SIOUX FALLS: How Run Down Is South Dakota's Biggest City? This Is What We Found 

In 2016 I worked for a Construction company in Perth, Western Australia. The company won a contract to build a new stadium for the city, and as the Client (the WA State Government) specified the best of the best superscreens (Jumbo-Trons); as Daktronics make the best superscreens in the world, that's what we ended up going with, however the procurement process meant flying over to South Dakota and inspecting them before purchase (they cost several 10's of million's of dollars) - that's when I was introduced and got to visit Sioux Falls. Instantly fell in love with the place. While you've captured the look and 'well put togetherness' of the place (as well as highlighting some of it's feature's), what I found most attractive and appealing was the 'vibe'. It felt safe, connected and very friendly. Busy, with more than enough to do without feeling in any way frantic or oppressive. Perfect way to do a large rural town or small city. I'm from rural Victoria in Australia and I wish our country towns were put together even 1/2 as good. And you all should be uber proud of Daktronics - our Stadium one many national and international awards after we finished building it and many of those can be attributed to the quality of those kick arse screens...🙂

I'm a Sioux Falls resident, and I appreciate this video! I like Sioux Falls for it's amenities and the western part of the state (Black Hills) for it's natural beauty. Quite a difference, geologically.

It’s really interesting to hear about Sioux Falls from an outsiders perspective! Sioux Falls is a pretty great city overall ❤️ The festival of cultures is great!!

Very nice review of our city! You covered basically all of the highlights of it, but you missed the beautiful Cathedral, a quite majestic work of architecture on top of a hill.

Sioux Falls local, here! The sculptures downtown are changed throughout the year! East of downtown Iis a beautiful historic district as well. We have way too many casinos in my opinion, there are three within 5 blocks of my house..not counting those in the gas stations. Nice to see our town from an outsiders point of view, makes me realize things I take for granted here.

I’ve been here 2 years and never stepped foot in one of those casinos…. But there are quite a few. The nicest people are found in this town… amazing and generous! Thanks for sharing ✨💖✨

Lived there for 20 years, my two sons and 9 grandchildren still live there. A great place to live, work and raise children. The city has really come alive. Only problem is the weather….unbearably cold. Moved to South Carolina and it took me years to thaw out.

I moved from Sioux Falls to N. C. a year ago. I'm now packing to move back to Sioux Falls in 2 months, and I can't wait to return to that wonderful city, with all it has to offer. The Midwestern work ethic is a very real thing!!!

I work at the Zoo in Sioux Falls, I was super happy to see you included us!

I was born in Sioux Falls SD, I lived there for 18 years and now I been living in Florida for about 3 years, I miss living there because everything was soo close and easy to get around. There wasn't much to do there but it was nice and quiet and not much crime. I really enjoyed going to downtown with friends and going to falls park all the time. The thing I dont understand is that majority of people have no clue Sioux Falls even exists, People think there is nothing out there and we ride horses all over which is weird, Its growing quite fast with people moving in and its mainly more of a work city and cheaper living compared to other states. Its very easy to get to Minneapolis or you have an option of Kansas which isn't too far either. I just miss being there overall.

Hope you enjoyed our city! Thank you for visiting as well as your kind words regarding our community!

Heya! Sufu (our pet name for Sioux Falls) resident here! I like that you focused on the downtown area of the city. It is the oldest and most characteristic and diverse part of the city. Couple facts to add. Our unemployment is low but our homeless population is increasing because housing has increased by half but income has not and we have a gentrification problem. We have some other super cute things to see that you would have loved. We have a Japanese gardens and down the street from that is our veterans park. The casinos thing is weird. Our state gov decided a long time ago to put a cap on how many people can be in a casino at any time to try and keep big casinos out. They also have banned all games except slot machines. So now we have 5 billion tiny casinos every 3 blocks instead. And since you love the falls so much you'd probably love to know that they do a light show on the 4th that is reflected off the water mist and the whole thing is decorated for Xmas with millions of lights. I'm glad you liked it here!

