South Dakota
Competition for Nebraska’s ‘Carhenge’ rises near South Dakota’s Badlands
KADOKA, S.D. (Nebraska Examiner) — Nebraska’s quirky replica of England’s prehistoric Stonehenge, “Carhenge,” is about to get some new competition in a neighboring state. And a former Nebraskan is behind it.
Rising from a dusty, prairie ridge along Interstate 90 near this Badlands-area town is a collection of firetrucks dubbed “Firehenge.”
Its creator, an Omaha Burke High School grad who runs a Rapid City brewery, said the ring of 10-ton firetrucks vertically arranged in a circle is more about promoting his Firehouse Brewery Company than trying to lure away visitors from Alliance, Nebraska’s popular Carhenge, about 200 miles to the south.
The new South Dakota version of the roadside attraction, which sits just off I-90, also includes a collection of buried fire hydrants called “Doghenge.” By next summer, the new henges will include a gift shop where visitors can purchase brewery souvenirs and canned beer and wine from the Firehouse Brewing Co., South Dakota’s first and oldest brewery.
“We are just having a ton of fun out here. Just come out and see it,” said Bob Fuchs, the co-owner of the brewery who graduated from Burke in 1981. And, he adds, bring your dog.
A city official in Alliance, which took over ownership of Carhenge in 2013, said she doesn’t expect local residents to mount a monumental fuss over a competing “henge” in the general vicinity.
“I think all of these things are fun,” said Shana Brown, the director of cultural and leisure services for Alliance.
As it turns out, both Carhenge and Firehenge have plenty of competition in tourism’s Carhenge-replica category.
There’s a “Foamhenge” (made out of foam) in Virginia, a “Truckhenge” near Topeka, Kansas (made out of farm trucks), a “Phonehenge” (made out old telephone booths) in South Carolina, and a “Strawhenge” (made out of bales) in Bavaria, Germany.
Years ago, a “Twinkiehenge” was built during a Burning Man festival in the Nevada desert. There was once a “Snowhenge” in Michigan and a “Fridgehenge” (made out of old refrigerators) once graced the plains near Santa Fe before complaints caused its demise.
A couple decades ago, a reporter was summoned to Chadron, where a suspected “Hayhenge” had been built northeast of town. Round hay bales had been arranged in a circle at a local ranch.
In the kinda-old-henge category, there’s a full-size concrete replica of Stonehenge in Maryhill, Washington, that was built in 1918 to honor people lost in World War I.
And near Carbury, North Dakota, there’s a circle of granite walls that serves as a 21st Century solar calendar, which is the suspected purpose of Stonehenge, a prehistoric circle of stones aligned for ceremonial purposes to indicate the summer and winter solstices, and the spring and fall equinoxes.
Carhenge was built in 1987 by Jim Reinders and his relatives as a memorial to Reinders’ father, who had lived on the farm north of Alliance where the collection of 39 American cars – arranged to align with the solar calendar – now sits.
The off-beat attraction draws about 100,000 visitors a year, according to Brown, and features a staffed gift shop from May through September. An estimated 4,000 people gathered there for the solar eclipse in 2017.
Carhenge has appeared in films, commercials, television shows and in song. Last summer, it hosted a group of muralists, who painted murals on the grey-painted cars, providing a new look for the motorcar monument.
Fuchs, the Firehenge creator, said he’s not haunted by henges but had visited Carhenge shortly after it was first created.
The inspiration for his firetruck circle came during a recent marketing meeting for his brewery, which was established inside a former Rapid City firehouse built in 1915.
Fuchs has long parked old firetrucks, purchased from all corners of the Midwest, next to his brewery billboards to draw more attention to his business. He says that he often hears that visitors to Rapid City’s downtown area ask “where’s the Firehouse?”
“It’s guerilla marketing,” Fuchs said during a recent visit to Firehenge. “It’s very effective.”
At the marketing meeting, one of Fuchs’ aides was playing with a toy firetruck. Once she set it on end, vertically, an idea was born.
