Uncovering The Last Remaining Pay Phone In South Dakota

There was a day when when we needed to make a call, we had to dig around in our pockets to find a dime. They were pay phones, and they were glorious. Sometimes a little sticky. On a really good day, you could find one without the attached phone book ripped out. Or a spare dime in the coin return slot.

But those day have gone. It's "last call" for pay phones, no pun intended. Pay phones have been replaced by cell phones just as the telegram was replaced by email.

We couldn't find much on the last remaining pay phones in South Dakota, but the Federal Communications Commission apparently stopped collecting such data in 2016. But we did find one revealing clue.

According to payphonedirectory.org one can click on a specific state to see how many pay phones are still in operation. Minnesota has a bunch. Nearly 400 if the data is correct. Iowa is not far behind. But South Dakota has only one. It's located at the Belle Fourche Chamber of Commerce.

"This list is by no means comprehensive or totally accurate as there may be phones out there that were not listed, but according to listings on Payphone-Directory.org, South Dakota only has one payphone left. It is located in the Belle Fourche Chamber of Commerce."

When did you last make a call on a pay phone? I used one in the Black Angus in Canton, SD many years ago. I had car trouble and a stranger gave me a ride from Newton Hills. In the days before cellular, pay phones and strangers were very helpful!

If you know of a working pay phone in South Dakota, or used one to get out of a jam, let us know in the comments below or on this social media feed.

13 Times Sioux Falls Made it into a 'Jeopardy!' Question

If the world was divided into Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune people, I would be down for Jeopardy! all the way. It's a lot more fun, it makes me feel smart because I can retain lots of trivia, and I am a horrible speller. So Wheel is out, no whammies.

Recently I discovered (I mean wasted a lot of time on) a website that is an archive of clues that have been on Jeopardy!.

While digging around the archive, I wanted to find out how often Sioux Falls came up in a question (Answer) on the show. Since 1990 Sioux Falls has been part of a question or an answer 13 times.

Source: j-archive.com

People Say They Hate These 7 Things About Sioux Falls the Most

In the last few years, I've had the opportunity to live in another state after living in Sioux Falls for a decade. Then late last year I moved back to the SooFoo, and I am super happy to have returned.

Sioux Falls has just about everything I like. It's big enough to have lots of opportunities for work and recreation. But, it's also not so big that I feel lost in an urban wasteland.

Being on the western edge of the 'Midwest' and the eastern edge of the 'Western Frontier' we've got a nice balance of the individualistic pioneer spirit and a strong 'We're in this together' attitude.

But, of course, not everything is perfect. People have complaints. On the social network Reddit, people have even listed their complaints about Sioux Falls. Specifically, the things that hate about living here.

Gallery Credit: Ben Kuhns