Sturgis, South Dakota, USA

Defining Main Street: The Pizza Shop. Even without a full-scale restaurant, most Main Streets will proudly proffer a pizza shop. This one must max out its potential during the Sturgis Bike Rally. But, do you think the breakfast buffet is all-you-can-eat pizza? [2019]

Redfield, South Dakota, USA

It's the middle of pheasant season in South Dakota, a late fall and winter ritual that deserves to be recognized in public art. All it takes is imagination, skill, and the end of a Quonset hut-cum-barn. Redfield fancies itself as the pheasant capital of the world, and thus superior to all other pheasant capitals. [2021]

Belle Fourche, South Dakota, USA

The Dakota Mill and Grain elevator serves as the economic hub of town. Grain elevators like these receive grain from nearby farmers; they store the grain and use the force of gravity to load it into trucks or railway cars for shipment out. The Dakota operation, however, takes it one step further: It is set up for milling the grain on site. [2019]

Sturgis, South Dakota, USA

If you live in Pennsylvania, Sturgis means pretzels. If you live in the Dakotas, Sturgis means bike rally. In fact, when most people think of Sturgis in late summer, they picture scenes like this. But, all year, the town authorities do their best to keep the rally juices flowing. With local pride on the hillside, the brand is affirmed. [2019]

Sisseston, South Dakota, USA

Sisseston lies astride one of the great geographical divides on the North American continent: the 20-inch rainfall line, a transition zone from the wooded landscapes of the east to the grassy plains of the west. It is a location well worth Nicollet Tower. You can find the 20-inch rainfall line on a map by using the 100th meridian as a proxy. [2007]

Pierre, South Dakota, USA

Covid Behaviors: Eat in your car (maybe alone). "We are open." How surprising! Because you were closed for months. "Drive thru only." How unprecedented! Because your indoor dining room remained closed for the duration of peak Covid. [2021]

Sturgis, South Dakota, USA

February is all about the number two, and 2/22 is a palindrome too! What do we put in bottles? Libations for bikers who pass through Sturgis for the annual bike rally. By the way, does what we said earlier this month about a flat roof seems to apply here? Be sure to see tomorrow's post. [2019]

Pierre, South Dakota, USA

Forty-eight of our 50 states were born as singletons. Two were born as twins: South Dakota and North Dakota. They were admitted to the Union on the same day: November 2, 1889, which makes them 132 years old today. Yet, to highlight their different personalities, one gave their capital city a French name, and the other chose a name from Germany. [2021]

Buffalo, South Dakota, USA

Odds and Evens, Ones and Twos, Singles and Doubles, Which one be You? Here are two star steeds. Which one is Cloud? Which one is Russet? The setting: a working ranch on the Northern Plains, a ranch that was once part of buffalo country. [2019]

Selby, South Dakota, USA

What does your town have to make it proud? Perhaps something unique like an old opera house. In all likelihood, though, the stage in this building served a variety of performance-hall functions. Maybe it never even hosted a real opera. But, it didn't matter: The name alone lent some class to Selby, a town which never reached even a thousand inhabitants. [2021]

Watertown, South Dakota, USA

The Corson Emminger Barn: What would you do with a round barn if you had one on your property? This one was built in the early 20th century and now seems to have put its Dakota Dairy days behind it. Too bad it seems to be a bit neglected. Even the ramp that used to lead up to the second story entrance has been removed. [2007]

Pierre, South Dakota, USA

Today, the average high in Pierre is 90 degrees F. In fact, based on long-term averages, July 19 is the hottest day of the year in South Dakota's capital. Will these averages hold this year? If anything, we might expect the high temperature to be even higher. It might just be hotter than h.... [2021]

Pierre, South Dakota, USA

"Pierre's first school house" goes back to 1881, pre-dating the establishment of the city's public schools. Its tenure as a school was short, but the building survived into the 1960s when it was moved by a group of preservation-minded citizens from a street in town to become a focal point of the capital city's riverfront park. [2021]

Custer, South Dakota, USA

Dino is all that remains of a Flintstones theme park. He was rescued and moved to a bedrock throne (get it?) on the outskirts of town, where he serves as a welcoming committee of one. Today, his job is to tickle everyone's funny bone and remind them that the most foolish of days is coming up in just under two rotations of the earth on its axis. [2019] 

Sturgis, South Dakota, USA

Every other large festival this year was cancelled because of the Covid crisis. There was but one exception: The Sturgis Bike Rally, which took place as usual and ended just a little over two weeks ago. Since then, as predicted, Covid cases have shot up in South and North Dakota, and the first Covid-caused attendee death was reported in Minnesota. [2019]

Rapid City, South Dakota, USA

Are you sure it wasn't a virus that killed off the dinosaurs 65 million years ago? Are you sure there aren't a few left? Are you sure the human race will be around 65 million years from now? Do you think some species of the future will have effigies of us humans by the sides of their roads, and our bones on display in their museums? [2019]

Brookings, South Dakota, USA

If it is June in Brookings, you can be sure to find the classic car show going on around the square and out in Pioneer Park. It's almost like reliving the giddy days of the post-war auto era. And, if you're really into reliving the 1960s, come back for Camaro Fun Days in August. [2007]

Sioux Falls, South Dakota, USA

Two sad younglings help us wrap up the first week of February: Why so sad? They've been orphaned, and passers-by can hardly bear it. Sioux Falls has become famous for its annual sculpture walk, and our animal friends are usually popular subjects. [2007]

Custer, South Dakota, USA

During the Black Hills gold rush, Custer's streets were filled with horses. Now, they are filled with hogs. During the annual Sturgis bike fest, there are so many cyclists in South Dakota, they can't all fit into Sturgis, so they ride to other towns and bring life to their Main Streets. Hogs? Harley Owners Group. [2019]

Ludlow, South Dakota, USA

To bovid mammals, a cattle guard (see it?) is like a stop sign that is always obeyed. Biped mammals could cross a metal grate like this without a second thought, but cloven hoofs require a sure footing. So, en masse, they stop before they become a traffic nightmare. [2019]