[AT] NW vs SW Iowa

[Ronald L. Cook]

Dean:


>Drifting into Sioux County would be good for you.  Your land would
>appreciate another 20% or more. :-) But you would have to be careful because
>they are always on the lookout for anyone having fun and it is their primary
>goal in life to stop it!  :-)

Now THAT is funny!

You don't want to try to spray around Orange City on Sunday, either.  Even 
if the weather is perfect.  Don't ask.


>As I recall the Floyd River caused as much damage as the Missouri in 1952
>and 1953. The West Branch River crossed our farm which connects with the
>Floyd River in LeMars.  I have a vivid memory of retrieving cattle all the
>way from our place to LeMars when we had a flash flood. 12 miles or more.
>Not a fun time. Watched the cattle bump their head as they floated under the
>Chicago Northwestern R/R bridge heading South. Amazingly, didn't lose a
>single head.

Right you are.  My dad had his fats in the Yards when that Floyd went out 
in '53, I think it was.  May have been '52.  Both were bad.  I was young 
enough to not be physically involved much, but I was along to retrieve 
them.  I am not sure how many head were involved, but it was several 
truckloads we retrieved from the Yards and brought back home 
safely.  Others were not so lucky.  I remember the huge hole you could 
observe from the viaduct with cattle and buildings and people and whatnot 
floating away.  Since turning the Floyd into a ditch through Sioux City, 
that flooding has stopped.  Not the case upstream, however.  However, 
farming practices have changed and there are many terraces and grassed 
waterways these days, so the flood threat is greatly diminished.


>Over the years since we left in 1962 we have seen the improvements along US
>75 north from I29. Now with the bypass that isn't even the same. For some
>odd reason when heading North on I29 and trying to get on to US75 North, I
>always miss the correct exit and end up in Morningside and don't know what I
>have done wrong. Then don't get on the bypass either. Either it isn't marked
>well or we Western folks don't know how to drive in major metropolitan
>areas! :-)

Must be a "dutch" thing.  I have no problems. <g> Unless I try to direct 
someone to someplace along that route.

I know you will be traveling 75, but sometime in your travels you will more 
than likely run across the bypass they have put around Alton on 
60.  Wow!  You zoom past there so fast your head spins.



>What is truly amazing to me is the stark difference between how Sioux Falls,
>SD and Sioux City, IA have progressed and grown since we left. Sioux City
>had a major Stock yards, I believe second largest or maybe even the largest
>in the US in the 50's, and a higher population than Sioux Falls then. Now
>Sioux Falls is much larger and I don't think the population of Sioux City
>has changed all that much.  Currently Sioux City's population is 90,000 or
>so and I think it was very similar in the 50's. But Sioux Falls population
>is now over 135,000.  I guess the business tax climate in SD is better than
>Iowa.

All true.


>I do remember the labor strife in the Sioux City packing plants really hurt
>and caused many of the "big three" packing plants, Cudahy, Armour and Swift
>to slowly leave or close down. Then IBP started up in South Sioux City, NE
>but with a much more distributed physical packing system.

The Beef, as we aviators call it, actually started in Denison.  A couple of 
the fellows that started it owned a nice Cessna 140A that I really wanted 
to buy when they upgraded to a Cessna 182 to commute to Dennison and other 
places where they were trying to set up cattle buying stations.  Many years 
ago.  Eventually they "made up with" or became "part of" the mob back east, 
imported a bunch of illegal aliens as a work force, shoved their way around 
the beef industry and got into pork bigtime.  Now they are part of Tyson 
foods.  I see no good in any of it.


>It is interesting to observe how the area has changed over the last 50 or so
>years. Always brings back a lot of good memories each time we visit. Even
>have visited "The Boat" right in downtown Sioux City on the Missouri River a
>few times. Have to leave a little deposit each time to keep the economy
>strong in Iowa!  :-)

Thanks.  I do not go to that thing, I count on you visitors to deposit my 
share. <g>
Those fool casino gambling things are popping up all over Iowa with the 
possible exception of Sioux County <g>.  They no longer need be a river 
boat.  I knew that would happen.  I guess our governor thinks we can gamble 
our way into prosperity.  Someone forgot this is an agricultural 
state.  That is why we have tractors.  To farm farms.  To wear them out so 
we can rebuild them again to have fun with after the farmers buy newer 
updated versions.  I think.

Ron Cook
Salix, IA