My husband and I were born in South Dakota. I lived in Sioux Falls for many years. Thank you for the video makes me all teary-eyed to see my old hometown.

I live around 50 miles away but go to Sioux Falls quite often. What a beautiful and vibrant city. Unbelievable how many apartments and homes continually go up. People are moving from all over the country in droves. What a great place to raise a family.

Enjoyed the tour. I moved from Houston 15 years ago and I miss the food choices...but love the slower pace and proximity to everything. People are not quick to warm up to newcomers, but if you're persistent, you'll find really good folks who will show up when you need them. Love the parks here and downtown. It's a good place to live.

I was born in Sioux Falls, lived for 3 months and never returned to the state of South Dakota. This video was my first experience being able to see what the city looks like. Kind of a wild moment in my life

I went to high school in Sioux Falls and fell in love with the city! Military has us moving around now but it will always be home. Glad y’all enjoyed your time there ☺️

Thanks for visiting. I was born and raised here. Our weather is... fickle, for sure. If we get less then 2 feet of snow we consider it a light snow. The heat is killer but we have more good days then bad. The falls park does this amazing laser light show in the winter with the lights bouncing off and around the ice formations. All in all, a great place to live. I have no opinion about the casinos. I don't gamble, so I don't go there. Anywho, i enjoyed the video. Thanks for shining a little light on our great community.

Great videos Love your approach to travelling! Can't thank you enough!!!!

I lived in Sioux falls when I was in college and years after that. The crime was really really low when i lived down there. you could walk without worrying about anyting. Now the crime is worse and when I go down there to visit it's got a lot of attractions and a lot of cool things there. I wouldn't feel safe living down there again. The Rushmore motel that you had on there is one of the most run-down seediest in Sioux falls it has a reputation for a lot of drug arrests and prostitution.

I just moved to South Dakota a few weeks back from New York State hour or so away from Sioux Falls maybe. And I gotta tell you it’s night and day difference. If this is there big bad city I assure you this is nothing I was born and raised in Buffalo you wanna see run down you wanna see crime yeah my only regret about moving to South Dakota is that I didn’t move my family out here years ago

I grew up in that beautiful city and it's sad that you didn't drive around MxKennon Park. All four sides of that Park have the most stunning homes. I grew up in one that is no longer there but have the most fantastic memories of the growing up in the best neighborhood, 50 yrs ago. I can't believe how it's grown and all the changes. We also are at the bread and circus on our last visit there. 👍

Thank you for this video! I’m going to visit a friend in Sioux Falls and am considering living there. I currently live in a crime-ridden overcrowded city that leans very heavily in one direction politically and want out. Sioux Falls seems like a decent place to start a family and settle down.

Can't get tired of those Falls. Perfectly beautiful! Your videography was great.

When I lived in South Dakota many years ago, the wind was almost constant. The state is beautiful, in many ways.

Thanks for sharing beautiful scenery 👍🇺🇲

Looks like a very beautiful city and I love all the artwork. The falls are just beautiful would like to go there sometime just not in the winter good video keep it up!

In the summer the park with the statue of David hosts family movie night. They play movies on a big screen and it's a great free family activity. We love grabbing our dinner and eating it on a blanket while watching a movie outside!

I've always liked this city. Everyone seems nice there, and it's clean.

Was born and raised in Sherman, TX and moved here to Sioux Falls about 6 years ago. Thank you for joining our town and the great review from one Texan to another!

I found your videos a month ago and can't stop watching them. I haven't traveled much only life and it gives me a chance to see the country. Excellent!

Loved your video, thank you for visiting!

