By Associated Press - Sunday, June 11, 2017

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) - A fresh paint job on a prominent Sioux City water storage tank will pay homage to a hit 1940s song that that features the city in its title.

The city plans to decorate the Singing Hills water tank with the city’s name and notes from “Sioux City Sue,” the 1945 tune by Dick Thomas and Ray Freedman, the Sioux City Journal reported (https://bit.ly/2r3mab9 ).

The tank, one of eight water storage facilities in Sioux City, sits atop a hill in Sertoma Park, where it is noticeable from Interstate 29, the Highway 75 bypass, Cone Park and Southern Hills Mall. It hasn’t been repainted since its construction in the mid-1990s and would be the first to sport a city-funded painting design.

The idea came about at the suggestion of Sioux City Council members, who wanted a distinct, yet cost-effective, design on at least one of the city’s repainted water storage tanks. The city formed a small committee to toss out ideas.

“There are water towers all over the United States, and there are always the ones that you remember where they’re at. That’s what I wanted it to be,” said Councilwoman Rhonda Capron, who came up with the idea as part of the committee.

City Manager Rick Mach, who also served on the committee, said ideas included a carousel, a fishbowl and a bubble gum dispenser, but the musical notes won over the panel.

“Sioux City Sue” is a folk song about a red-haired, blue-eyed girl named Sue who fell in love with a cattle herder as he was “passin’ through” Sioux City. Several performers, including Bing Crosby and Gene Autry, covered the song, with Autry starring in a 1946 movie of the same title.

The paint job is planned for next spring at an estimated cost of $220,000.

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Information from: Sioux City Journal, https://www.siouxcityjournal.com

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