One Book Siouxland
The 2025 One Book Siouxland selection is...
True Crime
Upcoming Events
Vanished in Vermillion Author Talk
Celebrate a great month of One Book programming by hearing our featured author, Lou Raguse, speak about his book Vanished In Vermillion. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Author talk will begin at 7 p.m with a presentation by Lou Raguse, followed by a Q&A with moderator Natasha from the Talkin' with Tasha Podcast, and questions from the audience. The author will be available to sign books after the talk. Books will be available for purchase at the event. Registration required. For adults aged 18 and older.
Thursday, April 24, 7-8:30 p.m.
Sioux Falls Convention Center, Meeting Rooms 11-14
Registration is required.
About the Book
Vanished in Vermillion unravels a 50-year-old cold case in Vermillion, South Dakota. The story chronicles the 1971 disappearances of Pam Jackson and Sherri Miller, two 17-year-olds from Vermillion. Author Lou Raguse extensively covered the case for the KELOLAND News from 2005 to 2008. The result of hundreds of interviews, Raguse’s book flips the script on typical investigation stories, revealing the intricate details of the mystery that has haunted South Dakota for half a century.
About the Author
Lou Raguse is a journalist based in Minnesota specializing in crime and courts. Since 2005, he’s reported for local NBC, CBS, and FOX affiliates in Minnesota, New York, Arizona, and South Dakota.
Early in his career, Raguse developed a niche for crime reporting and has covered national cases such as the murder of George Floyd and the resulting trials, the shooting of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, and the kidnapping and escape of thirteen-year-old Jayme Closs.
Besides countless regional Emmys and other broadcast news awards, Raguse produced an eight-part podcast on the Closs case, 88 Days: The Jayme Closs Story, which won an Edward R. Murrow award and was a top-ten performer on the iTunes podcast charts.
Outside of work, Raguse loves backyard barbeques with his family, playing fantasy football, and hunting down vintage Star Wars toys for his two kids.
2024 Don't Look Back - Achut Deng
Don't Look Back recounts Achut Deng’s story of escaping civil war in South Sudan, living in a Kenyan refugee camp, and coming to America. Deng faced loss, pain, and challenges during her journey. But, taught by the strong women in her life not to look back, Achut kept moving forward. Don't Look Back is a powerful story of hope, strength, and faith in the future.
2023 Accidental Rancher - Eliza Blue
The 2023 One Book Siouxland selection was Accidental Rancher by Eliza Blue. In Accidental Rancher, Blue shares a collection of short stories about her life on the high plains, bringing a new voice and a musician's grace to the culture of rural America.
2022 | Winter Counts - David Heska Wanbli Weiden
The 2022 One Book Siouxland selection was David Heska Wanbli Weiden's award winning Winter Counts, a thriller set in and around South Dakota’s Rosebud Indian Reservation. It features complex characters, believable conflicts, and an urgent message about Native culture, as well as the inequities in education opportunities and criminal justice.
2020 | The Great Alone - Kristin Hannah
The 2020 One Book Siouxland selection was Kristin Hannah's bestselling The Great Alone, a gripping portrayal of a family seeking a fresh beginning in Alaska in the 1970s.
2019 | Prairie Fires - Caroline Fraser
In 2019, participants read Caroline Fraser's Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder. Prairie Fires won the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Biography, the National Book Critics Circle Award for Biography, as well as being named to New York Times' "10 Best Books of the Year."
2018 | A Man Called Ove - Fredrik Backman
In 2018, One Book Siouxland participants read Fredrik Backman's best-selling book, A Man Called Ove. Library staff, in partnership with local library users, selected this story because of its theme--"people can change, even if they are set in their ways"--as well as the strong Swedish and Scandinavian heritage that is part of this region and the book.