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Stupid Souix City

guns-n-painthorsesguns-n-painthorses Member Posts: 6,462 ✭✭✭
edited December 2001 in General Discussion
O K, I think this has got to top the stupid list. So New york had the cows, and Chicago had the pigs (?) I think, and Omaha had the Jane Doe's. Now we have taking this fiberglass sculpture artsy-fartsy stuff to a new level of stupid! Souix City Iowa is going to have the prarie dog! Now I have lived in western Iowa for twelve years, and maybe I hven't seen it all, but I don't ever recall ever seeing any prarie dogs in Iowa. I may be wrong about that, none the less, why the hell would they choose a varmit! As stupid as it sounds, I must admit,,,,,, A six foot tall prarie dog would be fun in the crosshairs!Watch for the Rapid City skunks next!
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Comments

  • idsman75idsman75 Member Posts: 13,398 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Where are they putting this sculpture in this city of ours? How long do you think it will be before it is vandalized? Want to meet up with me and draw first blood?
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  • guns-n-painthorsesguns-n-painthorses Member Posts: 6,462 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Idsman,It's better than that! I read there were going to be around 20 of them! All over town! I read this in the world hearld yesterday. Do you agree it is a stupid choice to say the least! We could meet at the new truckstop at the singing hills exit...........
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  • idsman75idsman75 Member Posts: 13,398 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I'm going to be doing some hunting in Nebraska on Sunday. I had some rabbit stew last night and am in the mood for some more of that tasty treat. I have a good friend with good Nebraska contacts but my pickup only holds two. You are more than welcome to tag along with yours. We are developing a tradition of hitting that same truck stop after hunting. idsman75@peoplepc.com~~~~~Privately practicing paritioner of the PVM.~~~~~
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  • Miss. CreantMiss. Creant Member Posts: 300 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I am only 60 miles from Sioux City and there ain't no praire dogs there. Got them all over hell in SD though. Fun to shoot and eat.
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  • XracerXracer Member Posts: 1,990 ✭
    edited November -1
    My wife was born and raised in Sioux City (the Leeds section). She never saw a prairie dog 'till we took a vacation in the Black Hills.
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  • guns-n-painthorsesguns-n-painthorses Member Posts: 6,462 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I can not ever recall seeing a dirt dawg anywhere in Iowa!
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  • RembrandtRembrandt Member Posts: 4,486 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    I must agree, I've seen no "Iowa Prairie Dogs"...but I have seen those urban prairie dogs (little ground squirrel's) in the back yard....maybe that's what the fiberglass replicas are. Do they have white stripes down their backs?....heehee
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  • guns-n-painthorsesguns-n-painthorses Member Posts: 6,462 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    If they put one of these things downtown, we should all get together and build a big fiberglass hunter with a Rem 700 pointed right at the dawg!
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  • PupPup Member Posts: 217 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I too live in western Iowa and sometimes work graveyard shift in Sioux City. This is the first I've heard about the S.C. prarie dogs. Is this for real? What possible explanation can there be for choosing a varmit for public display (Clinton statues included)? I can just imagine what they'll look like once the local youths get done with their use of paint.
