If there is one thing we are good at in Sioux Falls it's complaining. It's almost as much of a pastime as eating at one of our 5,000 restaurants. But it isn't always right or correctly placed. Here are six things that we need to stop complaining about.

  • 1

    Traffic

    Sioux Falls doesn't have traffic problems. Many of us grew up in small towns and are used to the wide open full throttle that driving on a highway provides. So of course it's frustrating to sit at a light where cars are backed up for three blocks, but the cars still move, unless there is an accident. We have choke points where things get slow during morning and afternoon commutes, but it happens in the same places every day. Some of these spots are more problematic than others. Those of us who have lived in big actual big cities with really heavy traffic look at the pile ups at 26th Street and I-229 and think "Oh, cute." Sioux Falls is a growing little city. We're growing but we are not "big." Even at it's worst, it rarely takes more than 20 minutes to get from anywhere to anywhere in this town. When I lived in Denver it once took me 20 minutes to get off the on-ramp of a freeway. My average commute when it went well was 45 minutes and I never left the city.

    Jim Sideras
    Jim Sideras
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  • 2

    Boredom, Nothing to Do From Spring Through Fall

    During a winter in Sioux Falls if you feel the need to gripe about being bored, I'm with you. There are only so many indoor or acceptable outdoor endeavors to keep one occupied. But once spring comes you have no excuse. If you still think there is nothing here you are either not trying hard enough to find fulfilling entertainment, or you are just lazy. There are a gazillion things to do. I usually learn of a new one once a week or so.

    The Outdoor Campus is really cool, especially if you have kids.

    We have a few really massive parks in this town. I didn't even realize how big some of them were until I decided to go for a jog on the bike trail one day starting at Spencer Park. There's enough space for a bout twenty football fields back in those trees.

    The Kirby Science Center at the Pavilion is cool for kids and adults.

    We have a zoo! Less than 170,000 people and we have zoo.

    Rent a canoe or kayak at ACE Hardware and paddle around the Big Sioux or Covell Lake.

    We have a bunch of really sweet pools in town. Go to one of them. It's pretty cheap!

    The Siouxland Libraries are packed with not only books, but DVD movies and CDs. And Internet computers where you can maybe figure out what you may like to do in or around Sioux Falls.

    This is just some stuff off the top of my head. Not every single form of entertainment is my cup of coffee either, but if nothing above sounds appealing, I don't think I can help you.

    City of Sioux Falls
    City of Sioux Falls
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  • 3

    Heat

  • 4

    Concerts

    This one makes my brain hurt the most.

    When Mayor Mike Huether went on his crusade to build a new event center in Sioux Falls he promised that we would get the biggest names in music to come. He did not promise that all 169,800 residents would get a ticket to every show in the 12,000 seat building. That's not a defense of Huether but merely a mathematical fact.

    Sioux Falls was a concert starved city for many years. Now we have had or will have some of the biggest names from every genre of music on the planet. Everybody and their hamster wants to go to these shows. Taylor Swift is playing two shows in Omaha and three shows in St. Paul. None of them are sold out yet. Granted, they have much bigger buildings but they also have much larger populations. If Taylor Swift was playing three shows at the DenSanPremCen, which she is NOT scheduled to do, they'd be sold out in minutes simply because we're thirsty for concerts we've never had before. Omaha and the Twin Cities have had this forever. So when you try to buy concert tickets, don't treat it like a birthright. Pretend you're buying a Powerball ticket. No one ever gets disappointed over losing on that.

    Karla Brown
    Karla Brown
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  • 5

    Bicyclists

    I know a lot of people, and I used to be one of them, who are incredibly aggravated by bicyclists who ride down the street like they own it. But here's the thing -- they do own it, just as much as we in cars and trucks do. In fact the city is going to do more to ensure a place for bicycles on city streets. Get used to it.

    I've never really seen anyone on a bike TRYING to slow down traffic. They may briefly, but usually when they realize they are causing a backup they do what they can to get out of the way. That's good enough for me.

    Bicyclists should also remember that when you take your place on the street, you are expected to obey all the same laws we motorists are expected to obey. The one I see broken all the time is the running of a red light. Don't play jaywalking pedestrian when it suits you. Wait for the light to turn green. If you're in that big of a hurry, maybe you should have -- well, you know.

  • 6

    People from Out of Town

    Whether they are a slow driving farmer visiting the big town from Sully County, or they're a few dozen bus-loads of soccer players from around the midwest, quit griping about their presence. They inject a lot of money into our economy and into the city's coffers.

    I understand that many of them drive more terribly than we do and they get in the way of getting a quick lunch sometimes, but don't complain. You could instead thank them for coming to town and helping pay for the snow gates that ended another one of our complaints.

    South Dakota Public Broadcasting
    South Dakota Public Broadcasting
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