Friends of Rapid City Parks are looking for great pictures from our park system. A high school photo contest last year produced some beautiful images of Rapid Creek and local parks. This year we are calling all photographers. The photo contest, open to the public, begins in conjunction with the walk and ends Sept. 8. There will be a public … Read More
Public Library and Journey Museum Observe 45th Flood Anniversary
Rapid City—The Rapid City Public Library and The Journey Museum will feature June events that tell the story of the 1972 Black Hills Flood. Sunday, June 4, Alexa White of Pennington County Emergency Management will talk about flood response in 1972 and today. Don Barnett, who was mayor of Rapid City in 1972, will describe the city’s actions during and … Read More
High school photographers picture our parks
As a way to reach the next generation with our message of protecting Rapid City’s parks, our intern suggested we sponsor a photo contest with prizes. We did, and we share the results with you here. A weekly winner was chosen during May based on “Likes” on our Facebook page, and a grand prize winner was selected by a group … Read More
Give the parks a little love before Valentine’s Day
The Department of Parks and Recreation is seeking public comment on proposed improvements to Founders Park North. Comments must be received by Friday, February 13. This area north of Rapid Creek, across from Founders Park, is slated for development to enhance a variety of uses, interpretation, connectivity to bike paths and trails, and improvements to vegetation. Friends of Rapid City … 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
Sustainability Advocates Break Ground for Downtown Park
City officials, sustainability advocates and donors broke ground May 6 for Trinity Eco Prayer Park, a project selected by the Green Cities Task Force as a pilot project to demonstrate sustainable practicies. The park is located at the corner of Fourth and St. Joseph Streets downtown. Trinity Eco Prayer Park will boast an innovative, thoughtful alternative energy strategy that uses … 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.
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
Omaha Street Reconstruction Planned for 2016
The Rapid Creek greenway and the creek itself may gain some benefits from planned improvements to Omaha Street from Mountain View Road to 12th Street. The main purpose of the project, outlined Monday night at a public meeting in city hall, is to upgrade the road surface, which according to project engineers, “is at the end of its useful life.” … Read More
Rapid City’s Ribbon of Green: the Million Dollar View
The value of Nature works not just for tree huggers. In this recent post on Houzz, Mitchell Parker explains why green space enhances our health, well-being, and our pocketbooks. Those who attended talks by parks and economic development expert John Crompton in Rapid City in 2012 and 2013 may recall hearing about many of the same studies. We enjoyed reading … Read More