I grew up there. Left at 19, moved to Santa Barbara, Ca with my sister. I appreciated the video. Down town has changed so much. I love the sculptures. Wonderful to see all the old neighborhoods. I love all the trees. Thank you soooo much, I haven’t been back there for years. Great how they have promoted the Falls and wonderful bike path ✌️💞🌾

Sioux Falls is a great little city. I stayed there for a weekend a couple of years ago with my ex. People were friendly, downtown was very easy to get around. The waterfall park was awesome. Overall I got good vibes and enjoyed my little mini vacation there.

I'm a resident and happy to see such a positive review of this city. Fled my hometown in another midwestern state to get away from the crime, filth, drugs, and fighting for jobs that don't even pay well. Very happy to be somewhere safe. I'm always baffled by the people who say Sioux Falls is going downhill and saying there is too much crime, they have no idea what bad actually is and probably have never crossed the South Dakota border if this is "bad". Far as I can tell, the city is only getting better, stronger, more beautiful, and more interesting. Glad that visitors see it that way too. It can be hard to make new friends here, but people are nice and respectful. Only complaint is it's hard to keep my hair pretty when it's so windy everyday lol.

Married a gal from Brookings SD 28 years ago. Sioux Falls is a dynamic beautiful city. Thanks from cal.

Thanks for visiting! I’m proud of our little city! A couple things, crime here is low… I think the reason we have so many car thefts is BECAUSE crime is so low. We are a very trusting people and cars can be an easy target when we leave them running to warm up on a cold winter morning or in a parking lot when we run into a store quick. In the 1990’s I don’t know anyone who locked the door to their homes. I wish it could still be that way but we learned it couldn’t and one of these days we’ll learn to lock our car doors too. The little casinos ARE a blight! We used to be riddled with payday loan shops too charging over 500% interest. Predatory lending!! We passed a law capping loan interest rates at 36% in 2016 and the man that owned them all was furious so he sold everything he had in the state (including a race track) and left so those are all gone now. To that, we say good riddance! So glad you got to see so many good things, the festival of cultures and a little bathroom humor. I’d like to think that we here are very accepting people with a “if you treat me with respect you will also be respected” and that’s all that matters mentality. You should have parked illegally while you were here, with out of state plates, you get a nice little warning note that says “Thanks for visiting our city” instead of a ticket which is a nice touch. Thanks again for visiting our city, we hope you’ll come visit us again!

You should visit the falls when it is flooding. The falls look totally different then. Also come in mid winter when they freeze solid.

What a beautiful city Sioux Falls looks. 😃 I'm so impressed. Could see myself living there. Looks a nice clean place with plenty going on. Thank you again for this great video. Your commentary is so down to earth and realistic. I love touring America with you both from my armchair in the UK. 😆 Best wishes. 🤗

I lived in Sioux Falls for 3 months when I did a travel nurse contract there a year ago and I loved it there!

As someone from sioux falls I can confirm that the amount of casinos are far too many, but there are some absolutely over the top Vegas style casinos nearby just outside the city. The falls are amazing and has a large healthy farmers market in the summer season. Edit: 21:10 I've climbed over there, got my shoe wet :)

Moved to SFSD back in '95 from Montana. Met my wife and stepkids here and gained a family in 2000. Always appreciated the restaurants and cultural scene here. Here is how I Iearned about the Statue of David in my college art class: "Do you see any parts of David's anatomy that look unusually large?" began the professor to a classroom of muted snickers. "Look at his head and look at his hands. They are disproportionate to the rest of the body," he continued. " The large head symbolized that Florence Italy was a center of education and culture, and the large hands symbolized that the city was a center of industry and business." So we can be proud of Sioux Falls and of our Statue of David being downtown. (WITH puny little small town FRIENDLINESS!) 😉

You two go out of your way to show beautiful rivers, falls, rocks, your lovely wife is in great shape. Like seeing the food served in differnt areas. Love your travels. RB, Conyers, ga

I'm new to your channel, as it just popped up in my feed, I really appreciate what you do, I can't get out much anymore being 60 yrs old and get anxiety issues when I do travel so your videos are a blessing for me to watch without the stress of having to travel myself.

