I see these plaques all over town, but I must admit I hardly ever read them.

While I was at the Festival of Cultures at the Coliseum last weekend, I sat in the grass to eat a tasty gyro and I noticed this sign.

Apparently, Sioux Falls was the divorce capital of the country at one point because the residency and divorce laws were so lax compared to other states.

You could just send in a receipt from a hotel and you were a resident. The part that totally took me by surprise was that the spouse would be notified by publication! You didn't even need the other party's consent, I guess. What a weird time.

Of course, it does note this was most convenient for the wealthy. So much for mo money, mo problems. You could just buy to make your problems go away in South Dakota back in the day.

So the moral of the story is, read this historical markers when you see them. You never know what you might learn.


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