South Dakota

2024 tourist season off to a great start in Rapid City

Published

3 months ago

June 18, 2024

2024 tourist season off to a great start in Rapid City

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) – Tourism plays a big part in our community and the tourist season in the Black Hills is in full swing.

Memorial Day weekend is around the time South Dakota sees an increase in tourists. Tourism is a crucial industry for western South Dakota. Black Hills & Badlands Tourism Association President Michelle Thomson knows it. She says they, as well as other tourist associations, ramp up to promote and bring in tourists during the summer season.

“We work really hard to target the correct markets and to target the correct people to bring them into this area and get them to spend as much time as possible really experiencing how wonderful this area is,” Thomson said.

According to the Economic Impact of Tourism in South Dakota, since 2020, an average of 14 million visitors traveled here and spent an average of 4.3 billion dollars. Last year, more than 57 thousand jobs were supported, and 384 million dollars in tax revenue was generated thanks to tourism alone.

Thomson says this year in the Black Hills and Badlands, things are taking off a little slower but she’s not worried.

“Research is showing that maybe we’re a little bit soft going into the summer, but it’s nothing for us to be worried about yet because we do have a lot of summer left and we always have a very strong fall travel season as well,” Thomson said.

On the other hand, CEO of Visit Rapid City Brook Kaufman says lodging is up 23% compared to last year in Rapid City.

“And then rate continues to inch up as well, so what people paid last year per a hotel room versus this year, we’re seeing a slight increase as well so really a good strong start financially to the visitor season in Rapid,” Kaufman said.

For the first time this year, Travel South Dakota developed a Head for the Hills Mobile Passport activity available to visitors looking to maximize their time in South Dakota by checking out over 40 different attractions.

“So it’s been a really fun way to promote more of what there is to see and do in the Black Hills and Badlands region. People can check that out on Travel South Dakota.com,” Thomson said.

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South Dakota

FEMA Disaster Recovery Centers in South Dakota will close soon

Published

8 hours ago

September 27, 2024

Press Room

FEMA Disaster Recovery Centers in South Dakota will close soon

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KTIV) – The FEMA Disaster Recovery Centers in Canton and North Sioux City will close in early October.

On Friday, Oct. 4 at 6 p.m., the Canton and North Sioux City locations will end operations.

Until they close, the centers will remain open Monday through Friday between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. and Saturdays from 12 p.m. until 4 p.m. The centers are closed on Sundays.

After the Disaster Recovery Centers close, assistance will still be available to residents over the phone and virtually.

Services are available through disasterassistance.gov, the FEMA Mobile App, and the disaster assistance helpline at 800-621-FEMA (3362).

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South Dakota

Rapid City welcomes South Dakota’s largest healthcare convention

Published

16 hours ago

September 27, 2024

Press Room

Rapid City welcomes South Dakota’s largest healthcare convention

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) – Healthcare workers make up a large percent of employees in South Dakota, and more than 500 of those workers made their way to The Monument for the South Dakota Association of Healthcare Organizations’ (SDAHO) 98th annual convention on Thursday.

SDAHO represents all 54 non-profit hospitals in South Dakota, 46 long-term care facilities, home health, assisted living facilities and more. The organization’s staff is divided into five areas: Advocacy and Member Relations, Acute & Post-Acute Services, Education, Business Development, and Quality Integration, all of which are touched on at the convention.

The event kicked off Thursday morning with a keynote speech from Command Sergeant Major Gretchen Evans who told her story of injuries while serving and tied her experience to the healthcare community.

The day continued with breakout sessions that covered topics ranging from leadership for administrators to insurance challenges that could come up. Everything wrapped up with the exhibitor social.

Tim Rave, President and CEO of SDAHO, said the convention provides invaluable networking opportunities and education for all attendees.

“We have national speakers, I think people always kinda assume that with conferences, but we have such a vast array of knowledge within our state in the health care arena. We bring in local speakers, state speakers, and so it’s peers kinda interacting with peers and giving best practices and why that’s important and the things they’re doing and so yeah, just really exciting,” Rave said.

Rave added that the convention allows hardworking providers to take a break and get out of their everyday work routine.

The convention will head back to Sioux Falls for the next two years, but will be back in Rapid City in 2027.

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South Dakota

Obituary for Don "Donnie" Curtis at Will Funeral Chapel

Published

1 day ago

September 27, 2024

Press Room

Obituary for Don "Donnie" Curtis at Will Funeral Chapel

Don Donnie Curtis, age 61, died at the Dougherty Hospice Home, Sioux Falls, on September 22, 2024, after a nine month, courageous battle of metastatic prostate cancer. Funeral services will be 1030 AM Tuesday, October 1, 2024 at the Sherman Center on DWU Campus with burial at the Niles Rocky

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