He said he has no plans to hoist a firetruck so it sits horizontally across two vertical trucks — like the stones at Stonehenge and cars at Carhenge. Too many liability concerns, Fuchs said. More firetrucks may be planted this spring, though, he said. And a YouTube video, featuring a visit by aliens to Firehenge, is in the works, Fuchs adds.
Over the din of a front-end loader smoothing out a gravel parking lot, he said it’s been a lot of fun.
“I get to explore my artistic side by planting fire trucks in the prairie,” Fuchs said.
Nebraska Examiner is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Nebraska Examiner maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Aaron Sanderford for questions: info@nebraskaexaminer.com.
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See Republican Zach Lahn speak after primary win in governor’s race
GOP gubernatorial candidate Zach Lahn speaks to his supporters during an election night watch party on June 2, 2026, in West Des Moines.
The makeup of the Legislature was up in the air as of 1 a.m. after South Dakota’s primary election.
Ten Republican state lawmakers ousted in 2024 are angling to get their seats back in 2026. Results were mixed for the nine who had primaries on Tuesday, with results still coming in for several races and others set for possible recounts.
Shawn Bordeaux of Rosebud won the state’s only Democratic primary, beating Troy “Luke” Lunderman for a chance to return to the state Senate.
Bordeaux will face Chamberlain Republican Rebecca Reimer in November’s general election. Reimer, who was term-limited in the state House of Representatives, beat Lower Brule Sen. Tamara Grove in Tuesday’s primary.
In Watertown’s District 5, Rep. Josephine Garcia fell in a state Senate primary to incumbent Sen. Glen Vilhauer. Garcia beat Byron Callies in the 2024 primary to earn her seat in the House of Representatives, but opted to challenge Vilhauer for his Senate seat instead of seeking reelection to the House.
Callies, Vilhauer and Garcia are all from Watertown.
Vilhauer won with 59% of the vote. His was one of the first state legislative victories of the night reported on the Secretary of State’s website.
Vilhauer won handily, but he said he wasn’t necessarily expecting to as polls opened on Tuesday.
“I knew it was going to be a battle going in,” Vilhauer said. “She worked hard on her side, and I didn’t know what to expect.”
Callies was among the first to call Vilhauer to congratulate him, around 9:30 p.m.
“I’m happy, because Glen’s a solid legislator,” said Callies, who’s angling to win his seat back in the general election.
Garcia did not return a call seeking comment.
In District 21, Sen. Mykala Voita of Bonesteel beat former Sen. Erin Tobin of Winner in a rematch of their 2024 contest, which Voita won by a few dozen votes that year. This time around, Voita bested Tobin by 1,002 votes.
In response to a request for comment, Voita sent a text reading “Glory to God!”
Tobin did not return a call from South Dakota Searchlight about her race after it was called, but said earlier in the evening she would be “at peace” with the results regardless of what they might be.
Another rematch saw Yanktonites Lauren Nelson and Jean Hunhoff battling for District 18’s state Senate seat. Nelson was a newcomer in 2024 when she beat Hunhoff, who’d spent decades in the Capitol between stints in the House and Senate. On Tuesday, Nelson held off Hunhoff, winning by 243 votes.
Other notable races
- District 4 Rep. Dylan Jordan of Clear Lake, first elected in 2024, finished fourth in a five-way race. As of 1 a.m. Wednesday, he trailed Ryan Kohl of Milbank and former Rep. Fred Deutsch of Florence, in first and second place, respectively. A recount is possible in that race, with 59 votes separating the top two vote-getters while Rep. Kent Roe, of Hayti, came in third place, with 72 fewer votes than Deutsch.
- District 4 has two possible recounts. In the other, Bryant’s Stephanie Sauder beat Clear Lake’s Tim Begalka by 105 votes in the unofficial tally from the Secretary of State.
- District 1 Rep. Logan Manhart of Aberdeen, elected in the 2024 primary, fell to Rep. Nick Fosness, a hospital administrator appointed by Gov. Larry Rhoden in 2025, and newcomer Daniel Kjos.
