Rapid City

Rapid City Thrillers

The Rapid City Thrillers were a professional basketball club based in Rapid City, South Dakota that competed in the Continental Basketball Association beginning in the 1987 season. One of the many notable players of the team was Keith Smart, who had previously played for the 1987 NCAA basketball champion Indiana Hoosiers team.

The Thrillers had some very notable head coaches in its time. First Bill Musselman coached the team to three consecutive CBA titles during the 1980s. Bill would go on to be one of the winningest coaches in CBA history before moving to the NBA as coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves. Flip Saunders coached the Thrillers for a season and is now current head coach of the NBA's Detroit Pistons. Keith Fowler coached the team during one of their only losing seasons. Eric Musselman (son of Bill Musselman) coached the team successfully for seven years but was never fortunate enough to bring the championship back to the franchise although the team was runner-up three separate times during its existence.

This team traced its history back to the Tampa Bay Thrillers of the Continental Basketball Association, which moved to Rapid City in 1987 because of lack of attendance. After ten seasons in Rapid City and by a move that some say ruined professional basketball in the Black Hills, the team moved to West Palm Beach where they became the Florida Beach Dogs. The Beach Dogs lasted only two seasons folding after losing the championship series to the Oklahoma City Cavalry.

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Rapid City, South Dakota

Rapid City is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of South Dakota, and the county seat of Pennington County. Named after the Rapid Creek on which the city is established, it is set against the eastern slope of the Black Hills mountain range. Rapid City had a population of 59,607 at the 2000 census. Rapid City is known as the "Gateway to the Black Hills" and the "Star of the West". The city is divided by a mountain range that splits the western and eastern parts of the city into two.

Rapid City is located at 44°04′34″N 103°13′42″W / 44.076188°N 103.228299°W / 44.076188; -103.228299. The downtown elevation of Rapid City is 3,202 feet (976 m) and Rapid City sits in the shadow of Harney Peak; which at 7,242 feet (2,207 m), is the highest point east of the Rocky Mountains.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 44.7 sq mi (115.7 km²). 44.6 sq mi (115.5 km²) of it is land and 0.1 sq mi (0.2 km²) of it (0.13%) is water.

Rapid City has been assigned the ZIP code range 57701-57709 and the FIPS place code 52980.

Rapid City is located on the eastern edge of the Black Hills, and is split in half by the Dakota Hogback. Rapid City's "Westside" is located in the Red Valley between the foothills of the Black Hills proper and the Dakota Hogback, so named for the red Spearfish formation soils and the way the valley completely circles the Black Hills. Rapid City has grown up into the foothills, with both ridges and valleys developed, especially in the last 20 years, and wildfire is a distinct threat to these residential areas, as shown by the Westberry Trails fire in 1988.

Skyline Drive follows the summits of the Dakota Hogback south from near Rapid Gap (where Rapid Creek cuts through the Hogback) to a large high plateau which forms the current south edge of Rapid City. The Central and Eastern portions of Rapid Creek lie in the wide valley of Rapid Creek outside the Hogback, which includes a number of mesas rising a hundred feet or more above the floodplain.

Rapid Creek flows through Rapid City, emerging from Dark Canyon above Canyon Lake and flowing in a large arc north of Downtown. Rapid Creek descends to the southeast as the valley widens. The floodplain of Rapid Creek is mostly a series of parks, arboretums, and bike trails, one legacy of the Black Hills Flood of 1972. To the north, a series of ridges separates Rapid Creek from Box Elder Creek, with large older and new residential areas and commercial areas along I-90. To the south, the terrain rises more steeply to the southern widening of the Dakota Hogback into a plateau dividing the Rapid Creek drainage from Spring Creek.

Rapid City's location makes the city's climate unlike both the higher elevations of the Black Hills and the Great Plains to the east. It is characterized by long arid summers and long dry winters, with short but distinct spring and autumn seasons.

