Mandy and I were talking the other night about how much, and how fast, Sioux Falls is growing and we are just totally amazed by it. In fact, upon further review, the last three cities we have lived in (Las Vegas, Cedar Rapids and now Sioux Falls) have all seen big time growth during the times we have lived there.

 When we lived in Las Vegas, a jaw dropping 6,000 PEOPLE A MONTH were moving into the city. It caused increased traffic gridlock and an inflated rate of value for property, both commercial and residential. The old issue of supply and demand. What made it worse is that Las Vegas is somewhat "landlocked" because most of the available land surrounding the Las Vegas Valley is owned by the Federal Government. So you have more people coming in and limited land resources. We were lucky in the fact that we bought our house before the real "population boom" began, so we paid a reasonable price to buy the home (and pocketed quite a profit when we sold it).

 Cedar Rapids didn't have growth, or growth issues, the way Las Vegas did. What was interesting about Cedar Rapids is that is was the entire 380 corridor (the interstate which connects Cedar Rapids with Iowa City and Waterloo) which experienced the growth. But people and businesses there were helped by the large number of bedroom communities in the area: Swisher, North Liberty, Hiawatha and the like, towns which had land and homes available for reasonablt prices and as a result, saw little population booms of their own. An attractive option considering land values in both Cedar Rapids and Iowa City are exploding (especially Iowa City, home of the Iowa Hawkeyes. As a Cyclone, I have no idea who would want to live there...but that's another story for another time).

 And now here in Sioux Falls. I see much the same thing happening. Although (so far) property taes for Sioux Falls proper aren't that bad (I know you might think otherwise), think of the growth we are seeing in Harrisburg, Tea, Brandon, Dell Rapids, et cetera. This is a wonderful city and I believe we will manage our growth fine. I see every indication from city and county leaders that they realize our quiet city in the upper midwest is getting a little large, a little noisier and a little busier as a result. But it retains, at least for the moment, a spirit of friendliness. Although I am starting to notice a few more people flashing the "you're number 1" sign in traffic.

 I like larger cities. The energy and the non-stop action. Mandy likes smaller cities. It's going to be interesting to see what characteristics Sioux Falls takes on as it grows and expands. Already I see surrounding farm land becoming sub-divisons and wonder how much longer it can last.

 Quote Of The Day: "There are no great limits to growth because there are no limits of human intelligence, imagination and wonder." Ronald Reagan

 This Day In History: Martin Luther King gave his famous 'I Have A Dream' speech at the Lincoln Memorial to civil rights demonstrators on this date, August 28th, 1963.

 Something You Should Check Out: The other day I told you I was a big fan of the music group 'Chicago', but primarily only when the group had Peter Cetera as it's main singer. Well, I found a Chicago song wihtout Peter Cetera that I really enjoy. It's called 'Niagra Falls' and in the music video, no members of the group are seen. It features footage from old movies spliced together and I think it's interesting. Take a look!

 Thanks for stopping by! I have some guest bloggers lined up for the next couple days. Feel free to leave a comment below or send me an e-mail by clicking here.