RAPID CITY

In 1874, a flow of settlers were lured into the Black Hills by the discovery of gold. Through the gold rush, industries such as lumbering, ranching and farming began to grow.

Rapid City was founded in 1876. It's the county seat of Pennington County and is located about 30 miles from the western border of South Dakota, midway north and south, in the eastern foothills of the Black Hills. Spring-fed Rapid Creek flows through the city, paralleling the main business streets. Rapid City is the transportation center of western South Dakota. The city's elevation is about 3,240 feet above sea level.

Current estimates from the Rapid City Chamber of Commerce's Economic Development Department place Rapid City's population at approximately 62,000. The city area encompasses 30 square miles, the largest in the state. The city's 200-mile retail trade area has a total population of nearly 460,000.

The climate is semi-arid, with excellent flying conditions, moderate winters, cool summer nights and low humidity. Average temperature is 46.6 degrees with an average annual precipitation of 55.8 inches.

Local industry includes: tourism, stock raising, agriculture, meat packing, electronics, mobile home manufacturing, computer components, state fish hatchery, creameries and cement and concrete product manufacturing.

Area Culture and Background
Ellsworth AFB is a major employer in the State of South Dakota, with more than 4,500 employees. The total economic impact, in a five-county area, was nearly $298 million in fiscal year 2007. Communities within close proximity to the base are Rapid City and Box Elder.

Today, South Dakota boasts one of the nation's most stable economies. Unemployment rates are among the lowest in the country. The presence of Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse Mountain, numerous other attractions and the scenic beauty of the Black Hills make tourism a major industry— particularly in the summer months Mining, logging and agriculture also contribute to the coffers of one of the few remaining states to run at a budget surplus. Perhaps because of the long and colorful history of the area, most citizens foster a strong sense of both community and pride. Local city and town governments reflect this attitude.

The political structure of the area is designed to meet the needs of growing communities. The "good neighbor" concept, established in old West traditions, seems to be a governing principle for an area where people can still pay by check—with no identification required. City and county government is active, highly participative and addresses issues ranging from law enforcement to environmental concerns.

Cowboy boots, pickup trucks, high plains grassland and pine-covered mountains may give Rapid City a western flair and easy-going lifestyle, but living or visiting Rapid City also creates a striking atmosphere for music, art and drama. The arts are an important part of the community and are growing strong thanks to dedicated support from civic minded volunteers, educators and a government that is interested in supporting the variety that the arts can add to city life. The downtown fine arts center, city supported symphony and band as well as an active group theater, provide ample opportunity for those interested in joining or watching the arts.

The Dahl Fine Arts Center, a $600,000 gift from the late banker, A. E. Dahl and his wife, has become the hub of cultural activity. Its focal point is a 200-foot circular mural that depicts the development of America from the landing of Columbus to the space age. Famous muralist and western artist Bernard Thomas was commissioned to paint the "Cyclorama," the largest work of its kind in the Western United States. Aside from the organized activity of varied art forms in Rapid City and the Black Hills, the entire region is fast becoming home and a place of inspiration for many fine artists. The varied beauty of the Black Hills, startling openness of the prairie and its endless skyline offer countless opportunities for painters, photographers, sculptors and innovative artists of all kinds.

Education
When it comes to education, South Dakota is wired for success. South Dakota has the highest percent of high school graduates in the nation. When it comes to computers, South Dakota has the highest computer-to-student ratio. In the Black Hills, education doesn't end with high school. This region is home to two state universities, a technical institute and several private colleges.

Incoming families are encouraged to register their children in school as soon as possible. When registering children in school, parents need to provide the record of attendance and grades from previous schools, if available, and a birth certificate for kindergarten registration. Shot records are also needed when registering kindergartners.

Rapid City Area School District
The Rapid City School District, second largest in South Dakota, is dedicated to providing students equal access to an excellent educational program which results in their becoming responsible citizens who know how to learn, value life-long learning and to cope with life in a changing society. With an enrollment of 13,113 students, the district encompasses more than 419 square miles. It consists of 16 elementary, five middle schools and five high schools.

The district provides multi-faceted educational opportunities through regular and special classes and also through Community Education programs and extensive after-school co-curricular activities.

Committed to community involvement, the Rapid City Area Schools encourages phone calls or visits to any of our schools and offices. Bus transportation is available to Rapid City School District students in grades 1st through 8th who live more than 2-1/2 miles from their assigned attendance area.

Rapid City Regional Hospital
Rapid City Regional Hospital is a not-for-profit regional medical center operated in trust for the community and region by a 13-member board of trustees, who represent the local communities. The hospital is licensed for 310 acute-care and 56 psychiatric beds and is accredited by two preeminent organizations who are recognized for establishing standards that govern the delivery of quality health care services: the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations and the Commission for the Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities.

Rapid City Regional Hospital is one of Rapid City's largest employers and it is the region's major medical referral center. Serving a population base of 320,000, Rapid City Regional Hospital provides advanced health care for Western South Dakota and parts of North Dakota, Montana, Wyoming and Nebraska. The hospital's commitment to providing advanced medical services to Rapid City and the surrounding region has never been stronger.