January and February are the coldest months of winter. Daytime temperatures average in the 30s, but Chinook winds can warm temperatures into the 50s and 60s. Occasional intrusions of Arctic air are short-lived and temperature inversions sometimes produce warmer conditions in the Black Hills. Low temperatures average from 10 to 20 degrees above zero. Below zero readings are not uncommon in the higher valleys of the Black Hills. Rapid City frequently has inversions during this period, which can trap air pollutants, but also provides periods of "unseasonably" warm temperatures. Average monthly snowfall ranges from five inches in Rapid City to 15 inches (380 mm) in the Black Hills. The snow on the plains and Rapid City usually melts within a few days.

March and April is Rapid City's snow season and while temperatures are still cool enough in the higher elevations to retain the snow cover, Rapid City will rarely see snow on the ground for more than a week at a time. Normal highs are in the 40s and lows are in the 20s. Normal snowfall for the Black Hills is 10 to 20 inches (510 mm) in the north and five to 10 inches (250 mm) in the south. Average daytime temperatures are in the 50s with lows in the 20s and 30s.

May and June weather is mild and precipitation changes from rain showers to thunderstorms. Storms typically develop over the Black Hills during the afternoon and move onto the plains in the evening. However, Rapid City still sees an average of 20 clear to partly cloudy days and 65 percent of its possible sunshine in June. This is the traditional "flood" season for Rapid and other creeks in the Eastern Hills. Temperatures warm rapidly as summer approaches. Daytime highs average in the 60s during May and 70s during June. Overnight temperatures are still chilly, especially in Black Hills, where May minimums are in the 30s and 40s. Lows are typically in the 40s and 50s during June.

Summer in Rapid City is hot, dry, and sunny. July and August are the warmest months of the year, when daytime temperatures climb into the 70s and 80s--and sometimes 90s and occasionally to over 100. Breezy winds and low humidity levels help make the hot days noticeably comfortable. Rapid City records an average of 9 thunderstorm days in August, but only 1.67 inches (42 mm) of rain. Rapid City receives 75 percent of its possible sunshine. Because the elevation of the Black Hills are between 4000 and 8,000 feet (2,400 m), the sun is very intense.

Sunny, mild days and cool nights are characteristic of September and October weather. Temperatures begin to cool around Labor Day, with September highs averaging in the 60s and 70s, falling into the 50s and 60s in October. Lows drop from the 30s and 40s into the 20s and 30s. The average first freeze in Rapid City is October 4 and late August through September in the Black Hills. The Rapid City area’s first snowfall is usually in October, although higher elevations sometimes receive significant snow in September. Occasional cold fronts moving through the area bring blustery northwest winds.

November and December mark the beginning of winter in the Black Hills. Despite cooler temperatures and more snow; the area still has many mild, sunny days. By December, daytime temperatures are in the 30s with nighttime readings in the teens and sometimes below zero in the Black Hills. Storms early in the season produce heavy, wet snow. As the winter progresses, storm tracks from the northwest bring drier snow. Rapid City’s chances for a "White Christmas" (defined as having inch or more of snow on the ground) averages about 50 percent.

Rapid City holds two weather records — fastest temperature rise of 49 °F (27 °C) in 2 minutes on January 22, 1943 and fastest temperature drop of 47 °F (26 °C) in 5 minutes on January 10, 1911.

As of the census of 2000, there were 59,607 people, 23,969 households, and 15,220 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,336.7 people per square mile (516.1/km²). There were 25,096 housing units at an average density of 562.8/sq mi (217.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 84.33% White, 0.97% African American, 10.14% Native American, 1.00% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 0.73% from other races, and 2.77% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.77% of the population.

There were 23,969 households out of which 31.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.7% were married couples living together, 12.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.5% were non-families. 29.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 2.96.

In the city the population was spread out with 25.3% under the age of 18, 11.8% from 18 to 24, 28.7% from 25 to 44, 20.9% from 45 to 64, and 13.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 96.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $35,978, and the median income for a family was $44,818. Males had a median income of $30,985 versus $21,913 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,445. About 9.4% of families and 12.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.6% of those under age 18 and 6.9% of those age 65 or over.

