Brookings Dedicates City Street to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

This week Brookings, South Dakota, did something no other South Dakota town has yet to do, it named one of its city streets after civil rights activist Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

On Tuesday, (February 26) Brookings became the first South Dakota city to make this historic move.

According to Dakota News Now, SDSU student Thomas Reynolds helped initiate the street name change. Reynolds came up with the idea after visiting the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, where King was assassinated in 1968.

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Reynolds told Dakota News Now, that he feels Brookings is the perfect South Dakota community to make such a move. SDSU employs people from all over the world, not to mention all the international students who attend SDSU each year.

The city of Brookings has a long-standing reputation for making everyone who visits feel welcome, and that's what makes Brookings the perfect community.

The Brookings City Council approved the street name change back in December of 2024.

Brookings's newest city street "Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Way" is located near Pioneer Park which is just south of US Highway 14 in Brookings.

Tuesday's name change makes South Dakota the 42nd state in the nation to have a city name one of its streets after the legendary civil rights leader.

Source: Dakota News Now

9 Sioux Falls Streets Visitors Have A Hard Time Pronouncing

If you are visiting or new to Sioux Falls and trying to find your way around, chances are you really don't need to pronounce street names correctly. All you have to do is enter your destination into Google Maps and your phone will show you the way.

But what if you are trying to tell someone where your cool friend or family member lives in our fine city? Some of our streets and avenues have tricky spellings that may throw visitors for a loop when trying to sound them out.

No one is going to mess up on the big thoroughfares like Minnesota Avenue, Western Avenue, or Louise Avenue but what about these?

Gallery Credit: Ben Davis

10 Smallest Towns in South Dakota

South Dakota is loaded with small towns in every corner of the state. But where are the smallest towns in the Mount Rushmore state? According to the latest census data, here are the ten smallest towns in all of South Dakota.

5 Things South Dakota Gave the World

South Dakota may not get much respect. We get a blizzard and it's a footnote on the national scene, but if Florida gets a bit chilly it's breaking news. But, maybe it's fine to be forgotten about. We kind of like being left alone on our quiet piece of the plains.

South Dakota has given a lot to the world though. Not just giant mountain carvings and settings for HBO shows, but awesome things that the rest of the world should thank us for.

Gallery Credit: Ben Kuhns

Filed Under: Brookings, South Dakota

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