Pictured: Jason Salamun
When I was a kid, I moved to Rapid City from Texas.
I remember feeling like my life was being turned upside down. One day, we were driving through town, and I looked up and saw a dinosaur on a hill in the middle of the city. My dad asked me, “Did you see his head move?” That made me smile, and I felt so much better — like I was home. Seeing Dinosaur Park at that moment helped me a lot as a kid, and I still treasure that memory. When my kids were young, I would use that same line about the dinosaur’s head moving, and I’m sure plenty of other Rapid City dads have done the same thing with their kids.
For me, the dinosaur that overlooks our city represents a lot about our community and the Black Hills region. It’s fun, family-friendly,
and unique. We shouldn’t fight these things; we should embrace them. We’re Rapid City, and there’s no place like Rapid City.
It’s no secret that Rapid City and the rest of the Black Hills region is growing. In fact, Rapid City is the fastest growing city in the Midwest. The question that I ask myself, though, is how do we
grow and still keep what makes us special?
The true essence of what makes our community special comes down to each and every person. So the more people we can add to our community who are doing what is good, true and beautiful, the better. I hope that as you open this magazine and flip through the pages, you get a glimpse of those kinds of people who are all around us here in the Black Hills — the ones doing good, true and beautiful things.
300 Sixth Street Rapid City, SD 57701 mayorsoffice@rcgov.org