Why is Sioux Falls thriving but Sioux City (Iowa, SD & NE) is declining?

[Shay53]

well Sioux City is much older than Sioux Falls and when your city gets old it gets a little dirty so when Sioux Falls gets older its probably going to get a little dirty and the smell has never bothered me and i go to Sioux City once a week from the country

[Shay53]

Originally Posted by WyoEagle

In general about the only places in Iowa that seem to be growing or at least holding their own are Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, Iowa City, and possibly Ames, Council Bluffs, Waterloo/Cedar Falls, and the Quad Cities. The state has not moved much beyond agriculture and is suffering rural flight because of it. I believe Nebraska is the same city. When you get one city in a grouping like that that does diversify and grow, it is hard for the others to keep up. Just my theory.

a hey, that's most of the citys in Iowa

[Shay53]

Originally Posted by TheBeagleLady

I agree. The last time I drove through Sioux City was on my way home from Sioux Falls. I was behind a semi driver who was obviously falling asleep and swerving all over the interstate. It would have been a very bad accident. Scary!

you get crazy drivers everywhere not just here

[sholomar]

Very important to try to keep a city 'clean' feeling. Sioux City is not clean feeling while Des Moines to me seemed amazingly clean, but I don't want to pay a state income tax just to have things more clean. (though it's not helping out Sioux City) There's a balance. I don't know the politics of the two cities but Sioux Falls is probably more business friendly and progressive.

Some people around Brookings say Sioux Falls and Watertown are both 'dirty' and it's true Brookings is a clean town but I still prefer Watertown and Sioux Falls more for their amenities... shopping, recreation, etc. Luckily it's easy enough to simply drive to either one. In any case I'd like to see Sioux Falls be a 'clean' fast growing city.

[fkjuliano]

One factor is that South Dakota is the freest state in the nation in economic terms, while Iowa is middle of the pack. That's the same reason why Texas is booming and California is stagnating.

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