It's kinda corny...

but it's true. There is a place called the Corn Palace in Mitchell, SD. And of course, we had to stop there! Apparently the first one was built in 1892 to encourage settlers to come to the area by showing the agricultural promise of the land. Now it is quite the tourist attraction (and free!), with over 1/2 million visitors a year. They built the current Corn Palace with the community in mind, and it doubles as a venue for school graduations, shows etc. It really is neat, as the entire outside of the building is covered with murals made up from 9 different types (colours) of corn. Inside the building, they have photos showing all the buildings from 1892 to today, it was only during the depression and during the world wars that they did not change the murals. It costs the town about $100K per year to change them, but based on the number of folks coming to see it and spending money in their town, I think they have a great thing going!