′44″W
County Woodbury County
Founded 1854
Incorporated 1857
Government
 - Mayor Craig Berenstein
Area
 - City 144.9 km²  (56.0 sq mi)
 - Water 3.0 km² (1.2 sq mi)  2.06%
Population (2000)
 - City 85,013
 - Density 599.0/km² (1,551.4/sq mi)
 - Metro 143,053
Time zone Central (UTC-6)
 - Summer (DST) Central (UTC-5)
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 2005 census estimate indicated a slight decline to 83,148. It is the county seat of Woodbury CountyGR6.

Sioux City is at the navigational head of the Missouri River, about 90 miles 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 and Western Iowa Tech Community College.

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] Geography and Climate

Sioux City is located at 42°29′53″N, 96°23′45″W (42.497957, -96.395705)GR1. Sioux City is at an altitude of 1,135 feet 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.

[edit] 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.[1] As defined by the Office of Management and Budget, the counties comprising the metropolitan area are (in descending order of population):

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.

[edit] 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 [1]

[edit] Demographics

As of the censusGR2 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.

[edit] Neighborhoods, commercial districts, and suburbs

The Floyd River in Sioux City
The Floyd River in Sioux City
Confluence of the Missouri and Floyd Rivers in Sioux City
Confluence of the Missouri and Floyd Rivers in Sioux City

[edit] City neighborhoods

[edit] Surrounding Towns

Veteran's Memorial BridgeSioux City, IA
Veteran's Memorial Bridge
Sioux City, IA

[edit] Parks, recreation, and locations of interest

Stone State ParkSioux City, IA
Stone State Park
Sioux City, IA
  • 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 become a local hot spot for mountain biking since the late 1980s.
  • 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.
Sergeant Floyd Monument, Sioux City, Iowa
Sergeant Floyd Monument, Sioux City, Iowa
  • 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 100-foot 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, paddleboats, 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 1,132 acres 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


[edit] Media

[edit] Television stations

[edit] Radio stations

(Note: Not an all-inclusive list. Some low-power stations and stations audible from adjacent markets are excluded. Due to extremely high soil conductivity in the Midwest, many AM stations from other cities are audible in Sioux City.)

[edit] 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 oldies; formerly adult contemporary "Magic 99"; call letters were KZZL in the early 1980s as an easy listening format
  • 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.

[edit] AM stations

[edit] 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

[edit] Notable Residents

[edit] Sister City

[edit] References

[edit] External links


Flag of Iowa
State of Iowa
Des Moines (capital)
Regions

Coteau des Prairies | Coulee Region | Des Moines metropolitan area | Great River Road | Iowa Great Lakes | Loess Hills | Omaha‑Council Bluffs metropolitan area | Quad Cities | Siouxland |

Largest cities

Ames | Ankeny | Bettendorf | Burlington | Cedar Falls | Cedar Rapids | Clinton | Council Bluffs | Davenport | Des Moines | Dubuque | Fort Dodge | Iowa City | Marion | Marshalltown | Mason City | Muscatine | Ottumwa | Sioux City | Urbandale | Waterloo | West Des Moines

Counties

Adair | Adams | Allamakee | Appanoose | Audubon | Benton | Black Hawk | Boone | Bremer | Buchanan | Buena Vista | Butler | Calhoun | Carroll | Cass | Cedar | Cerro Gordo | Cherokee | Chickasaw | Clarke | Clay | Clayton | Clinton | Crawford | Dallas | Davis | Decatur | Delaware | Des Moines | Dickinson | Dubuque | Emmet | Fayette | Floyd | Franklin | Fremont | Greene | Grundy | Guthrie | Hamilton | Hancock | Hardin | Harrison | Henry | Howard | Humboldt | Ida | Iowa | Jackson | Jasper | Jefferson | Johnson | Jones | Keokuk | Kossuth | Lee | Linn | Louisa | Lucas | Lyon | Madison | Mahaska | Marion | Marshall | Mills | Mitchell | Monona | Monroe | Montgomery | Muscatine | O'Brien | Osceola | Page | Palo Alto | Plymouth | Pocahontas | Polk | Pottawattamie | Poweshiek | Ringgold | Sac | Scott | Shelby | Sioux | Story | Tama | Taylor | Union | Van Buren | Wapello | Warren | Washington | Wayne | Webster | Winnebago | Winneshiek | Woodbury | Worth | Wright