Events

Sign up for volunteering your time at any History Talk event via mail or email or call.

3rd Thursday History Talks are Free and open to the Public - no sign-up necessary. 6:30 Sign In/Social, 7:00 program start - 8:30 pm program end. 50/50 Raffle with MCHS half going to Pioneer Memorial Fund.

Annual Banquet (April) requires prior sign up if attending banquet meal. See Contact page to mail, email or call with your numbers. See March & April Newsletters for Menu and sign-up information.

*Check out the Local Lou Podcast and watch her on “Throwback Thursday” every Thursday on Dakota News Now where Lori highlights a particular Historic Marker and adds the rest of the story. LocalLoupodcast.com for more!

3rd Thursday History Talks:

2025

January 16th: "Doane Robinson" with Gr-Grandson Dana Nelson Sponsors: John & Patti Erpenbach, Rick & Mary Lingberg, Mark & Sandy McClung, Teri & John Olson

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February 20th: "African American Heritage Sites in Sioux Falls"

with Dr. Will Wright and Zach Van Harris, Jr. At the Old Courthouse Museum Sponsor: Ogdie Realty

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March 20th: "SOUTH DAKOTA VETERANS’ STORIES" with Steve Lindquist & Rick Lingberg Sponsor: Performance Press

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April 17th:“Doolittle Raiders” Annual Meeting & Banquet

Old Courthouse Museum

Keynote Speaker Randy Megard.

Banquet: Open to the public with RSVP - see April History pages for info & form.

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May 15th: Joint Talk with Sioux Valley Genealogical Society

Old Courthouse Museum Early Start with Social *Forum @ 6:00

Talk @ 7:00 , “On The Eve of Destruction: Downtown Sioux Falls in the Age of Urban Renewal” with Kevin Ganz *Roots & Foundations Forum with SVGS, MCDAR Geni-Gals, Mayflower Society, SHM Resource Center, OLLI and others such as Colonial Dames XVIIC, SDSDAR State Regent & NSDOAF (National Society Descendants Of American Farmers), Order of the Cloak and Dagger, etc..

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June 19th: "Ice Cream & Pie Social" Sponsors: Manifold Farms - Location: Hartford, SD Veterans Park Downtown · Sponsors: Marv Manifold, Jean & Ken Barber, & Joan Nelson. In Coordination with Downtown Hartford Inc., Speaker TBA, " The SHM Irene Hall Resource Center", Archival Storage for Minnehaha County, & Open to the public for research.

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2024

January 18th: "The History of Rock & Roll in South Dakota" (Month Sponsor: I29 Antiques Mall).

February 15th: "How Late 1800 & Early 1900 Syrian Immigration Influenced The Sioux Falls Community" Speaker: Sam Ogdie

March 21st: "The Orphan Trains -Film - History Talk- Genealogy Forum" Speaker: Virginia Hanson (Month Sponsor: Mary Chilton Chapter NSDAR)

April 18th: "Annual Meeting & Banquet " Speaker: Arley Fadness

"Ku Klux Klan"

May 16th: 6:00 PM " Historical Marker Bus Tour" Guide: Lori Kent

6:30 PM Dan Bilka on "Possible Return of Passenger Rail to South Dakota

June 20th: "Ice Cream & Pie Social" Sponsors: Manifold Farms - Location/Park · Sponsors: Marv Manifold & Jean Barber at East Sioux Falls Perry Nature Center – Northside

Sept 19th: Dr. Steven Bucklin Recounts RFK's 1968 Presidential Campaign in South Dakota Sponsor: I29 Antiques & Collectibles Mall

October 17th: Special Location: The Legends at Lake Lorraine at 2815 Westlake Dr, Sioux Falls.

"Giants in the Earth": Norwegian Immigration to South Dakota in the Award Winning Opera: 6:15 Buffet & Option for Facility Tour Sponsor: Legends on Lake Lorraine

November 21: Special Location: 810 N Sycamore Ave, Sioux Falls, SD

"Children’s Home Society" – 131 Years of Helping Children and Families. Featuring Rick Weber, CHS’s Development Director At the Children’s Home Society campus in Sioux Falls Featuring Rick Weber, CHS’s Development Director

December 19: "MINNEHAHA LODGE NO. 5, ANCIENT FREE and ACCEPTED MASONS" with BILL HOSKINS, Executive Director of the Siouxland Heritage Museums. At the Old Courthouse Museum Sponsor: Charles Fritzel

Also: "HOLIDAY GIVE AWAYS" We’re in the holiday spirit and we’ve got a lot of good history stuff, but no where to store it. Come to the December 19th History Talk and help your self. We’re still sorting through it all, but we know you will find something you’ve been looking for. Take what you like, the price is right...FREE! (donations will be accepted) A few items will be available for silent auction.

2023

January 19, Special Location SD Military Alliance 1600 W Russell ST. Sioux Falls "Linebacker II" 5th Ann of War's End by John Mollison - Q&A w/ Robert Certain POW - Sponsored by: Old Guys and Their Airplanes

February 16, "Hattie Phillips - A Live Performance" by Debbi Jones Sponsored by: Sioux Falls Experience

March 16, Panel Presentation of "Diversity in South Dakota" Postponed Sponsored by : Raven Industries

April 20, Annual Banquet Speaker " Rick Knobe" Sioux Falls Mayor & KSOO Radio Host

May 6, Bob Yapp Presents: Preservation Doesn't Cost .. It Pays (Hartford, SD)