Kiwanis

This is the name of a service club founded in 1915.

The name is supposedly from a Native American word meaning “to make oneself known,” but this is highly debated. Every source I found said “allegedly” before the definition.

There is a “Kiwanis Avenue” in Sioux Falls. I did some searching for Kiwanis as a street name, but didn’t find anything else. Perhaps that’s just specific to Sioux Falls.

Why I Looked It Up

I just always wondered.

Postscript

I was driving through Mankato, Minnesota on Highway 169 when I passed the “Kiwanis Recreation Area.” I looked it up – it’s listed under the Mankato Kiwanis page as a “Signature Project.” I assume they did the fundraising for it, and that’s why it’s named as such.