Siouxland Families

This new cookbook from Minnesota's Amy Thielen is focused on the idea of cooking for company. Inside, she shares recipes, menus, and ideas suitable for crowds from 6-8 (which is every night for dinner for me as a mom of four) to 20+ (family holidays!) Thank you to W.W. Norton for sending a review copy so that I could check it out and let other readers and home cooks know what to expect. Who wrote Company: The Radically Casual Art of Cooking for Others ? Amy Thielen is a chef and author from Park Rapids, MN who has worked in some of Minnesota's best restaurants, and she is the author of James Beard award-winning cookbook, (affiliate links ahead:)  The New Midwestern Table and a memoir, Give a Girl A Knife . She also hosted Food Network's show Heartland Table for two seasons. What is  Company: The Radically Casual Art of Cooking for Others? This new book is a nod to Midwestern hospitality and tradition, with recipes that will work for everything from casual summe...

Every month I share some of the best things to do in Sioux City and Siouxland, from storytimes and crafts to music festivals, streaming concerts, and holidays from silly to serious. This June, you might also be interested in my guide to pools & swim lessons in Siouxland , my post about Siouxland Splash Pads , or my post about summer day camps in Siouxland . I hope this event list inspires you to go make some happy memories with your family this month!  *Now updated for June 2024* Sat 6/1 8am to 1pm: Sioux City Farmer's Market at the Tyson Events Center 9am to noon: Rivercade Kids Fishing Derby at Bacon Creek, $5 per child includes all necessary equipment, event for ages 4-12 registration required, sign up at Bomgaars or the Bacon Creek General Store 9am: Yoga in the Park at Chris Larsen Park's new Yoga Lawn, all ages welcome, FREE 9am to noon: Kids Building Workshop: Grill Gift Card  at Home Depot, FREE but  registration required to ensure kit availability...

On Saturday, May 25th, 2024, the girls of '68 are celebrating the 175th anniversary of Bruguier's Cabin, the oldest structure in Sioux City with a special ceremony at the War Eagle Monument. And you're invited! At 10am on the 25th, the Girls of '68 will lay wreaths on the graves of Chief War Eagle and Theophile Bruguier, and guest speakers will share a few words, including Steve Red Buffalo, and Jackie Warnstadt (who previously served as president of Girls of '68.) The Bruguier Cabin was built by Theophile Bruguier in 1849 and is considered the oldest building in Sioux City. He was a French-Canadian fur trader who settled in Sioux City and befriended the Yankton Sioux Chief  Wambdi Okicize  (which literally translates as "Little Eagle", but he was instead called "War Eagle" by his English-speaking contemporaries.) Bruguier went on to marry two of War Eagle's daughters, Dawn and Flaming Cloud, with whom he had a combined total of 13 children. ...

I've been working on my next book for a long time, and I'm so excited to announce that it's almost ready for you!  Drumroll ready.... Surprising I-29 Great Little Places and Local Lore Along One of America's Underappreciated Highways  by Lindsay Hindman   I can't wait to share this brand-new travel guide with you and I hope you find it really interesting and useful as you travel along I-29 this summer and beyond. I'll have a lot more info for you soon, including an official release date, but here is a peek at the cover art:  The book covers places to explore, eat, stay, and shop along I-29 from Kansas City, Missouri to Pembina, North Dakota. The attractions included are all within 29 miles of I-29 and are worth planning some extra time to visit next time you're driving along I -29. I researched extensively in museums, in newspaper archives, on social media, in phone calls and emails, and by eating some great food to make sure that the info inside...

If you don't have a bike yet, you're going to want to get one--or rent one--to check out the amazing new bike features at Sioux City's Cone Park, opening in June of 2024. Here's what families can expect at this cool new Siouxland attraction: graphic courtesy of Sioux City Parks & Rec First off, what is Cone Park? Cone Park is a city park on the west side of the same hill/property as Sertoma Park,in Sioux City's southern hills area, near the Sioux City Explorers baseball stadium. You can check out my full guide to Sioux City's Sertoma Park for more info about what's on the east side of the park, including a playground and a disc golf course. But on the west side of this area, Cone Park provides tons of family fun including a tubing hill, which is obviously awesome in winter, and recently added a summer tubing option as well. There's also a splash pad at Cone Park, and it's somewhat minimalist, which actually enables it to double as a hockey rink,...

For the best cake donuts in Siouxland--maybe the best anywhere--locals know to head to Jitters. But that's not the only reason to head there, as Jitters also serves up drinks, sandwiches, and other tasty fare. Here's what you should know about Jitters: updated in 2024 to include new location details! Where is Jitters? Jitters is open in a new location downtown at 130 Nebraska Street, in the bottom floor of the Floyd River Flats development. There is free parking in the lot in front of Jitters and around the corner. Previously Jitters was at 3rd & Virginia in downtown Sioux City just off Historic 4th Street and before that, started as a coffee shop on the northside. What does Jitters serve? Jitters started with a light breakfast and lunch menu, and still serves a small selection of wraps and sandwiches, but they're now known largely for their amazing cake donuts. But why are they so good? In 2009, Jitters acq...

Sioux City's newest eatery isn't actually new--it's just the newest iteration of a classic! Little Chicago Deli is opening in a new location just a couple doors down from the original restaurant, and they're opening on Friday May 31, 2024, for pickup orders and delivery, with the dining lobby opening later in summer 2024. Here's the info we have so far on Sioux City's new Little Chicago Deli: History of Little Chicago Deli Little Chicago Deli has been around Sioux City since 1988 as a locally owned sandwich shop, but unfortunately the previous location closed in 2017. Prior to that, I remember going there in college while I was doing an internship downtown, and I was sad to hear the original closed. But new owners, including some staff from the old Little Chicago Deli, are bringing it back in 2024! The name pays homage to local legends about Sioux City during Prohibition. For starters, Prohibition was widely ignored in Sioux City...

*updated with May 2024 events* Every month, join me in finding the best things to do in Sioux City and Siouxland, from storytimes and crafts to music festivals, streaming concerts, and holidays from silly to serious. This May, you might also be interested in my post on May Baskets , on celebrating May the Fourth , and places in Siouxland that honor veterans . I hope this event list inspires you to go make some happy memories with your family this month! Weds 5/1 May Day All Day: May Baskets at the South Sioux City Public Library 10:30am: Library Storytime at the Morningside branch of the Sioux City Public Library 3:30pm: Young Historians Club at the Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center, for high school students 3:45pm: Mother's Day handprint plate workshop at Pickled Palette 4:30pm: Tween Time  at the South Sioux City Public Library Thurs 5/2 1:30pm: Oh My Iowa! live musical performance by the Browns at their Century Theater in Le Mars 4pm: Dungeons & Donna  at the S...