The public discovery of gold in 1874 by the Custer Expedition brought a mass influx of settlers into the Black Hills region of South Dakota. Rapid City was founded (and originally known as "Hay Camp") in 1876 by a group of disappointed miners, who promoted their new city as the "Gateway to the Black Hills." John Brennan and Samuel Scott, with a small group of men, laid out the site of the present Rapid City, in February 1876, which was named for the spring-fed Rapid Creek that flows through it. A square mile was measured off and the six blocks in the center were designated as a business section. Committees were appointed to bring in prospective merchants and their families to locate in the new settlement. The city soon began selling supplies to miners and pioneers, and its location on the edge of the Plains and Hills, with a large river valley made it the natural hub of railroads arriving in the late 1880s from both the south and east. By 1900, Rapid City had survived a boom and bust and was establishing itself as an important regional trade center for the upper midwest.

Although the Black Hills became a popular tourist destination in the late 1890s, it was a combination of local boosterism, the popularity of the automobile, and construction of improved highways that brought tourists to the Black Hills in large numbers after World War I. Gutzon Borglum, already a famous sculptor, began work on Mount Rushmore in 1927, and his son, Lincoln Borglum continued the carving of the presidents' faces in rock following his father's death in 1941, but work was halted and the massive sculpture was declared completed in 1941, due to pressures leading to the US entry into World War II. Although tourism sustained the city throughout the Great Depression of the 1930s, the gas rationing of World War II had a devastating effect on the tourist industry in the town, but this was more than made up for by the war-related growth.

The city benefited greatly from the opening of Rapid City Army Air Base, later Ellsworth Air Force Base, an Army Air Corps training base. As a result, the population of the area nearly doubled between 1940 and 1948, from almost 14,000 to nearly 27,000 people. Military families and civilian personnel soon took every available living space in town, and mobile parks proliferated. Rapid City businesses profited from the military payroll. During the Cold War, missile installations proliferated in the area: a series of Nike Air Defense sites were constructed around Ellsworth in the 1950s. In the early 60s the construction of three Titan (rocket family) missile launch sites containing a total of nine Titan I missiles in the general vicinity of Rapid City took place. Beginning in November 1963, the land for a hundred miles east, northeast and northwest of the city was dotted with 150 Minuteman missile silos and 15 launch command centers, all of which were deactivated in the early 1990s.

In 1949, city officials envisioned the city as a retail and wholesale trade center for the region and designed a plan for growth that focused on a civic center, more downtown parking places, new schools, and paved streets. A construction boom continued into the 1950s. Growth slowed in the 1960s, but the worst natural disaster in South Dakota history, the Black Hills Flood led to another building boom a decade later. On June 9, 1972, heavy rains caused massive flooding of the Rapid Creek. More than 250 people lost their lives and more than $100 million in property was destroyed.

The devastation of the flood and the outpouring of private donations and millions of dollars in federal aid led to the completion of one big part of the 1949 plan: clearing the area along the Rapid Creek and making it a public park. New homes and businesses were constructed to replace those that had been destroyed. Rushmore Plaza Civic Center and a new Central High School were built in part of the area that had been cleared. The new Central High School opened in 1978, with the graduating class in that year straddling both the original Central (housed in what is now Dakota Middle School) and the new Central. The rebuilding in part insulated Rapid City from the drop in automotive tourism caused by the Oil Embargo in 1974, but tourism was depressed for most of a decade. In 1978, Rushmore Mall was built on the north edge of the city, adding to the city's position as a retail shopping center.

In the 1980s, growth was fueled by an increase in tourism, increasingly tied to the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, followed by another decline in the late 1990s. Fears for the closure of Ellsworth AFB as part of the massive base closure process in the 1990s and 2000s led to attempts to expand other sectors of the economy, but growth continued and the city expanded significantly during this period.

Today, Rapid City is South Dakota's primary city for tourism and recreation. Urban flight from neighboring towns has greatly benefited the growth of Rapid City and the city continues to expand both commercially and residentially. With the approval of a Deep Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory at the Homestake Mine site, Rapid City has a future of great advancements in technology, medicine, and scientific research.