Lookin good Sioux Falls! I got to live here in mid 90s.

I recently moved to Sioux falls from Cali and it's amazing. The winter wasn't that bad and there's tons of stuff to do for way cheaper than anywhere else. Lots of good jobs and everyone is cool.

This is something to see. beautiful.

Thank you Joe and Nicole for another beautiful vacation with you. Love your videos so much ❤

My other half is from Sioux Falls, so I've been there quite often over the years. I like the city a lot. The south side of town is where there is a lot of development. The stuff you see there and the kinds of homes they are building there is also amazing for a city this size. Downtown is also great. The older parts of it are generally clean. Your Bismarck video reminds me a lot of the older parts of Sioux Falls. This town punches way above its weight. (I'm from Columbus, Ohio which is a nice city in its own right.)

Also your narration speed is perfect! Nice work!

I'm 43 years old born and raised in Sioux Falls. Sioux Falls is awesome place. Love this city.

My Grandpa and Grandma are originally from Sioux City, Iowa which borders with Omaha, Nebraska and Sioux Falls, South Dakota so I can appreciate this content! Thanks for covering the parts of America that seldom see!

Originally from Mpls, spent a year in Tampa and have been in Colo Springs for 6 years. Souix Falls is a miniature Minneapolis without all the PROBLEMS. No state income tax. Property taxes are half of what you'll pay in Minnesota. Souix Falls is roughly half the size of Colorado Springs and has 3 times as many 5 star bars and restaurants and mom and pop places to eat. A 3bd 2 bath constructed in the early 60's can be had for 200k and that's at today's (soon to fall) inflated prices. The reservoir is an hour South and the hunting is 5 star. It's more windy but at least 5 degrees warmer than Minneapolis on average. Best part is the people know how to be employed and they know how to act when the leave the house.

Very happy times lord Spoda you are a very intelligent fortunate man. It's a real pleasure follow you. I wish everybody were so good people like you. You and your are awesome 🙂🙂🙂👌👍👍👍👍 Your country seems very very much a better place under your guide. Thanks

Im from Sioux Falls and I just wanted to say thank you for the love you showed to my city and coming to check it out‼️💙 I’ve spent so much time at the falls im 22 years old and when i was 5-10 it was so much more water there😢 and I guess my parents generation would literally dive in and swim when they were kids/teens it was filled to the brim completely, crazy how it changed so much,, P.S. thanks for getting upset at the dude cigarette 😂🙏🏾

I enjoyed your trip through the city. When you were at the yellow house with the white picket fence you were one block away from two houses that my great great grandfather and two of his sons built. I would know those style houses anywhere since they also built the one I grew up in. It was good to see trees still standing in the McKennan Park area, the large historic homes area. There was a nasty wind storm a few weeks ago that took so many trees from the area. Sioux Falls has changed a lot since I moved in the 1980s. I was planning on retiring there, so I hope there are houses to be found at not crazy prices.

I look forward to my trips to sioux falls. It's nice to visit civilization from time to time.

I never heard of the Big Sioux River, but those falls are sure beautiful! I'm really enjoying this'll series of things videos are awesome;

I moved to Sioux Falls in 1999 and I don't regret it for a minute. Winters can be brutal but the rest of the time it's great!

Another Sioux Falls resident here; I love to complain about the city, but all in all it’s a lovely place to live. Winter is a Mother-effer (50 below zero wind chill at times) but it’s easy to find an ok job if you wanna work, and even though we are a more conservative city, the planners have been quite forward thinking in its development. Good schools, overall, decent shows finally coming in. We are even slowly rehabbing the old Cathedral area. It’s a good city, especially for South Dakota. Oh! The big Ol house you saw is actually a lot nicer on the inside. Currently it’s a three-plex. And being improved slowly but surely.

