What Is the Tallest Structure in All of South Dakota?

Sioux Falls is a rapidly growing city, at last check, the estimated population of the Sioux Falls Metro Area was now over 259,000 people.

However, even as big as Sioux Falls is becoming, we still don't have a big city skyline.

The tallest building in the city, and in all of South Dakota for that matter, is the CenturyLink Tower downtown which is only 174 feet tall. While tall, that eleven-floor office building pales in comparison to the tallest building in the United States right now, which is the One World Trade Center in New York. That monster of a skyscraper stands 1,776 feet in the air.

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One World Trade Center is a thing of beauty. Made of glass and steel it is a true testament to American engineering and truly something to behold.

While there is no exact definition of a skyscraper, they are widely considered to be structures that stand over 200 feet tall. If that is indeed true, then believe it or not, South Dakota is one of only three states in the nation not to have a true skyscraper. The other two states are Wyoming and Vermont.

That's not to say that South Dakota doesn't have some tall structures. We do. South Dakota, and Sioux Falls in particular is home to two of the largest TV towers in the entire world. Both are located east of Sioux Falls near Rowena.

Wikipedia reports the KDLT TV tower is the tallest structure in South Dakota at 1999 feet. The other is the KELO TV tower, just a little further east of Sioux Falls, that structure stands at 1985 feet according to data from Wikimapia.

Speaking of the KELO TV tower, it actually has collapsed twice in its history. The first time was back in 1968 when a North Central airliner clipped one of its guy wires that are used to help support and stabilize the tower. The plane was able to land safely, but the tower came tumbling down.

The second time it came down was in 1975. That year it collapsed during a severe winter storm. Ice buildup and high winds brought it down that year.

Even though South Dakota has two of the tallest broadcast towers in the nation, we still don't have the tallest, that record belongs to KVLY television in Blanchard, North Dakota. Their transmission tower stands 2,063 feet in the air. According to AtlasObscura, the broadcast mast is the fourth-tallest structure in the world today.

I've always had a real appreciation for the people tasked with having to change the light bulbs and do tower maintenance on these really large broadcast masts. I could never do that gig. In my opinion, climbing 2000-foot radio and television towers is a whole different level of crazy.

I used to get a little woozy when my stylist would jack up the barber chair. Back when I had some hair, mind you. Old age solved that problem.

I don't know about you, but I'll continue to stand here on Mother Earth and admire these tall structures with both of my feet planted firmly on the ground.

Source: Wikipedia/Wikimapia/Atlas Obscura