Not Again! 911 Systems Down Across South Dakota-What Happened?

If you got a Public Safety alert on your phone Tuesday night (July 9th) in Sioux Falls, you were probably just as confused as me. But multiple reports are confirming 911 systems across South Dakota were down again for the second time this year.

As you can imagine, the alert immediately started creating quite a buzz on social media, sending a few folks into a slow panic. Some were even questioning the strength of the system.

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Our news partners at Dakota News Now and officials with the City of Sioux Falls did confirm the 911 systems were failing on Tuesday night. The South Dakota Department of Public Safety was aware of the situation and sent a smartphone notification around 8:30 PM, saying 911 phone lines were down throughout South Dakota. In addition to South Dakota, a report from KLKN-TV in Nebraska says this outage also affected Nebraska.

Within an hour, South Dakota 911 systems were mainly back up and running in the state including Sioux Falls.

This is the second time the 911 Emergency Systems have failed in about three months. The 911 outage in April affected not just South Dakota, but also Nebraska, Nevada, and Texas.

What caused the 911 outage on Tuesday, July 9th?

Details about the recent South Dakota 911 outage are still unknown. However, city officials in Sioux Falls did provide a new update around 11 PM last night to make the public aware of the current reliability of the 911 system.

(10:50 p.m.): The South Dakota 911 system is experiencing intermittent outages. To report an emergency in Sioux Falls, call 605-367-7000 or text 911. State officials are working to restore service. Visit siouxfalls.gov for updates.

It is strongly advised NOT TO TEST the 911 number. Hopefully, there should be a clearer picture of what happened later today.

The 10 Largest Occupations in Sioux Falls

Where do people in Sioux Falls work? If this was fifty years ago the average Sioux Fallsian worked in some industrial, meat packing, or farm-related position. Sioux Falls has also been the major regional medical center for decades.

Customer service and other retail-related jobs have always been a part of the Sioux Empire's economy. But in recent years those industries have become major employers.

If you live in Sioux Falls, there's a pretty good chance you work one of these jobs. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, these are the top 10 largest occupations in Sioux Falls (as of 2022).

Gallery Credit: Ben Kuhns

10 South Dakota Myths Even Some Natives Believe

Have you ever notice how much outsiders (and some insiders) get wrong about South Dakota? They believe and repeat some of these ridiculous South Dakota stereotypes.

SO, to do our part in educating folks, here's a list of some of the most ridiculous myths outsiders always believe South Dakota.

Gallery Credit: Andy Gott

Source: Not Again! 911 Systems Down Across South Dakota-What Happened?