- Another recount was possible as of Wednesday at 1 a.m., in the District 16 race for House of Representatives. Rep. John Shubeck of Beresford trailed Lisa Bogue of Beresford by 245 votes in unofficial results. Jason VanDenTop of Canton was in third place, trailing Shubeck by 68 votes.
Vote totals incomplete
- Sen. John Carley of Piedmont, who won his first term in 2024, trailed William Meirose of Sturgis by 166 votes as of 1 a.m. Wednesday.
- Former Rep. Tyler Tordsen led Rep. Tony Kayser by two votes in the District 14 primary, with results still coming in. The Sioux Falls men are vying for second place and a spot on the November general election ballot alongside Rep. Taylor Rehfeldt of Sioux Falls, who led by more than 600 votes early Wednesday.
- District 28 Sen. Sam Marty of Prairie City was in a close race with former legislator Ryan Maher of Isabel.
- Former Rep. Gary Cammack of Union Center, who lost his seat in 2024, and Gary Deering of Hereford, led Reps. Terri Jorgenson of Piedmont and Kathy Rice of Blackhawk in the District 29 race.
- In District 30, Hot Springs Sen. Amber Hulse led former Sen. Julie Frye-Mueller of Rapid City by more than 1,300 votes.
- Former Sen. David Johnson of Rapid City led Sen. Curt Voight of Rapid City in a rematch of their 2024 race for District 33 Senate in early results.
- Rep. Heather Baxter of Rapid City has signaled her intention to challenge sitting Secretary of State Monae Johnson for the Republican nomination to that constitutional office at the state’s Republican Party convention this summer. In early results, Baxter trailed former Rapid City Rep. Becky Drury and Rep. Mike Derby in the District 34 primary.
- Early results in the District 35 primary put Sen. Greg Blanc, elected in 2024, in a close race with fellow Rapid City resident Nicole Mitzel.
South Dakota Searchlight is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
South Dakota
Republican businessman Toby Doeden advances to primary runoff in South Dakota governor’s race
Republican businessman Toby Doeden has advanced to a runoff in South Dakota governor’s race, NBC News projects.
Gov. Larry Rhoden, who replaced Kristi Noem last year when President Donald Trump nominated her to lead the Department of Homeland Security, was battling with Rep. Dusty Johnson and former state House Speaker Jon Hansen for a second spot in the July 28 runoff. The primary will go to a runoff because no candidate eclipsed 35% of the vote.
Trump did not issue an endorsement in the race. Doeden branded himself on his campaign website as “a total political outsider who’s tired of the government’s failure to deliver on its promises” and one of Trump’s “fiercest supporters.”
Rhoden, a former lieutenant governor, agriculture secretary and lawmaker, campaigned on property tax cuts and lowering crime in his bid for a four-year term.
Johnson is the state’s lone representative in the House, where he previously was chair of the Republican Main Street Caucus. Hansen, who was elected to the South Dakota House in 2010, held several leadership positions before he became speaker.
The Republican nominee will be the favorite to win the general election in the solidly red state this fall. A Democrat has not served as governor in South Dakota since the 1970s, and Trump carried the state by 29 points in 2024.
News
Agronomist: eastern South Dakota crops hit and miss
An agronomist in eastern South Dakota says corn and soybeans are hit and miss as the growing season begins.
Steven Zemlicka with AgTegra Cooperative tells Brownfield, “We’ve got corn anywhere from V1 all the way up to V4. Biggest stuff’s maybe touching V5. Corn’s coming right along, looks pretty good. A little bit of hail here too, but I don’t think it’s going to be much of an issue. Stands for the most part are pretty good, pretty solid.”
Zemlicka says soybean emergence has been slow due to the wet, cool conditions, and there are a few fields that still need planted.
“People were still working on planting soybeans when we got the recent rain.”
He says recent rain totals ranged from a half inch to as much as four inches in the northeast part of South Dakota; the southern part of the state has been drier.
South Dakota’s corn is rated 61 percent good to excellent, with soybean conditions rated 57 percent good to excellent, according to USDA’s first condition ratings of the season.
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