Author: DawnSherine Bernard
-
AI Deepfakes and How They Are Infecting South Dakota’s Election Cycle
South Dakota law prohibits the distribution of AI-generated political video within ninety days of an election unless it carries a specific disclosure stating the content was digitally created or manipulated. With Tuesday’s Republican gubernatorial primary two days away, at least one political action committee appears to have distributed exactly that kind of content — without…
-
At the Edge of Time – Rapid City Buries a Century’s Promise at the Place it all Began
Fifty years from now, when the residents of 2076 pry open the time capsule buried Friday afternoon at the base of M Hill, they will find the usual markers of a city frozen in time: photographs, newspapers, and local artifacts. But the true weight of the ceremony wasn’t just in what was put into the…
-
How A Spearfish Political Power Struggle Helped Shape Rapid City Ordinance 6717
RAPID CITY, S.D. — When Rapid City’s Legal and Finance Committee advanced Ordinance 6717 Wednesday, the item was described simply as bringing the city’s municipal code into alignment with state law. What that alignment represents is a legal framework — rooted in an 1890 statute — that concentrates authority over appointed city officers firmly in…
-
Ward 2 Challengers Conflict Disclosure Form Left Blank, Records Show
RAPID CITY, S.D. — A challenger for Rapid City’s Ward 2 city council seat left the financial disclosure section of a required conflict of interest form entirely blank when he filed his candidacy in March, records obtained by the Rapid City Sentinel show. Christopher Vanderhoof, who faces incumbent Lindsey Seachris in Tuesday’s primary, signed the…
-
Mayor Appoints Cushman as City Attorney After Search Yields Interim
RAPID CITY, S.D. — Mayor Jason Salamun has appointed Carla Cushman as Rapid City’s next city attorney, the city announced Wednesday via social media. The Rapid City Common Council will take up the appointment at its June 1 meeting. Cushman has served as interim city attorney since April 1, when Mayor Salamun confirmed he had…
-
Ward 2 Candidates Utility Employment Raises Recurring Conflict Questions
A candidate seeking to represent Ward 2 on the Rapid City Common Council holds a full-time senior engineering position at Black Hills Energy — a utility company with active franchise agreements, infrastructure contracts, and major capital projects currently before the council — raising questions about how often state law would require him to sit out…
-
The Day Speaks For Itself : Memorial Day at Memorial Park
Sometimes you don’t need to say something profound. The day speaks for itself. It spoke through the older woman in the wheelchair, whose voice carried the weight of a Memorial Day prayer across the silent crowd. It spoke in the unexpected, impromptu moments — like Mayor Jason Salamun briefly, honestly touching on the heavy reality…
-
A City Shows Up For Itself at the Rapid City 2076 Time Capsule Community Photo
When time ceases for a moment, the present presents itself to the future. A Rapid City 150 years in the making showed up Friday for the Rapid City of 2076. Sesquicentennial proclamation Earlier this month, a mayoral proclamation officially recognized this sesquicentennial year, tracing Rapid City’s roots from an 1876 “Hay Camp” to a “resilient…
-
Tuesdays at 10: Downtown Rapid City Launches Hands-On STEAM Series This Summer
The final school bell is ringing, and parents across Rapid City are staring down the double-edged sword of summer vacation: three months of freedom, inevitably followed by choruses of “I’m bored.” If you are looking for a way to keep school-aged kids engaged, curious, and learning without breaking the bank, Downtown Rapid City is rolling…