On June 9-10, 1972, extremely heavy rains over the eastern Black Hills of South Dakota produced record floods on Rapid Creek and other streams in the area. Nearly 15 inches (380 mm) of rain fell in about 6 hours near Nemo, and more than 10 inches (250 mm) of rain fell over an area of 60 square miles (160 km2). According to the Red Cross, the resulting peak floods (which occurred after dark) left 238 people dead and 3,057 people injured. In addition to the human tragedy, total damage was estimated in excess of $160 million (about $664 million in 2002 dollars), which included 1,335 homes and 5,000 automobiles that were destroyed. Runoff from this storm produced record floods (highest peak flows recorded) along Battle, Spring, Rapid, and Box Elder Creeks. Smaller floods also occurred along Elk Creek and Bear Butte Creek. Canyon Lake Dam, on the west side of Rapid City, broke the night of the flood, unleashing a wall of water down the creek. The 1972's flooding has an estimated recurrence interval of 500 years.(Burr and Korkow, 1996), which means that a flood of this magnitude will occur on average once every 500 years. Every year there is a 0.2 percent chance (1 in 500) of experiencing a similar event. To prevent a similar tragedy from occurring in the future, the city's flood plain is no longer allowed to be built upon. Today the flood plain features golf courses, parks, sports arenas, and arboretums where neighborhoods and businesses once stood.

In 2007, the Rapid City Public Library created a 1972 Flood digital archive that collects survivors' stories, photos and news accounts of the flood. The Journey Museum has an interactive display on the 1972 flood which is an on going project to give future generations the best idea of how the people were affected and the changes made to it because of the loss of 237 lives. It will in the future include the biographies of all of those who died so they will be remembered as more than names on a memorial.

Rapid City is a major medical care center for a five-state region, centered around the Rapid City Regional Hospital and the Indian Health Service's Sioux San Hospital. Other smaller, independent medical facilities have been established in the area, including the Black Hills Surgery Center, The Heart Doctors, The Spine Center at Rapid City, Setliff Sinus Institute, Black Hills Eye Institute, and Regional Behavioral Healthcare. Two Veterans Affairs hospitals are located nearby at Fort Meade, and Hot Springs.

Rapid City institutions of higher education include the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, Oglala Lakota College - Paha Sapa, National American University, Western Dakota Technical Institute, and several small sectarian preacher training schools. Black Hills State University is located in nearby Spearfish, and offers several classes both in Rapid City and at Ellsworth Air Force Base. The South Dakota state nurse training program is also based in Rapid City. There are two public high schools in the city, Central High School and Stevens High School. The city also has several alternative academies; Jefferson Academy and Odyssey Academy, and at least two Christian high schools including Saint Thomas More and Rapid City Christian High School.

The local public schools fall under the Rapid City Area Schools school district. There are two major high schools within the district. They are Central High School and Stevens High School. The middle schools include Dakota Middle School, North Middle School, South Middle School, Southwest Middle School, and West Middle School. There are 16 elementary schools within the district. These are Black Hawk, Canyon Lake, Corral Drive, General Beadle, Grandview, Horace Mann, Kibben Kuster, Knollwood Heights, Meadowbrook, Pinedale, Rapid Valley, Robbinsdale, South Canyon, South Park, Valley View, and Woodrow Wilson.

Rapid City also has a large amount of public sculpture on display in many parts of the city. The most visible of this art is the "Parade of Presidents" - a series of lifesize statues of all past American presidents placed on street corners in the downtown area, with an interpretive center. These statues were erected by public subscription over a ten-year period between 1997 and 2007.

