Tag: Municipal government
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South Dakota Got Ahead of This. Here’s What it Means for Data Centers in Rapid City
Editor’s note: This is a developing story. The Rapid City Sentinel will update this report as the Sequitor Edge land transaction closes, city building permits are filed, and additional records become available. Corrections or new information can be sent to the Sentinel directly. Rapid City is about to get its first data center. The facility…
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The Snowball Effect: How a Bowl of Soup Can Help Your Neighbors in Rapid City
The anatomy of a financial crisis rarely starts with a single, massive catastrophe. More often, it’s the quiet pile-up of everyday setbacks. A flat tire, an unexpected repair, a surprise medical bill — suddenly, the monthly utility payment gets pushed off. Shannon Truax, Admin Operations Manager for the Rapid City Public Works Department, sees this…
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When A 9,000 Pound Spinning Boulder gets Tagged, Rapid City Shows Up
There’s a rock in Memorial Park that spins. Not metaphorically. Rockspinner 6 — an 11-foot-tall, 9,000-pound slab of granite from Stone Mountain, Georgia — is mounted on a bearing-filled base and will actually rotate if you push it. It took three people and a crane to place it on the Promenade at Memorial Park. Sculptor…
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Where was the Box Elder Representation when the MPO Voted to Put a Railyard There?
On April 16, with the majority of its members not in attendance, the Rapid City Area Metropolitan Planning Organization’s Technical and Citizens Committee unanimously approved a 267-page study recommending that the RCP&E railyard be relocated to Box Elder. The mayor of Box Elder was not present. Neither was the City of Box Elder’s planning department.…
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The Tracks to Innovation Run Deeper Than Imagined in Rapid City
If you stand on the sidewalk outside Red Wing Shoes on West Main and look south across the street, you’ll see the historic spine of Rapid City: a maze of old industrial brick, an active freight line, and a whole lot of untouchable dirt. It’s a neighborhood where 19th-century railroad laws still dictate 21st-century reality.…
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Look Up: Rapid City Celebrates Dark Sky Week Through April 20th
There is something worth stepping outside for this week. The Proclamation Mayor Jason Salamun has officially proclaimed April 13-20 as Dark Sky Week in Rapid City, joining the International Dark Sky Association’s global celebration of the night sky and the growing movement to reduce light pollution in communities across the country. The proclamation is more…
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The Lost Art of the Break OR Why You Should Probably Just Get Backyard Chickens
As I watched the grass emerge while the ice rink was dismantled at Main Street Square yesterday, feeling entirely burnt out by the local political noise, I found myself genuinely considering the city’s latest legislative push: the backyard chicken. I stood there watching the city un-winter itself and thought, ‘Yes. A chicken. The perfect, unbothered…
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Moving to Rapid City? How to Avoid Shenanigans and Navigate your New Home Town
Rapid City is a “Constitutional Carry” state where the cat needs a license and the horse needs a passport. If you’re moving here from out of state, your lack of information could cost you thousands in your first week. Here is your shield. I. The Vehicle Gauntlet ( The first 90 Days) II. Apartment Defense…
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Rapid’s New Rides: Delivering Comfort and Dignity to the Daily Commute
Arriving early for the ribbon cutting ceremony I took a seat in the sun, expecting a crowd. After all, Rapid City is a booming town, and infrastructure news usually draws a few people. Instead, the sidewalk was mostly quiet. A haggard mother walked by, pushing a stroller and wrangling four other children—two little girls dancing…