Thank for the Tour That was Nice

I live in Sioux Falls, very good video of our town. You. Showed my old house at the 16:55 mark. Just found your channel 2 days ago and the wife and I love it! And no, we don’t like the little casinos

hi! I'm the aerialist you featured from the Festival of Cultures! We are Cirka Performance Arts if anyone would like to book us for events or learn, all 3 aerialists who were a part of this event are instructors at 605 aerial:)

Great city, for what it is. Lived here most my life.

You make traveling easy by visiting place I will never be able to get to. Liked the fried Chicken sandwich along with the Farmhouse Ale.

I’m from sf and this is an amazing video and it just showed up

I have lived here for 6 years with my family and we really love this town. Thanks for visiting and showing us some love. Safe travels

I’m a local and I say I enjoy the life of Sioux Falls. Fun fact, I was born and raised here in Sioux Falls.

This has quickly turned into one of my favorite shows. Thank you! :)

I'm a Sioux Falls resident and it's a beautiful city. We have some of the best nature for a city including the Big Sioux River and our parks are amazing

Good video. Ive lived here most of my life. I don't get out too much but others seem to really enjoy living here. You missed a few things but overall this is a pretty accurate representation. You were talking about HOAs around downtown and were correct in saying they don't have them in these old neighborhoods. Most of the HOAs are in newer development areas, town homes and the like. Fun fact some of the homes around the downtown area are the old Sears kit homes too. I was actually able to see my moms home in the distance in one portion of the video and in another you were two blocks from my sister's home. I don't live too far from there myself. That one place where you asked "is this a house?" Yes it was. It was likely an old business adapted into one. The boarded up house next door was a rental that was empty and some homeless people broke in and started a fire. I would have loved you to show the old Pettigrew Museum with the old cobblestone road next to it and the Cathedral. Both local landmarks imho.

Excellent video. Looks like a very nice town.

Love what you did with this video !! I am a Sioux Falls resident … best place to raise kids. JL Beers awesome place to eat, I am not a drinker but wow the the food. Sioux Falls puts tons of effort into repurposing our older facilities and trying to get the community to interact in downtown area… we’ve come a long way in restoration downtown in the past 10-15 years. Thanks for the video though

Awesome! Looking forward to Omaha and Lincoln, great RU-vidrs!

I can see the falls through my bedroom window! I love our little casinos.

I've never had a problem any where in South Dakota. I have the utmost respect for this state. And they are motorcycle 🏍 friendly!

great video!

Lady Spoda once again makes a couple of good points walking in Sioux (Sue) Falls, keep them up.

I lived in Sioux Falls SD from 2008 - 2017 nine years...I love your video it is very well done and brings back heartwarming memories...I love Sioux Falls SD for my own especial reasons...I would agree that the local casinos are a blight...I say this because I once had a terrible gambling addiction and during the winter months and you are right the winters are brutal in Sioux Falls SD I would get SAD - Seasonal Affective Disorder - Winter Depression and go and gamble at those local Casinos...One time I won $1,000.00 which is the worst thing that can happen to a gambler...I live in Texas now so it is neat that you are from Texas...I learned from your video that houses in Texas are built in stone due to the problem of termites...I am from Ireland and recently returned from Ireland where we lived from 2017 - 2019 to the USA and this time we decided to live in Texas...I love Texas it is a beautiful state though because we cannot afford a car we have yet to see more of Texas but from what I have seen so far of the area we live in Texas is lovely...

I have been to Sioux Falls, and I drove around a bit. It's a pleasant town, and very clean. The falls themselves are not a big deal, and if my employer were to transfer me to this city, my reaction would be "well, I'll try to make the best of the situation". Its climate is not to my liking, and it is isolated from the rest of America except for maybe the Twin Cities, which are a four-hour drive away. Probably it's an excellent place to raise a family.

