Keep Your Word

That’s what we are telling the Rapid City Common Council. You can add your voice by signing this petition, by attending Monday’s meeting and speaking out during general comments, or by writing, calling, or emailing your member of the council. Council members John Roberts, Steve Laurenti, and Darla Drew Lerdahl believe the council should honor the agreement to take out … Read More

Balderdash and Nonsense

Claims and counter claims about who said what regarding the 8th Street tennis court are making our heads spin. Perhaps the most egregious is the colloquy between a member of the Rapid City Common Council and the Director of the Department of Parks and Recreation at last week’s council meeting (July 21, 2014), in a vain attempt to establish some … Read More

Death by incremental asphalt

Just a little here, a little there. It’s for a good cause, you know. And that is how Rapid City will destroy the Memorial Greenway. The latest incursion on the park that was designated to honor those who died in the 1972 Black Hils Flood, and to create green, natural boundaries along Rapid Creek that serve as flood prevention, public … Read More

Vote on Tuesday!

Seven of the 10 contenders for seats on the Rapid City Council fielded questions about parks and told an audience in the Dahl Cyclorama last week why they wanted the job. Moderator Terry Mayes kept the conversation at a fast-moving pace, insuring that candidates never knew who was going to start the next round, adding fun and informality to the … Read More

What’s the flap about the tennis courts?

The problem is that this “solution” cuts out a public process called for by state law: namely a vote of the people to decide whether stewards of public land can give it away to private interests who can afford to throw considerable money on the table.

Friends Documents Promise to Return Eighth Street Tennis Court to Greenway

8 April 2014 Terry Wolterstorff, P.E. Director Department of Public Works City of Rapid City By E-mail (with 5 attachments) Dear Mr. Wolterstorff: Please accept our apology for the delay in providing you the attached background information on prior events and circumstances related to the tennis courts at Eighth Street. We incorrectly assumed that the notion of using the Memorial … Read More

Comprehensive Plan Draft Features Value and Contribution of Parks

After nine months of documentation, background research, public meetings, drafts and revisions, the final product of the Rapid City Comprehensive Plan update is on its way to decision makers. An important guiding tool such as this would usually be kept up to date every five to 10 years, but aside from some subsections, our city’s plan has not been refreshed … Read More

Candidates praise parks, criticize how opponents manage them

In a sometimes intense and acrimonious exchange of views over issues as varied as low income housing, government accountability, and city infrastructure, candidates for mayor and city council took the opportunity to talk about Rapid City’s parks, including the potential for including requirements for park land and open space in a new comprehensive plan that will guide the city’s growth. … Read More

Questions Submitted to Candidates by Friends of Rapid City Parks

Studies have shown that parkland increases values for adjacent property by 20 percent. Even more studies have shown that people will trade off income for quality of life, and that open space is the number one consideration for small, hi-tech companies looking to relocate. At a public forum last year, a panel of local and national experts on parks and … Read More

Go out and play!

Not every student is able to participate in school sports programs, but studies tell us that outdoor play and exercise help not only with physical health, but creativity, teamwork, and other skills. This is an argument made in support of team sports. But not all students get picked for organized sports, or even want to try out for teams. How … Read More