South Dakota Trivia & Tidbits - Page 11

Looking for South Dakota trivia? Try our list South Dakota little know facts, tidbits and trivia.

African-American filmmaker Oscar Micheaux homesteaded in Gregory County (pop. 4,792) in 1905 and filmed The Homesteader in 1918 at Winner (pop. 3,137).

first appeared: 5/4/2003

In 1908, A.E. Cooper and E.L. Ebbert made the first successful introduction of ring-necked pheasants in the state on their farms south of Doland (pop. 297).

first appeared: 4/27/2003

On Jan. 1, the 280-member marching band at South Dakota State University in Brookings (pop. 18,504) became the state’s first college band to perform in the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, Calif.

first appeared: 4/20/2003

Niels Hansen, horticulture professor in Brookings (pop. 18,504) from 1895 to 1937, introduced 300 plant varieties to the region, earning him the nickname “Burbank of the Plains” after Luther Burbank, who introduced 800 new plant varieties.

first appeared: 4/13/2003

Kuchen, a custard or fruit-filled German cake, was designated the official state dessert in 2000.

first appeared: 4/6/2003

Excavated with horse-drawn scrapers in 1926, the Plunge in Lebanon (pop. 86) was the state’s first outdoor swimming pool.

first appeared: 3/30/2003

Inmates at Mike Durfee State Prison in Springfield (pop. 792) refurbish hundreds of donated bicycles for needy children in a program called Pedal Power from the Pen.

first appeared: 3/23/2003

Bon Homme County is home to three school districts—Avon, Bon Homme, and Scotland—not one. Thanks to Avon Superintendent Tom Oster for keeping us accurate.

first appeared: 3/16/2003

Judith Meierhenry, 58, of Sioux Falls became the first woman and 76th state Supreme Court justice last November.

first appeared: 3/9/2003

Called the Courtesy Patrol, the state’s first 10 highway patrolmen were dispatched in 1935 with tow chains, gas cans, and first-aid kits to assist motorists.

first appeared: 3/2/2003

Amanda Clement, 16, of Hudson (pop. 402) umpired a baseball game in 1904 in Iowa at Hawarden (pop. 2,478) when the regular umpire failed to show. She became the first female paid umpire.

first appeared: 2/23/2003

The state ranked first in increased median household income—57 percent—from $22,500 in 1990 to $35,300 in 2000.

first appeared: 2/16/2003

In the 2000 census, 94 percent of Shannon County residents reported their race as American Indian or Alaska Native—the highest percentage of any county in the nation.

first appeared: 2/9/2003

In 1997, wildlife artist Terry Redlin opened a $10 million art center and museum in Watertown (pop. 20,237) and donated it to the state as a thank-you for a $1,500 scholarship he received to attend art school.

first appeared: 2/2/2003

Winner (pop. 3,137) was so named because it was the “winner” in a competition to establish a town along railroad right-of-way as track for the Chicago and Northwestern rail line was being laid westward in 1909.

first appeared: 1/26/2003

Founded in 1862, the University of South Dakota in Vermillion (pop. 9,765) is home to the state’s only law and medical schools.

first appeared: 1/19/2003

The state’s coldest temperature of minus 58 degrees was recorded Feb. 17, 1936, at McIntosh (pop. 217) on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation.

first appeared: 1/12/2003

The state has 362 fire departments with 8,500 volunteer and career firefighters.

first appeared: 1/5/2003

In 2001, an asteroid was discovered by Ron Dyvig, director of the Badlands Observatory in Quinn (pop. 44), who named it number 26715 South Dakota.

first appeared: 12/29/2002

Accordionist Myron Floren, who performed on the Lawrence Welk Show from 1955 to 1982, was born in Roslyn (pop. 225). As a child, he heard a neighbor playing the musical instrument and talked his father into ordering one from the Sears, Roebuck & Co. catalog.

first appeared: 12/22/2002

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