Excellent Enterprising Emerging Evolving Endeavor. Hearty Greetings from India 🌹 💐 🤝 🙏

As some one from San Francisco, Sioux falls is refreshing. Alot cleaner, less expensive and friendlier. I originally moved here for political reasons but this city and state have so much potential and alot already to offer

Lot of Indian history too. Near Sioux Falls there is a museum called Blood Run and a native American historical site called Good Earth. Definitely worth it.

I just moved to Sioux Falls a couple of months ago! I love living here. I also used to live in Fargo and I would say Sufu and Fargo are comparable, Fargo is more spread out though. There’s free parking downtown Sufu after 5pm during the week, and free all day on the weekends. So many breweries to choose from! Downtown is always busy. My favorite place to go though is Look’s Marketplace on E 69th St. There truly is something for everyone here :)

Love your vids..and the music is awesome !

I like the music you have with your videos.

I used to live near sioux falls and am thinking about moving back soon, but I remember one day I went to the falls and it was a bit of a windy day and had been a really wet year so the falls was really aggressive, especially by the mill and there was so much foam floating everywhere. My brother and I made a game of how much foam we could catch. I got so used to seeing the falls that they barely even register anymore and I could recognize a photo of them out of a lineup of other falls. Its kind of crazy to think about, really.

Brilliant video. I feel like I’ve had a great day at Sioux Falls even though I’ve never been 🤩👍

The falls are awesome.

14:46 is about a block away from my house! That big house you mentioned has looked that way as long as I can remember, but I heard it used to be beautiful before I was born. Would've loved to see you check out Covell Lake and the gardens!

All in all, not a bad looking place. No graffiti, no garbage dumped all over the place, no torn up or burnt out houses. Few cities in the Midwest are holding up this well.

I visit Sioux falls two or three times a year from Dallas. I love that city and will be moving there soon. Clean, cheap and awesome parks. The arc lights up at night with the rest of the river walk, super pretty.

OMG!!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR VIDEO!!!! Left SuFu 8 years ago. I really miss it!

Now I know why it's called Sioux Falls - quite impressive. I've viewed a number of your video tours and gained insights into places I've never been interested in. Also, some cities in North, South Dakota, West Virginia and Kentucky that I've never had a hankerin' to visit I've been favorably impressed and now changed my view through your tours. Maybe I'll check them out for myself.

Born and raised in SF until I was 51 and moved to Ohio 9 years ago. We miss SF for everything except the harsh Winters so, thank you for this! Hate the casinos too. Notice how there's a pawn shop & payday loan near most casinos?

Shame the winters are so brutal it looks like a nice clean friendly vibrant city.

I grew up in a small city close to Sioux Falls in the 70’s and it was the place to go on the weekends to shop for school and to party on the weekends also. Lots of fun!! My son and his soon to be wife live there and work at Sanford Hospital.

Hi. I like her shoes, they are cute! 🙂I enjoy the videos, they are very educational and very entertaining. This is a very nice city. You guys stay safe and keep up the good work. 🙂

Excellent video! Thank you for featuring my city! I wish you would have driven around in the historical district and by the Cathedral just west of downtown a bit more. There are many old homes there that are just beautiful. I have painted many of them over the years. Even some that I saw in your video. Rich men from out east back in the day would come to Sioux Falls in order to get a divorce. Six months to establish residency, get divorced and keep their money which made Sioux Falls the divorce capital of the country. They would love it so much here they would end up staying and built all those old mansions you see. The falls at one time were even more. Below that old power plant thats now Overlook Cafe there were the largest falls of them all were but in order to increase water flow for the power plant they blasted the lower falls out! What a shame! Not sure why anyone would do that. The little casinos that are everywhere are an eyesore. There's so many of them because state law limits a business to ten video lottery machines. Voters have tried to get rid of them numerous times but always fail because South Dakota has no state income tax and they'd have to impose one if they took the casinos out & nobody wants that!

As someone who does deliveries in the area, you missed out on alot of great looking architecture. New and old. There were also a few parks that would've been worthwhile. Either way, I enjoy living in the area. The winters can be fun too, just have to get used to the cold