Rapid City's economy is diverse, but has only a moderate amount of industry. Heavy and medium industrial activities include a Portland cement plant (constructed and owned for 84 years by the State of South Dakota and sold in 2003 to GCC, a Mexican-based conglomerate), a chipboard manufacturing plant owned by Merillat Industries, Black Hills Ammunition an ammunition and reloading supplies manufacturing company, several custom sawmills, a lime plant, a computer peripheral component manufacturing plant, and several farm and ranch equipment manufacturers. Of particular note, Rapid City is the center for the manufacture of Black Hills Gold, a popular product with tourists and Westerners in general. Rapid City is also the location of the only manufacturer of stamping machines used for the labeling of plywood and chipboard products.

Although most gold mining has ceased in the Black Hills and was never done in or near Rapid City, mining of sand and gravel, as well as the raw materials for lime and Portland cement (including chemical-grade limestone, taconite iron ore, and gypsum, remains an important part of the economy.

The largest sector of the Rapid City economy is government services, including local, state, and federal. Major employers include Ellsworth Air Force Base, home of the 28th Bomb Wing flying the B-1B long-range bomber; the Army National Guard based at Camp Rapid and hosting annual exercises in the Black Hills drawing troops from five to ten states; and various federal agencies including the National Park Service, US Forest Service, and Indian Health Service.

The Rapid City Regional Hospital Healthcare System covers one of the largest expansions of territory in the United States. The health care sector employs over 8,000 persons in the Rapid City area.

Tourism is also a major portion of the Rapid City economy, due to the proximity of Mount Rushmore, Sturgis, home of the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, Deadwood, and other attractions in the Black Hills. Rapid City is the major source of services for the Motorcycle Rally, and the Rally's demand for motel rooms, camp sites, and other services for tourists during the first week of August means that Rapid City has the capacity to host large conventions and large numbers of tourists year-round. Various minor tourist attractions, including wildlife parks, specialty shops, caves, water parks, private museums, and other businesses are found in and near Rapid City.

Other economic sectors include financial service and investing companies such as Waddell and Reed, Citibank, WaMu, Merrill Lynch, and Northwestern Mutual. Rapid City is the headquarters for Assurant Insurance's pre-need division and Rapid City has a strong medical services sector, and institutions of higher education. Rapid City is also the major market town for much of five states, drawing commerce from more than half of South Dakota, and large portions of North Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, and the Nebraska Panhandle.

Rapid City is a major transportation hub for the Northern Plains. Rapid City Regional Airport provides flights to the airline hub cities of Denver, Minneapolis, Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, Phoenix/Mesa and Chicago. The airport also has extensive General Aviation operations, including wildfire fighting activities and medical flight support to Rapid City medical facilities and Indian Health Service operations in the Dakotas.

Historically Rapid City was served by 3 Railroads, today Rapid City is served by the Dakota Minnesota & Eastern, now owned by 15,000 mile long Canadian Pacific. The DM&E serves the Northern Black Hills and heads south into Nebraska. The DM&E's lines run east to Minnesota and south through Nebraska to connect with major transcontinental railroads (Burlington Northern Santa Fe and Union Pacific).

Rapid City's central location (the geographic center of North America, is located approximately 60 miles (97 km) north) allows easy transport of products to both coasts, and trucking is a major business activity in the city. Improved connections with Denver and I-80 to the south, via the Heartland Expressway now under construction will primarily benefit local trucking.

Rapid City's location on the boundary of the Western and Eastern power grids, together with the hydroelectric plants of the Mainstem Dams on the Missouri River and the large coal fields and power plants of the Powder River Basin of Wyoming make it one of the points where the two national power grids connect with each other, allowing switching of electrical power from east to west and vice versa.

Rapid City's location on the boundary of the Western and Eastern power grids, together with the hydroelectric plants of the Mainstem Dams on the Missouri River and the large coal fields and power plants of the Powder River Basin of Wyoming make it one of the points where the two national power grids connect with each other, allowing switching of electrical power from east to west and vice versa. Rapid City has its own coal-fired power plant, but also obtains much of its power from both the Missouri dams and power stations near Gillette, Wyoming. Electrical rates are considered relatively low.

