And other things to be grateful for and be annoyed by living here in Siouxland around Christmastime 2024

By Gary Dickson, Editor – Siouxland Observer

A friend of mine from Texas texted me the other day and asked me what it was like living in Sioux City. I first had to explain to him that I didn’t exactly live in Sioux City proper but instead lived in an unincorporated community just northwest of that city and across the Big Sioux River called Dakota Dunes, South Dakota. He wasn’t too impressed with that particular detail, but he did recall the only time he had been through Sioux City was to visit his ex-wife’s relatives in Sioux Falls. “It was in the early 90s, and it stunk like hell coming into that town on the interstate from the south,” he wrote. “Kind of like a sewer.”

What could I do but acknowledge just how bad the place smelled back then.

But most of us who’ve lived in these parts will agree the aroma has improved since then. Somewhat, anyway. You can still smell the Sioux City sewage treatment plant once you drive north of the I-29 interchange with U.S. 20/75. Then the other day coming into town from the south we encountered an awful smell about right where the former John Morrell plant used to be. I’m not sure if it was coming from one of the industrial facilities over in the stockyards area or what. It had a certain chemical smell to it that was downright unpleasant.

Anyway, I responded to my Texan buddy that while we didn’t have the extreme smells that he experienced in the 90s of the packing plants, stockyards, sewage treatment plant and whatnot, the air of Siouxland was quite a bit less assaultive to one’s nostrils these days.

So, back to my friend’s original question: what’s it like living in Sioux City?

It’s not as bad as it smells.

It could be worse. It could be Florida.

But we’ve found a lot to like about Siouxland. In fact, on Dec. 31 we will have lived here 23 years. That’s 80% of our 28.5 years of marriage. And we were only going to stay here a couple of years. How ’bout that! We’ve lived in all three Siouxland states during that time and have found things we enjoy about each one of them. But being Native South Dakotans, I think we tend to be a bit biased toward the Rushmore State in our preferences for scenery. I digress.

Living here near the confluence of the Big Sioux and Missouri Rivers on what has been known in the past as the Sioux Point has its benefits. No state income taxes. Yet. Of course, we have local and state sales taxes. We would have eliminated the state sales tax on food, but the citizens decided to vote against it. That’s because cities, school boards, county commissions, and other local government entities across the state scared voters into thinking these governments, boards and commissions would be so strapped for funds that police, fire, utilities and our kids’ education would be damaged to the point of possible non-existence. Besides, if the state doesn’t have its regressive sales tax, it may have to consider raising property taxes, or instituting a state income tax.

We are a fortunate bunch here in Dakota Dunes, though. We have four churches: Catholic on the north end and Missouri Synod Lutheran on the south side. On the west side we have the Dakota Dunes Country Club and on the east side is the Two Rivers Golf Course.

We have one gas station here. It’s called Cubbies. The last I looked regular unleaded was at $2.64 a gallon. That’s cheaper than the stations I saw in Sioux City today which were at $2.79 a gallon. You can get most things at Cubbies that you can find at any convenience store. Once in a while you can get your car washed, if their automatic carwash is working.

According to 2022 U.S. Census figures, Dakota Dunes has 3,997 people living in the community. Eighty-five percent of the population is white. That is 25 percent higher than the rate in the Sioux City metro area. Other races vary from higher or fewer than Sioux City and the state. Blacks make up 1% of the Dunes population; one-fifth of Sioux City metro’s 4% rate. Asians make up 5% of the population in Dakota Dunes; double the rate of the Sioux City metro’s 2% rate. Hispanics represent 6% of the Dunes population; just one-third of the Sioux City metro’s 20% rate.

The fact that about 72% of the Dakota Dunes voters voted for Donald Trump last month likely strongly reflects the racial makeup of the community. Nothing like pulling the lever for a racist, 34-count convicted felon, adjudicated sex offender, who denigrates our military, consistently lies, cheats on all his wives, attacks the free press, and is a traitor to make those Trumpers and Trumpettes weak in the knees.

Patriots all. Not.

Up the road a bit is North Sioux City, South Dakota. They’ve got a lake that overflowed in late June and July. Many will say it flooded. It’s called McCook Lake and some of the folks who bought and built homes around it had a helluva time this summer. The main problem is they lived along a lake. The second problem is the Big Sioux River was diverted during heavy rains to the point where it ran over I-29 north of North Sioux City and into the ditches and fields along the west side of the interstate. Generally speaking, the floodwater eventually flowed over the homes along North Shore Drive and into the McCook Lake taking whole houses and parts of houses with it.

It was a sad state of affairs. I feel very sorry for those who got caught up in the fury of Mother Nature and lost their homes.

One thing that perplexes me is how did people come to build along the lake anyway. I keep hearing about how upset many homeowners were because their homes weren’t covered by flood insurance, or they didn’t realize they were in a floodplain.

Something wasn’t right about all that.

First, do people not read their deeds or paperwork when they buy a house to see if they are in a floodplain or not? If their paperwork said they were not in a floodplain, then why in god’s name wouldn’t it be. The homes sat right next to a lake that had a connection to the Missouri River.