Rapid City Regional Hospital and Black Hills Rehabilitation Hospital employ more than 2,200 people. Throughout the past several years, the hospitals have added new programs and enhanced various existing services. The Cardiovascular Surgery services, Cancer Care services, Diagnostic Imaging services, Mobile CT Scanning, Laser Surgery, Neonatal Intensive Care, Air Ambulance, Dialysis, Psychiatric and Chemical Dependency and Sleep Disorders Center and Rehabilitation Programs are some of the services offered by the hospital.

Black Hills Regional Eye Institute
The Black Hills Regional Eye Institute has been offering eye care for more than 22 years. The institute serves the surrounding five-state region, with 13 satellite clinics and a modern eye care facility in Rapid City. Experienced physicians and staff are experts in all areas of eye exams, glaucoma treatment, cataract surgery, retina and cornea, pediatric care and strabismus, oculoplastics and refractive surgery techniques to lessen the need for glasses or contact lenses.

Employment Opportunities and Procedures
Off-Duty Employment: The Airman and Family Readiness Center, located at the Rushmore Center, maintains a listing of job opportunities and provides résumé assistance. Full-Time or Part-Time Employment For Dependents: Rapid City Career Center has a vast listing of jobs which individuals may apply for. This agency offers an excellent beginning for military dependents looking for full or part-time employment. For more information about Rapid City Career Center, located at 111 New York St. in Rapid City, call (605) 394-2296.

Volunteer Positions: The Airman and Family Readiness Center at Ellsworth can provide information for individuals interested in volunteer work. For more information, call the Airman and Family Readiness Center at (605) 385-4663.

Public Transportation Airport
The Rapid City Regional Airport, located seven miles from Ellsworth, off of Highway 44, is one of the most active airports in the region. The airport has an 8,701' main runway and a 3,600' asphalt crosswind runway. Rapid City Regional Airport serves Black Hills with five commercial airlines: Allegiant Air, Frontier Airlines, Northwest Airlines, United Express and Skywest Airlines. They average more than 17 flights daily to and from the major hubs of Minneapolis, Salt Lake City and Denver. Ground transportation is provided by Airport Express Shuttle, taxi and six car rental brands. For more information, call (605) 394-4195.

Bus Depot
The Milo Barber Transportation Center (bus depot) is located at 300 Sixth St. in Rapid City. Rapid Ride provides daily bus service with routes throughout the city. For more information, call Rapid Ride at (605) 394-6631.

Law Enforcement
The Rapid City Police Department employs 106 police officers and about 33 civilians. Emergency 911 phone service is available. The routine phone number for the Rapid City Police Department is (605) 394-4133.

Driver's License
Non-residents may operate a motor vehicle in South Dakota in accordance with the general motor vehicle laws. Non-residence military personnel and dependents are exempt from South Dakota licensing requirements provided they keep their out-of-state operator's license current, properly claim legal residency in that state and the military sponsor remains on active duty. For more information, call the Department of Motor Vehicles at (605)394-2912.

Fire Department
The city is serviced by the Rapid City Fire Department. This not only includes the main station, but also seven sub-stations plus daytime employees.

Recreation
Rapid City is the gateway to the Black Hills which offer unlimited hours of recreation including sight-seeing, hiking, camping, swimming, sailing, water skiing, fishing, rock hounding, spelunking, horseback riding, hunting, downhill and cross-country skiing and snowmobiling.

The entire state of South Dakota offers excellent opportunities for the outdoor sportsman. The many rivers, lakes and streams provide habitat for bass, trout, walleye and northern pike, salmon, bluegill, perch, crappie and catfish. The fall and winter seasons offer a challenge for elk, mule and whitetail deer, American pronghorn, turkey, pheasant, quail, partridge, grouse, goose, duck, prairie chicken, dove, coyote, fox, jackrabbit, cottontail, squirrel and prairie dog. U.S. Armed Forces personnel who have been continuously stationed in South Dakota for at least 90 days immediately preceding application for a license are eligible to purchase resident licenses. License and licensing information are available from the Department of Game, Fish and Parks Licensing Office, 412 W. Missouri, Pierre, S.D., 57501; County Treasurer Offices; the Black Hills Center (on base) or other authorized agents. For more information, call (605) 733-3393.

South Dakota Air and Space Museum
The South Dakota Air and Space Museum is located outside of Ellsworth's main gate. The museum has inside exhibits and a gift shop. Aircraft and missile displays are located outside of the museum. There are more than 1,000 items in this collection which range from World War I to the present. A Minuteman II Training Launch Facility, located on base, can be viewed as part of an organized museum tour.

The museums an Air Force field museum, operated by a civil service employee and supported by the Ellsworth Heritage Foundation. The museum is open from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., seven days a week from March to the end of December, and 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., seven days a week, from mid-September to mid-May. The museum is closed on holidays. For more information or to arrange a tour, call (605) 385-5189.