Rapid City obtains most of its water supply from Rapid Creek and the alluvial aquifers associated with the creek, owning significant water rights in Pactola Reservoir located some 15 miles (24 km) west of the city, but does also obtain water from some springs in the vicinity, and has the ability to draw water from deep formations which receive water from recharge in areas of the Black Hills where the formations come to the surface. The heavy dependence on shallow alluvial aquifers is of some concern to planners, as most suburbs of Rapid City use septic systems for domestic sewage treatment. However, water supplies remain relatively good for future growth.

The Rapid City Regional Airport operates at below maximum capacity for general aviation and commercial aviation, and is capable of handling all current commercial passenger and cargo aircraft.

Rapid City no longer has passenger rail service. Rail cargo service is limited: the Dakota, Minnesota, and Eastern provides connections to other cities in South Dakota and Minnesota, and connects to major rail service along the Mississippi River corridor, but the DM&E also connects to major transcontinental rail lines to the south, in Nebraska and Wyoming.

Rapid City has limited city-to-city bus service along I-90, but many charter bus services operate in the area, and connect Rapid City and Deadwood with cities in Colorado, Nebraska, and Iowa. Rapid City does have a municipally-owned bus service with multiple bus stops and a headquarters in the city.

The estimated 2007 population of the Rapid City Metropolitan Statistical Area (consisting of Pennington County and Meade County) was 120,279. Most cities and towns in the Black Hills and the surrounding plains have a significant percentage of their population which commute to and from Rapid City, and many residents of Rapid City work in outlying towns.

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Rapid City metropolitan area

The Rapid City Metropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of two counties in South Dakota, anchored by the city of Rapid City. As of the 2000 census, the MSA had a population of 112,818 (though a July 1, 2007 estimate placed the population at 120,279).

As of the census of 2000, there were 112,818 people, 43,446 households, and 29,978 families residing within the MSA. The racial makeup of the MSA was 87.98% White, 0.99% African American, 6.79% Native American, 0.82% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 0.67% from other races, and 2.69% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.53% of the population.

The median income for a household in the MSA was $37,239, and the median income for a family was $42,667. Males had a median income of $28,590 versus $21,029 for females. The per capita income for the MSA was $18,309.

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Rapid City Public Library

The Rapid City Public Library is the system of public libraries in Rapid City, South Dakota. It is comprised of two locations, the downtown branch at 610 Quincy Street, and the North location at 10 Van Buren St. The library offers standard services at no charge for citizens of Rapid City and all residents of Pennington County.

Library services were first offered in Rapid City beginning in 1879, when a volunteer reading room was organized by community women with $45, donated books and periodicals, and a free subscription to the Minneapolis Journal. In an 1881 charter by the territorial government, the Rapid City Library Association built Library Hall on the corner of 6th and Kansas City Streets on donated land. In 1915, the city began building a Carnegie library building located on the corner of Kansas City and 6th streets in downtown Rapid City, and in 1917 the library collection moved there. The collection eventually outgrew the space, and in 1972 a new building was opened at 610 Quincy St. In 2002, the library added an expansion to house the Juvenile and Young adult collections, as well as provide a covered parking space. In 2008, the Rapid City Public Library opened its first satellite location at 10 Van Buren Street as part of the new General Beadle community center, housing a public elementary school and community hall.

The Rapid City main library is a 47,000 ft² (22,300 m²) two-story tall building in Rapid City's downtown area. The library has a collection of over 147,000 materials as well as subscriptions to over 40 newspapers and magazines and 53 internet capable computers. Both branches offer free wifi access. The downtown branch also offers a full service coffee shop, open from 9am to 6pm. Recently, the Downtown branch was named by Nancy Pearl as one of "10 Great Places to Find a Nook and Read a Book", and printed in USA Today.

The Rapid City Public Library also hosts a digital archive of online resources pertaining to the 1972 Black Hills Flood. In addition to the Flood archive, The library also hosts a wiki collecting information about the Deep Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory in Lead, SD.

The RCPL-North location is unique in that during the day, it is used as a school library and closed to the public. When school is not in session, the library assumes public library status and is open and available to the population.

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