SFS-Community Guide 2022-02-01 Draft - Flipbook - Page 27

Sioux Falls-isms
(Quirky local things you might not get if you’re new here)
If you’ve moved to Sioux Falls from out-of-state, there might be some phrases you’re hearing that don’t quite
make sense. Hopefully this little cheat sheet to some of Sioux Falls’ quirky phrases and odd bits of history
helps you feel just as up-to-speed as the folks who grew up here.
EAST RIVER/WEST RIVER
South Dakota is divided by the Missouri River, but it’s
more than a geographic divide.
East River folks (including Sioux Falls and
everywhere else east of the river) and West River
folks (everything west of the river, including the
MR. BENDO
Sioux Fallsians are suckers for a good mascot.
Mr. Bendo is a large, fiberglass statue of a
bearded man holding a tailpipe, and people
here love him.
Black Hills and Rapid City) have a rivalry of sorts,
Locals even signed his cast when Mr.
similar to how the Minnesota Vikings feel about the
Bendo was hit by a drunk driver in 2010. He
Green Bay Packers or how some people prefer Coke
recovered, and now he stands in front of
and others, Pepsi.
Automotive Brake & Exhaust near 33rd Street
Yes, this is kind of a made-up, joke-y thing, but you
and Minnesota Avenue.
may encounter South Dakotans who take pretty
seriously their “West River, Best River” or “East River
is the best because of Sioux Falls” stance.
T H E S TAT U E O F
DAV I D R E P L I C A
No, Michelangelo doesn’t have
CONFUSING SIOUX
FALLS AND SIOUX CITY
Look, the two cities are about 90 miles apart with a
50 percent name similarity — it’s bound to happen.
But that doesn’t make it any less amusing when
celebrities and politicians come here and mess it up.
SIMPLIFIED COMMUNITY GUIDE
a Sioux Falls connection.
But, a bronze replica of
the David found a home
in Fawick Park in 1971,
a gift from Thomas
Fawick, a famous Sioux
Falls inventor.
Library of Congress, reproduction
number: LC-DIG-highsm-04530
27

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