I have heard from Realtors in the Siouxland area that would not and will not sell homes along McCook Lake or in the near vicinity due to flooding risk. Instead, if a buyer wants to buy a home in that area, they refer them to colleagues because they didn’t feel they could ethically sell them a home along the lake.

The other issue of note is that the homes – especially along North Shore Drive – were designated at one time as being in a floodplain. Sometime in the not too distant past the properties were removed from the floodplain. My understanding from reading FEMA documentation that this process requires a considerable amount of paperwork and submission of documents to various levels of the federal government. It first needs to be initiated though by the City Engineer. To the best of my knowledge, the city engineer who may likely have been responsible for the change property floodplain designation was current city councilor Greg Meyer. Perhaps Meyer should explain what happened and be held accountable for the change in designation.

North Sioux City has a brand-new city administrator. It might be a good idea for Jeff Dooley to look into that issue and report on what he finds.

That is, unless the change of government in North Sioux City prevents him. That’s going to be a big job getting all that organized. You’ve got the city changing from an alderman type of government to a commission type of government. It doesn’t appear anyone gave much thought into how the new government will operate exactly. But heck, it sounds like a fun change to me. At least I don’t have to live under it. You guys go for it.

As they say, “Let’s throw something against the wall and see if something sticks.”

You wouldn’t find Dakota Dunes doing anything like that. Hell no!

Dunes citizens are happy with the way things are. (Translated) Dunes residents are afraid of change.

Anyway, how lucky can we get to be living in South Dakota?

At least in Union County we’re close to Sioux City, where it’s not as bad as it smells.

Our governor has been nominated by Donald Trump to be his Secretary of Homeland Security. That’s a pretty big deal in Republican circles I am told. We’ll just have to see how she does in the Senate confirmation process. There may be some pitfalls along the way, but most of the non-weirdo Republicans are hoping she can claw her way through to the end with minimal questioning about Cricket, the goat, poor emergency management and her alleged dalliance with Cory Lewandowski.

I guess there’s just as many people who are happy to see her go.

Let’s hope the legislature can restore funding to things like higher education and South Dakota Public Broadcasting this next year. Gov. Noem has made a mess of the budget before she left. But she made sure she got last year’s TV commercials featuring herself paid for, as well as the SD National Guard’s trip to Texas.

Don’t let the gate hit you in the butt when you leave, Kristi.

There are other good things going on for us Siouxlanders.

It’s not too cold. Well, it’s been pretty foggy during the day and night which makes the bridges slick when the temperature drops below freezing. But we haven’t had any snowstorms to speak of. At least not yet. I don’t think the schools have had to close early, which is nice thing to experience before Christmas. In fact, Friday the weather forecast is calling for some rain and a high of 47 degrees. There doesn’t look like any snow will fall on us throughout the rest of the month. It’s nice, yet kind of strange. I think it makes people paranoid and anxious. Or anxious and paranoid.

Still, it’s good weather for the folks who have to walk to work. You don’t always see them unless you’re looking. But they’re out there. I see them walking on the railroad tracks between Riverside and Sioux City. I was told by a former client that’s actually faster to get between downtown Sioux City and Riverside than War Eagle Drive – during non-snowy weather. You just have to watch out for trains, I guess. But I see people on the sidewalks, too, as well as folks walking across the Veterans Memorial Bridge.

People will walk if they have to in order to get to work to make money. A lot of the people I see doing this are Latinos. Many will walk back and forth between South Sioux City and Sioux City, or South Sioux City and Dakota City. They are going to work in the packing plants in town. Or they are going to one of the several temporary employment agencies in Sioux City where they can ride a van or minibus to an employer work site. These are hardworking, dedicated individuals. Employers find them dependable and willing to do the jobs that most white Americans won’t or can’t do. They are your neighbors, your kids’ fellow students, your customers. They sit next to you in church.

Yet Trump and other politicians shout that these immigrants are stealing American jobs, and he wants to round them up and deport them. Who is going to do their jobs when this happens? Are you?

We could live in New Jersey. They’re being attacked by drones. Nobody knows where they come from or who is operating them. Not even Donald Trump – but he says the government better get to the bottom of it.

The last thought I want to leave you with is . . . manifesting.

No, I didn’t say infesting. I said manifesting. Apparently, this is one of those words or phrases that tells me I’ve been out of the counseling profession for too long. Which is fine for me. Manifesting is a term I’ve seen far too many times in various forms of self-help, counseling, recovery and psychology literature. More recently the word has taken on a spiritual or New Age type of use or meaning.

Here is a partial definition of manifesting I found in something called the Socialbuzzhive allegedly written by Emily Stanley Allard, whose photo is an AI mashup, and I would guess her background is just as weird. She has no relevant professional credentials on her website yet claims 13.8K followers. Okay.

“Manifesting is about taking control of our lives and consciously creating the reality we desire. It allows us to harness the law of attraction to bring positive outcomes, empowering us to shape our own circumstances.”

In other words, believe it and it will happen. Or maybe, build it and they will come. I dunno.

I’ll have more griping to do about false promises and squishy, fraudulent local and long-distance therapy in a future column. Until then,

Remember – The only thing standing between you and your dreams is your appearance, lack of talent, and general personality.

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