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  • guns-n-painthorsesguns-n-painthorses Member Posts: 6,462 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Read it and weep! Here it is... Right off the world hearld web site!IOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) - Siouxland is going to the prairie dogs. The Sioux City Art Center has announced a plan to underwrite 50 fiberglass prairie dogs to be decorated by area artists for display in public spaces throughout Sioux City and area towns. Businesses and organizations are being asked to sponsor the 5-foot-tall prairie dogs at $2,000 each. Of that, the basic cast prairie dog will cost $345 and each selected artist will receive $800. The remainder will be used by the Art Center. Artists have until Jan. 15 to submit their prairie dog design proposals, and sponsors must commit by Feb. 15. The prairie dogs should be on display in their various urban habitats by mid-May. An auction of the prairie dogs is planned for mid-October. "Right now, if people are going to view art, they think they have to come into the art museum to see it," Margaret Sudbeck, interim director of the Art Center, said in announcing the project. "But we want art 'out there.' The public gets involved in it. It's something for people of all ages to enjoy." The public art project is modeled after the uniquely decorated life-size cows first displayed in Zurich, Switzerland, and later in Chicago. Many other cities have since launched public art projects featuring everything from living room furniture to angels. Dubbed the Prairie Dog Quest, or PDQ, Sioux City organizers say they worked closely with the J. Doe project in Omaha, where fiberglass people served as the pattern for the widely displayed art. The PDQ will have a map of sculpture locations to help people "hunt" for them and even a card to have stamped at each location as proof of their successful quest. A number of prairie dog-themed activities will be held at the Art Center during the display period. The undecorated pattern for the prairie dog mold was unveiled last week by sculptor Martin Wanserski, an associate professor of art at the University of South Dakota, Vermillion. Wanserski also sculpted a smaller prototype, known as Murray, that will travel around Siouxland to promote PDQ. Debi Durham, president of the Siouxland Chamber of Commerce, lauded the public art project. "A special piece (of art) can serve as a balm for our soul. I truly believe there is no greater balm for our soul than laughter, which I have to say was my initial reaction upon gazing on Murray." She called the Prairie Dog Quest "yet another great example of the big thinking that occurs in this community. This public art campaign will cause others to take notice of the big and exciting things that go on in Siouxland." Mayor Marty Dougherty said Sioux City "will be happy to welcome a new group of South Dakotans to Iowa. It sounds like a fun idea. I understand prairie dogs are industrious, hard working, live in neighborhoods and are family-oriented." The prairie dog was chosen for the Siouxland project because of the pending bicentennial of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. The explorers were fascinated with the millions of prairie dogs they encountered, which they called "barking squirrels." They captured one live, which they presented to President Jefferson and later put on display in Philadelphia, said Sudbeck. Three organizations have already signed up to sponsor a prairie dog: LeGrand and Co., Security National Bank and the Chamber. Ritch LeGrand said he became familiar with the cows in Chicago several years ago when he ran in the Chicago Marathon. "I saw how much people enjoyed seeing it, because it was all kinds of crazy art," he said. "I'm excited to see what people are going to come up with in their artistic ideas." LeGrand said he'll wait for city guidelines before deciding just where to display his prairie dog.
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  • XracerXracer Member Posts: 1,990 ✭
    edited November -1
    "Big things going on in Siouxland"?Well, maybe those 5 foot tall Prairie Dogs will be a good place to store the sidewalks when they roll them up at 9 PM.
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  • idsman75idsman75 Member Posts: 13,398 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Maybe those of us that live in Iowa should organize some sort of demonstration...heh heh heh. What would you wear, bring, chant, etc....?
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  • JudgeColtJudgeColt Member Posts: 1,790 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    As another Western Iowa guy, I was also interested in the PDQ project. I had read of the connection to Lewis and Clark and figured that was justification enough for Sioux City to allow it, what with the expedition's Sgt. Floyd death in Sioux City, etc.. Also remember the originator is from South Dakota, where they do have prarie dogs. Seeing the dateline of Iowa City on the article reminds me of the saying that the most liberal city in the United States is San Francisco, after Iowa City!I must say that I have been impressed with how much Sioux City has done over the last decade or so to improve itself. This is just another example of trying to be "modern." What can it hurt? Might be fun.
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  • XracerXracer Member Posts: 1,990 ✭
    edited November -1
    Judge....I agree SC is a nice little city...I really do like the place.But.....5 foot statues? Couldn't they just settle for a prairie dog proclaimation as the "Official Sioux City Rodent"....or somethin'?
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  • XracerXracer Member Posts: 1,990 ✭
    edited November -1
    ....and this from my wife (born and raised in Sioux City)...."Sioux City is known for putting up stupid sculptures...years ago, when they remodeled the Younkers section in downtown, they put up a stupid golden something that looked like a spastic tic-tack-toe....maybe it's still there...."Anybody remember this?For those of you not from, or familiar with Sioux City...please bear with us.....we're havin' fun here!
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  • guns-n-painthorsesguns-n-painthorses Member Posts: 6,462 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    We always called it Sewer City! Man that town stinks if you come up from the south on I-29. The whole southside smells like fried a$$holes.
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  • woodsrunnerwoodsrunner Member Posts: 5,378 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    I guess a 6 foot varmint calls for a .50 cal varmint rifle..
