Arboretum Designed to Demo Conservation Trees and Shrubs

Editor’s Note:  This article was written at the request of the Black Hills Knowledge Network, where information on the Arboretum, its plants, and rangeland scientist Ralph Cole will be archived with other local history. On a spring day, the swath of trees north of the intersection of Mountain View Road and Jackson Boulevard is dappled by a pastel cloud of … Read More

Friends of Rapid City Parks on Civic Center Expansion

This is what Friends had to say about the proposal to expand the Civic Center by tapping the Vision Fund, also known as the 2012 Vision Fund. You can read what others had to say in this coverage of the City Council deliberations. Dear Mayor Kooiker: We would like to take this opportunity to provide views on the proposed expansion … Read More

Memorial Park Promenade first step on the path, not the final destination

Statement of Friends of Rapid City Parks to Rapid City Council, May 7, 2012. Friends was founded in 2005 to advocate for our parks.  We have more than 100 members and have mobilized up to 300 supporters on issues affecting the parks. Tonight we are speaking in support of the proposal by Destination Rapid City to create the Memorial Park … Read More

Be a Friend of Rapid City Parks

Dear Friend, I was riding my bike on the path that runs through the city last week, my mind reflecting on the wonderful revitalization of our downtown area and the preservation of our green spaces we have worked so hard to prioritize. I think you will agree with me that there is no place like Rapid City, and our outstanding … Read More

Anniversary offers chance to look forward as well as back

The 1972 Flood 40th Anniversary provides an opportunity to increase education and awareness of the source of Rapid City’s abundant park space and the need to be vigilant in preserving it. While Friends is participating with city government and other civic organizations to plan events to commemorate the flood, we also want to take the opportunity to educate citizens who … Read More

Remembering 1972

During the night of June 9, 1972 a stalled storm system dumped more than 10 inches of rain in the Rapid Creek basin—more than enough total rainfall to fill Pactola Lake 14 times before it was over. The crest of the flash flood and the debris it carried hit Canyon Lake around 10 p.m., tearing out the dam and adding … Read More

Assigning value to the priceless legacy of 1972

An internationally recognized expert on the economic value that parks bring to communities will speak at a public forum in Rapid City Thursday, April 26. The lecture begins at 7 p.m. in The Journey Museum Auditorium and is one of many public events leading up to the commemoration of the 40th Anniversary of the 1972 Flood in June. Friends of … Read More