Most South Dakotans received a text message Wednesday night (April 17) stating that 911 Emergency Services were currently down throughout the state. The text message that went out to most smartphones gave further instructions on what to do in the event you needed to report an emergency to law enforcement or emergency medical services during the outage period.

As you can imagine, the text message immediately started to create quite a buzz on social media and sent a few folks into a slow panic.

According to Straight Arrow News, a total of four states were affected by Wednesday's outage, South Dakota, Nebraska, Nevada, and Texas. There were reports early on, that Emergency 911 Call Center locations were also unavailable in additional areas throughout the country outside of the four states mentioned.

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Here in South Dakota, Dakota News Now reported that the Department of Public Safety announced that they were aware of the service interruption throughout the state and that texting 911 was still operational in most locations.

What caused the outage?

At this time, the exact cause of the outage is still unknown, however, Straight Arrow News says that Homeland Security has noted the increasing risks of cyberattacks on digital 911 systems.

Straight Arrow News reported that 911 Services ended up being restored in all four states affected by late Wednesday night.

We should know more later today. The city of Sioux Falls intends to hold a press briefing for the public on Thursday morning April 18th. Dakota News Now reports that the briefing will take place at 10:00 AM, and officials will shed additional light on the cause of the 911 Emergency Services outages in Minnehaha County.

Source: Straight Arrow News/Dakota News Now

10 Reasons NOT To Move To Sioux Falls ;)

Sioux Falls is a special place. There is really no place else in the world quite like it. It is a unique spot of shining joy on the edge of the plains. But, if someone is planning to move here, there are a few things to know...

Seven Mind-Blowing Wonders' of South Dakota

I think most of us have at least heard of the "Seven Wonders of the Modern World." We might not be able to rattle them off as easily as McDonald's value menu items, but chances are you've heard of at least some of them, right?

There's the Great Wall of China. Chichén Itzá, a Mayan City on the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. The ancient city of Petra, in Jordan. Machu Picchu in Peru. Christ the Redeemer Statue in Rio de Janeiro. The Colosseum in Rome, and finally, the Taj Mahal in Agra, India.

Every state in the nation is known for having a series of natural wonders and signature landmarks. So, I thought I would come up with my own list of the "Seven Wonders of South Dakota."

The following is what I consider to be the signature landmarks, monuments, and natural wonders that are synonymous with the great state of South Dakota. I tried to give both sides of the state a little love while comprising this list.

You might have a few additions...

Let's get started. The Seven Wonders of South Dakota:

Source: What Caused 911 Emergency Services to Fail in South Dakota?

Filed Under: South Dakota