City Museums
Rapid City's museums include the Dahl Fine Arts Center, Sioux Indian Museum, the Minnelusa Historical Association Museum and the Museum of Geology on the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology campus, with some of the most famous fossils in the world.

The Journey, a $12.5 million state-of-the-art museum of world-class quality and size, opened in Rapid City in 1997, climaxing decades-long efforts to make it a reality. The Journey provides a high tech trip through 2.5 billion years of Black Hills history in its 48,000 square feet of floor space, built and operated by the City of Rapid City. It incorporates the collections of four outstanding museums and a private collection into a sweeping pageant of the history and evolution of the Black Hills, both geologic and human.

Libraries
Area libraries are the Rapid City Public Library, the National College Library, National American University Learning Resource Center, Rapid City Regional Health Sciences Library, Western Dakota Technical Institute Library and the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology Library. The Douglas School System library is available to families living in the Box Elder area.

The Rapid City Public Library's collection of 112,000 volumes and more than 350 newspapers and magazines offers something to read, view or hear for a wide range of interests. Strong growth areas are in business and audio-visual materials. Its South Dakota collection includes many hard-to- find items for historical research. Specially commissioned art works add touches of interest to a spacious reading area. Also available are films, records and framed art works.

BOX ELDER

History of Box Elder
The City of Box Elder serves as the gateway to the Black Hills and has three active entrances into Ellsworth Air Force Base. In the late 1800s, the future site of Box Elder was a fertile valley, luring settlers west with untold promise. Lone Tree, a few miles east of Box Elder, was originally a stop for the covered wagons and horsemen coming to the Black Hills from Fort Pierre on the Black Hills Stage and Wagon Road. Box Elder was born as a whistle stop town in 1907 when the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad built a track from Wall to Rapid City. The new town was named after the Box Elder trees which grew along the head waters of the creek that flows through the valley. Box Elder was officially incorporated as a city in 1964 during the Cold War expansion of Ellsworth Air Force Base. Today, Box Elder is home to more than 4,000 people, in addition to the Base population, and is one of South Dakota's fastest growing cities. The City of Box Elder, nestled between EAFB and Rapid City, offers city convenience with a small town atmosphere.

Education
The City of Box Elder is home to the Douglas School District, one of the finest school systems in South Dakota. District facilities consist of the Carrousel Preschool, Badger Clark Elementary, Francis Case Elementary, Vandenberg Elementary, Douglas Middle and Douglas High Schools. The district serves approximately 2,500 kindergarten through 12th grade students. The school district provides bus transportation for all students that are not within close walking distance of the school. The district's registration and administration number is (605) 923-0000.

The Little Scholar's Preschool provides private preschool services to children 3 to 5 years old. Their contact number is (605) 923-0860.

Douglas School District
The Douglas School District consists of Badger Clark Elementary, Carrousel Preschool, Douglas High School, Douglas Middle School, Francis Case Elementary and Vandenberg Elementary. It is located in Western South Dakota on the edge of the Black Hills and serves approximately 2,400 kindergarten through 12th grade students from Box Elder, Ellsworth Air Force Base and the surrounding rural area.

Children living on Ellsworth or in the Box Elder community will attend the Douglas School System. Busing is provided to school children living on base.

Law Enforcement
The Box Elder Police Department employs eight full-time officers and twelve reserve officers. The administrative contact phone number to the Box Elder Police Department is (605) 923-1401.

Fire Department
The Box Elder Volunteer Fire Department proudly protects an area of 81 square miles. They are members of the Pennington County Fire Fighter's Association and are centrally located in the City of Box Elder at 120 Box Elder Road. The VFD contact number is (605) 923-1224. The VFD also hosts area voters, as a polling station, on Election Day.

Recreation
Box Elder offers a variety of recreational pursuits in addition to being the Gateway to the Black Hills, such as Bandit Ball Little League, a BMX bike track, Prairie Ridge Golf Course, a paint ball arena and five city parks.

Services
Box Elder has many varieties of businesses to serve your needs. For more information, contact the Box Elder Area Chamber of Commerce, which can be found online at http://beacc.com/default.aspx. Box Elder is presently working on developing a new commercial corridor along Liberty Boulevard to meet the needs of EAFB and Box Elder in the future.

LOCAL SIGHTS

Black Hills
In 1775, Standing Buffalo, an Oglala Sioux, discovered an area called Paha Sapa, meaning "mountains that are black." The Black Hills were considered the center of the universe and sacred by the Sioux Indians and an oasis in the prairie by the early settlers. Seen from a distance, the dense stands of pine and fir make the hills appear black against the western sky, hence the name. Known for the gold that lured the early explorers and prospectors, the Black Hills now lure the resident and traveler to a wealth of natural wonders, more valuable than the prospectors' gold ever was.

Within the broad confines of the Black Hills National Forest, you'll find Custer State Park, two national monuments, Wind Cave and Devil's Tower; one national park, Jewel Cave; one national memorial, Mount Rushmore; numerous sparkling lakes and hundreds of miles of beautiful hiking trails. Fifty miles to the east, carved from the eroded remains of an ancient sea floor is the Badlands National Park.