Sioux Falls-Area Road Being Renamed Despite Protests

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — A four-mile stretch of state Highway 11 will be renamed "Veterans Parkway" despite pleas from Sioux Falls-area history buffs to keep it called Powder House Road.

The Sioux Falls City Council on Tuesday night voted 7-1 to make the change to honor military veterans. Opponents say the move will erode memories of a New Year's Eve 1936 explosion.

The Minnehaha County Historical Society says a gang from Sioux City, Iowa, lit an eastern Sioux Falls dynamite storage building on fire that day to get rid of adversaries. The explosion shattered windows miles away.

The lone vote against changing the name came from Councilman Kermit Staggers, who said he sees no connection between Highway 11 and military history. He said other area streets would be a better fit for the name.

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