Hits to Rapid City’s Reputation Just Keep on Coming

The contrast of the fortunes of the two biggest cities in South Dakota may currently be at its starkest. At the heart are two buildings designed to be highlight venues.

Being in Sioux Falls for the last seven years and a frequent visitor to the city may tilt my view that direction. However, recent facts and a future shift are hard to deny.

Rapid City voters just handed their city leaders a plate of humble pie by voting down an expansion plan to the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center earlier in the week. Voting commenced on the same day that Sioux Falls topped 60,000 in attendance at the Summit League Basketball Tournament at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center.

• First the Summit League, Now the Lakota Nation Invitational?

City leaders admit they could have done more to help Rapid City  people understand the

Now a story arrives from a media outlet in Chadron, Nebraska indicating that a meeting between the Lakota Nation Invitational and Sioux Falls officials is imminent. Kevin Larsen of KCSR Radio reports that the LNI may move from Rapid City to Spearfish, Sioux Falls, Bismarck or Hot Springs.

It’s no secret that race relations between the Native population and the Whites in Rapid City are tenuous at best. The worst can be summed up by the beer dumping incident at the Rapid City Rush hockey game a few weeks ago.

During an interview, Tournament Director Bryan Brewer expressed his thoughts. “I personally would like to see the tournament stay in Rapid City. I know a lot of these teams on the reservation do not have the funds to travel all the way to Rapid City for the tournament. I don’t want to totally abandon our relatives living in Rapid City area, but with the recent incidents in the city we are going to start looking at other options.”

The Black Hills is a wonder to behold. Regarding the natural setting of the place, I contend there is so much beauty it would be a shame that the LNI would consider packing up for a better experience. Let’s take a cue from this development and find ways to draw us together rather than drive an ugly wedge between cultures.