Famous Siouxlanders

1. Tom Brokaw

The former anchor of “NBC Nightly News,” Tom Brokaw was born in Webster, S.D., on Feb. 6, 1940. The USD grad got his start as a disc jockey in Yankton, S.D.. His first TV job was at KTIV in Sioux City which led him to KMTV in Omaha and eventually to NBC. He anchored NBC News' Today from 1976-1982 and was sole anchor of “NBC Nightly News “ from 1983-2004. He continues to work on TV specials and has written several books, including “The Greatest Generation.”

2. Janet Dailey

The author of numerous romance novels, Janet (Haradon) Dailey was born May, 21, 1944 in Storm Lake, Iowa. Her first book, a Harlequin romance, instigated by a challenge from her husband Bill, was published in 1976. By 1996, she was ranked the third largest-selling female author in the world. Her novels have been translated into 19 languages and have sold more than 300 million copies worldwide. She lives in Branson, Mo.

3. Bud Day

Sioux City's greatest living hero, Col. George “Bud” Day was born on Feb. 24, 1925, in Sioux City. On Day's 67th raid as an Air Force fighter pilot, his jet was shot down over North Vietnam. He was taken to the infamous Hanoi Hilton where he shared a cell with John McCain. Day, who picked up a law degree from USD between service in World War II and Korea, earned every available combat medal in the Vietnam War. He lives in Florida as a prominent Republican activist.

4. Kirk Hinrich

An NBA basketball player with the Washington Wizards, Kirk Hinrich was born in Sioux City on Jan. 2, 1981. He was a star player at Sioux City West High School and Kansas University. He led the Wolverines to the state title in 1999 and helped lead the Jayhawks twice to the Final Four. He was selected in the first round of the NBA draft in 2003 by the Chicago Bulls where he earned the nickname “Captain Kirk.” He transferred to Washington this year.

5. Ryan Kisor

A jazz trumpeter, Ryan Kisor was born in Sioux City on April 12, 1983. He learned the trumpet from his father Lary Kisor and started playing in bands at age 10. He has played with the Mingus Big Band and the Michael Camilo Big Band, with Gerry Mulligan, Wynton Marsalis, Wycliffe Gordon, Horace Silver and Walter Blanding. Since 1994, he has been a member of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and has released many albums as a musician and bandleader.

6. Marian Rees

An award-winning TV film producer, Marian Rees was born on Oct. 31, 1927, in Le Mars, Iowa. She started as a receptionist at NBC in Hollywood, then worked her way up to producer status, her big break coming as associate producer of “An Evening with Fred Astaire” in 1959. Other production successes include “The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman,” “Orphan Train” and “The Marva Collins Story,” the first of six Hallmark Hall of Fame presentations.

7. Robert Schuller

Called the world's most upbeat televangelist, Robert Schuller was born Sept. 16, 1926, near Alton, Iowa. He moved to California where he built his mega-church, the $20 million “Crystal Cathedral” from which his TV show, “The Hour of Power,” was broadcast internationally. The Crystal Cathedral had more than 10,000 members at its peak. He retired this year as principal pastor to become chairman of the church's board of directors.

8. Thomas Starzl

A physician and researcher who performed the first human liver transplants and has been called “the father of modern transplantation,” Thomas E. Starzl was born March 11, 1926, in Le Mars, Iowa. His research in chimerism, the coexistence of donor and recipient cells, led to significant contributions in the understanding of transplant immunology. He retired in 1990 and wrote his autobiography, “The Puzzle People.” He lives in Pittsburgh.

9. Ted Waitt

The founder with his brother Norman and Mike Hammond of Gateway 2000, Ted Waitt was born in Sioux City on Jan. 18, 1963. The computer company, started in 1985, grew to be an industry behemoth at its North Sioux City campus during the dot.com era, making Waitt a billionaire and listed by Forbes Magazine as one of the 40 wealthiest self-made Americans under the age of 40. He later moved Gateway headquarters to California and it was sold.

10. Andy Williams

A pop singer who had his own TV variety show from 1962-1971, Andy Williams was born in Wall Lake, Iowa, on Dec. 3, 1927. During the 1960s, he was one of the country's most popular vocalists, with hit songs like “Moon River, “Can't Get Used to Losing You” and “Days of Wine and Roses.” Williams has recorded 18 Gold and three Platinum albums. He owns his own theater, the Moon River Theatre, in Branson, Mo. His was the first non-country act to open in Branson.

BONUS: SIOUXLANDERS IN THE NFL

Vern Den Herder, Adam Timmerman, Matt Chatham and Kyle Vanden Bosch

NFL football players, Den Herder was born Nov. 28, 1948, in Le Mars, Iowa; Timmerman, Aug. 14, 1971, in Cherokee, Iowa; Chatham, June 28, 1977, in Newton, Iowa; and Vanden Bosch, Nov. 17, 1978, in Larchwood, Iowa. Den Herder, of Sioux Center High and Central College, earned two Super Bowl rings with the Miami Dolphins for whom he played from 1971-1982.Timmerman, of Cherokee Washington High and South Dakota State, played for the Green Bay Packers and St. Louis Rams between 1995-2006. He went to four Super Bowls, winning one with each team before retiring after the 2007 season. Chatham, of Sioux City North High and the University of South Dakota, played for the New England Patriots and New York Jets and was instrumental in the Patriots' three Super Bowl victories. Vanden Bosch, of West Lyon High School and the University of Nebraska, played for the Arizona Cardinals and Tennessee Titans before the Pro Bowler joined the Detroit Lions this year.