| Yankton, South Dakota | |
|---|---|
| — City — | |
| Location in Yankton County and the state of South Dakota | |
| Coordinates: | |
| Country | United States |
| State | South Dakota |
| County | Yankton |
| Incorporated | 1869[1] |
| Government | |
| • City Manager | Doug Russell[2] |
| • Mayor | Ike Johnson[3] |
| Area | |
| • Total | 8 sq mi (20.7 km2) |
| • Land | 7.8 sq mi (20.1 km2) |
| • Water | 0.2 sq mi (0.6 km2) |
| Elevation | 1,211 ft (369 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 14,454 |
| • Density | 1,853.1/sq mi (719.1/km2) |
| Time zone | Central (CST) (UTC-6) |
| • Summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
| ZIP codes | 57078-57079 |
| Area code(s) | 605 |
| FIPS code | 46-73060[4] |
| GNIS feature ID | 1259091[5] |
Yankton is a city in, and the county seat of, Yankton County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 14,454 at the 2010 census. Yankton was the original capital of Dakota Territory. It is named for the Yankton tribe of Nakota (Sioux) Native Americans. Yankton is located on the Missouri River just downstream of the Gavins Point Dam and Lewis and Clark Lake and just upstream of the confluence with the James River. The Human Services Center, now a famous landmark, was established as a psychiatric hospital in 1882. It is on The National Register of Historic Places. Yankton is commonly referred to as the 'River City', due to its proximity to the Missouri River and the importance that the river played in the city's settlement and development.
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Yankton is located at (42.881647, -97.392485).[6]
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 8.0 square miles (20.7 km²), of which 7.8 square miles (20.1 km²) of it is land and 0.2 square miles (0.6 km²) of it (3.00%) is water.
Yankton has been assigned the ZIP codes 57078-57079 and the FIPS place code 73060.
| Historical populations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1880 | 3,431 |
|
|
| 1890 | 3,670 | 7.0% | |
| 1900 | 4,125 | 12.4% | |
| 1910 | 3,787 | −8.2% | |
| 1920 | 5,024 | 32.7% | |
| 1930 | 6,072 | 20.9% | |
| 1940 | 6,798 | 12.0% | |
| 1950 | 7,709 | 13.4% | |
| 1960 | 9,279 | 20.4% | |
| 1970 | 11,919 | 28.5% | |
| 1980 | 12,011 | 0.8% | |
| 1990 | 12,703 | 5.8% | |
| 2000 | 13,528 | 6.5% | |
| 2010 | 14,454 | 6.8% | |
As of the census[4] of 2000, there were 13,528 people, 5,369 households, and 3,232 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,743.2 people per square mile (673.1/km²). There were 5,735 housing units at an average density of 739.0 per square mile (285.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 94.35% White, 1.64% African American, 1.58% Native American, 0.50% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.90% from other races, and 0.99% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.46% of the population.
There were 5,369 households out of which 29.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.5% were married couples living together, 9.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.8% were non-families. 34.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was 2.96.
In the city the population was spread out with 23.4% under the age of 18, 9.8% from 18 to 24, 28.2% from 25 to 44, 21.4% from 45 to 64, and 17.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 96.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $31,843, and the median income for a family was $44,009. Males had a median income of $29,012 versus $20,577 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,954. About 6.2% of families and 10.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.8% of those under age 18 and 9.1% of those age 65 or over.
According to the 2003 Coldwell Banker Housing Price Comparison Index (HPCI), Yankton was found to have the lowest housing costs of any municipal entity in the entire United States. This is no longer the case as of the 2005 HPCI.
Part of the vast Louisiana Purchase, the site of Yankton was visited by Lewis and Clark in 1804. However, the land was not opened for settlement by treaty until 1859.[7] The city was founded where the small Rhine Creek (renamed Marne Creek in World War I) flowed into the Missouri River.[8] The city grew as a stop for steamboats to take on fresh water and supplies, especially after steamboat traffic boomed when gold was discovered in the Black Hills.
