South Dakota Trivia & Tidbits - Page 9

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

More than 4,000 acres of state land are set aside for vehicle access by hunters and wildlife enthusiasts with disabilities.

first appeared: 2/8/2004

As a high school student in Yankton (pop. 13,528), Tom Brokaw worked at a local radio station. Once, while interviewing his girlfriend, he thought they were off the air when he told her, “I love you.” But they weren’t.

first appeared: 2/1/2004

The state flower, pasqueflower, is a bluish bell-shaped wildflower. They’re called prairie smoke in the Great Plains because patches of them on their short, furry stems look like a low haze.

first appeared: 1/25/2004

The geographic center of America’s land mass (including Alaska and Hawaii) lies 20 miles north of Belle Fourche (pop. 4,565) and is marked by a sign.

first appeared: 1/18/2004

One of the world’s largest naturally-heated indoor swimming pools is at Evans’ Plunge water park in Hot Springs (pop. 4,129). The park features water slides and other attractions.

first appeared: 1/11/2004

The state is home to nine American Indian reservations, populated mainly by members of the Sioux tribes.

first appeared: 1/4/2004

In 1935, Eleanor “Nellie” Willhite of Box Elder (pop. 2,841) became the state’s first female pilot.

first appeared: 12/28/2003

Sculptor James Earl Fraser, who created the model for the 1913 buffalo nickel, grew up on a ranch near Mitchell (pop. 14,558).

first appeared: 12/21/2003

Houdek loam, found only in South Dakota, was designated the state soil in 1990.

first appeared: 12/14/2003

The state’s first reported earthquake on Oct. 9, 1872, was centered near Sioux City, Iowa.

first appeared: 12/7/2003

In 2001, the University of South Dakota at Vermillion (pop. 9,765) became the nation’s first university to provide undergraduate students with a Palm handheld computer.

first appeared: 11/30/2003

More than 70 woodcarvers exhibit their work at the National Museum of Woodcarving near Custer (pop. 1,860).

first appeared: 11/23/2003

A mini museum at The Barn in Huron (pop. 11,893) honors its famous carhop: Cheryl Ladd. The actress, popular for her role in the 1970s television show Charlie’s Angels, worked there during high school.

first appeared: 11/16/2003

Brookings (pop. 18,504) is named after pioneer promoter Judge Wilmot Brookings, who lost both feet to frostbite in January 1858, yet continued a political career and served as governor of Dakota Territory.

first appeared: 11/9/2003

The state’s baseball history since 1900 is honored at the South Dakota Amateur Baseball Hall of Fame in Lake Norden (pop. 432).

first appeared: 11/2/2003

The history of the city and the state’s first full-term U.S. senator, Richard Pettigrew (1889-1901), is chronicled in the Pettigrew Home and Museum in Sioux Falls.

first appeared: 10/26/2003

At Prairie Homestead in Philip (pop. 885), visitors can tour a 1909 sod dugout used by homesteaders.

first appeared: 10/19/2003

Georgine Chytka of Lake Andes (pop. 819) hooked a 16-pound, 2-ounce walleye—a state record—on Nov. 16, 2002, below the Fort Randall Dam on the Missouri River.

first appeared: 10/12/2003

In 1876, John Brennan and other unlucky gold miners founded Rapid City (pop. 59,607) to “mine the miners.”

first appeared: 10/5/2003

Known as “the fastest trick rider on the fastest horse,” Mattie Goff Newcombe of White Owl thrilled rodeo fans in the 1920s with her riding stunts and relay riding.

first appeared: 9/28/2003

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