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  • XracerXracer Member Posts: 1,990 ✭
    edited November -1
    g-n-p....wife loves that "fried *" remark! She agrees, but says "it's the river".
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  • idsman75idsman75 Member Posts: 13,398 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Iowa City may be liberal but it is the best city in Iowa to be an Army recruiter. Those guys took all the awards at our Annual Training Conference last weekend. I actually like the smell of Sioux City because it is inspiration. Before I joined the Army I worked in a packing house. I couldn't eat many pork products for about a year due to the revulsion created in my by that job. I take I-29 South every day and smell it on the way to work. No matter how tough the job is, I am inspired by the fact that it could be much worse. I could still be working in a stinkhole. Now I just have to spend a minute or two driving past it.
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  • Miss. CreantMiss. Creant Member Posts: 300 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Smells the same way on the northwest. I live upriver in SD and all our sewage floats fright on down. Know why ya can't get a ****job in Iowa? Cause all the c**ksu**ers are in SD hunting and fishing.
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  • PupPup Member Posts: 217 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Wait a minute....I've been looking at this all wrong. A 5 foot prarie dog? My .225 Win sighted in at 200 yds drops about 9 inches at 300. So if I hold over another 5 feet from the top of it's head, what kind of range are we looking at? Hmmmmm......from the top of the auditorium I'll wager there wouldn't be a safe 'dog for quite a ways. Do they make tracer .22 spitzers so I can practice at night?
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  • XracerXracer Member Posts: 1,990 ✭
    edited November -1
    Well, I realize that the .225 is a varmint caliber, but man, that's a 5 foot tall varmint! He'll think it's a skeeter bite!Hey, can'tcha just see a cheap Sci-Fi movie..."The Prairie Dogs That Ate Sioux City"!
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  • JudgeColtJudgeColt Member Posts: 1,790 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Just for the record, what you smell first when you approach Sioux City from the south is the Terra chemical plant, and then you get the sewer treatment plant smell. Both can be nasty when the wind is right. There has been controversy for years about the sewer plant smell, with allegations that improper operation is the reason for the smell. Except for a bit of South Dakota sewage, the river does not smell. It just goes on down to Omaha, where they drink it.
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  • JudgeColtJudgeColt Member Posts: 1,790 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Just for the record, what you smell first when you approach Sioux City from the south is the Terra chemical plant, and then you get the sewer treatment plant smell. Both can be nasty when the wind is right. There has been controversy for years about the sewer plant smell, with allegations that improper operation is the reason for the smell. Except for a bit of South Dakota sewage, the river does not smell. It just goes on down to Omaha, where they drink it.
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  • guns-n-painthorsesguns-n-painthorses Member Posts: 6,462 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Judgecolt,Wrong! As a railroad contractor, I know where the stink come's from. Terra has nothing to do with it. You have to go a little farther north to find the real stinker....Knox & Kind Gelitain. Then, if you go a little futher north, you have the Darling Delaware rendering plant. Trust me, I have worked on tracks in all these places, the terra plant is where I would rather work.
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  • XracerXracer Member Posts: 1,990 ✭
    edited November -1
    Luckily, when we go back to SC, we enter the city from the north....down 75 from LeMars.However, my wife (the Sioux City expert) says you're all wrong...the smell comes from Iowa Beef Packers.
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  • JudgeColtJudgeColt Member Posts: 1,790 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    gnp:I defer to your more direct knowledge. What I was reporting was what I had been told about Terra. Surely the smell seems more appropriate to the sources you mention, and I apparently have unfairly attributed the smell to Terra. I stand corrected. I do feel confident that there are some problems with the sewer treatment plant that generate odors in that particular area. [This message has been edited by JudgeColt (edited 12-09-2001).]
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  • guns-n-painthorsesguns-n-painthorses Member Posts: 6,462 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    All that being said, I still like the town! I make lot's of money up there, and it is the gateway to some of the best painthorse country in the world (except for Texas)!
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  • idsman75idsman75 Member Posts: 13,398 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    heh heh heh....he said "Gateway"...heh hehNow that I have that out of my system I will think of something much more intelligent to say.
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