Francis Marion Ziebach established the second newspaper in the area that became South Dakota, the Weekly Dakotan, in Yankton on June 6, 1861, bringing his outfit from Sioux Falls by team and wagon.[9] Yankton was the territorial capital of the Dakota Territory from 1861 until 1883 (when the capital was moved to Bismarck) and during this period the newspaper in Yankton grew swiftly with its reporting of the political wars of the Dakota Territory.[10] The newspaper started by Francis Marion Ziebach is still published today as the Yankton Press and Dakotan.[11]
Yankton is served by the Yankton Public School District (K-12), Sacred Heart Catholic School (pK-8), and Mount Marty College.
Yankton was once home to Yankton College; founded in 1881, it was the first liberal arts college in the Dakota Territory. The college closed in 1984. The campus was acquired by the Federal Bureau of Prisons in 1988 for use as the Federal Prison Camp - Yankton.
The Yankton School District has a variety of extracurricular activities including athletics and non-athletics. The athletic teams are universal on all levels of education including the Yankton Middle School and the Yankton High School. The boys' athletic teams are known as the Yankton Bucks and the girls' teams are known as the Yankton Gazelles. Yankton's debate team is the host of the annual Lewis and Clark Debate Tournament, held on the last weekend of the month of January.
The city is served by Chan Gurney Municipal Airport. Highway transportation across the Missouri River to Nebraska is provided by US Route 81 via the Discovery Bridge, which replaced the Meridian Highway Bridge in 2008.
Broadcasting in Yankton began in 1922 when WNAX radio went on the air. Today, two AM radio stations and two commercial FM stations are licensed to Yankton:[12]
| AM radio stations | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frequency | Call sign | Name | Format | Owner | City |
| 570 AM | WNAX | WNAX Radio 570 | News/Talk | Saga Communications | Yankton |
| 1450 AM | KYNT | Yankton's Home Team | Soft Adult Contemporary | Riverfront Broadcasting LLC | Yankton |
| 1570 AM | KVTK | 1570 "The Ticket | Sports Talk | Culhane Communications, Inc. | Vermillion |
| FM radio stations | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frequency | Call sign | Name | Format | Owner | Target city/market | City of license |
| 89.7 FM | KUSD | South Dakota Public Broadcasting | NPR | SD Board of Directors for Educational Telecommunications | Yankton/Vermillion | Vermillion |
| 93.1 FM | KKYA | KK93 | Country | Riverfront Broadcasting LLC | Yankton/Vermillion | Yankton |
| 94.3 FM | KDAM | The Dam | Mainstream Rock | Riverfront Broadcasting LLC | Yankton/Vermillion | Hartington |
| 104.1 FM | WNAX-FM | The Wolf 104.1 | Country | Saga Communications | Yankton/Vermillion | Yankton |
| 106.3 FM | KVHT | Classic Hits 106.3 | Classic Hits | Cullhane Communications, Inc. | Yankton/Vermillion | Vermillion |
Several low-power non-commercial FM stations are licensed to Yankton.
There are no commercial television stations based in Yankton. Stations from Sioux Falls and Sioux City serve Yankton.[13] One Sioux Falls station, KTTW (digital channel 7), is rebroadcast on analog channel 21 in Yankton.[14]
KUSD-TV, the flagship station of South Dakota Public Broadcasting, is based in nearby Vermillion.
Yankton is also home to South Dakota Magazine, a statewide bi-monthly publication that explores the history, culture, arts, travel and outdoors of the state. It is published in a historic building constructed in 1875 by Territorial Governor John Pennington.
Yankton's Riverboat Days is an annual celebration held in the third full weekend in August that attracts 135,000 people. The primarily free event hosts over 150 artists and over 50 food vendors at Riverside Park. Other activities include a rodeo, parade, golf tournament and snowmobile grass drag race.
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