Each summer, hundreds of Minnesota families make the trip to Mount Rushmore and to sacred Lakota land.

“My husband and I have never been out here so we thought it would be a good time to bring our kids out,” said Jackie Lee Rieke.

Rieke and her husband Derek are doing what’s become a rite of passage for many people: They left their New Ulm home for the Black Hills of South Dakota.

“We wanted to see Mt. Rushmore and everything that the Black Hills has to offer,” said Derek Rieke.

And as impressive as they are, the four presidents aren’t the only massive monuments you’ll find out here.

The Crazy Horse Memorial sees 700,000 guests a year, with a majority of the visitors coming from the Midwest.

“We get a lot of Minnesota visitors and we are very excited,” said Whitney Rencountre II, CEO of the Crazy Horse Memorial.

The memorial has been under construction for nearly 80 years. Chief Henry Standing Bear, a first cousin of Crazy Horse, wanted to see the Lakota Warrior carved into Thunderhead Mountain.

“In his mind, he wanted to carve this mountain so no matter what happened to our people, there would always be a place for people to come learn, and we could protect and preserve our culture,” said Rencountre.

And Rencountre said there was a reason why he wanted it done here.

“The west part of South Dakota is a beautiful country and it’s the birthplace of the Lakota people. Our creation story,” said Rencountre.

“What we call the ‘Heart of the Earth.’ When you look at it from an aerial image it looks like a human heart almost,” said Isaac Weston.

Weston is Oglala Sioux, the same tribe as Crazy Horse. He lives in Red Wing, Minnesota now but grew up learning that the Lakota warrior is a symbol of courage and resilience.

“He talks about whenever you look at the Black Hills, remember me. A defender of my people and a defender of my land,” said Weston.

Since sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski made the first dynamite blast in 1948, progress on the privately funded monument has been slow but steady. Crazy Horse’s face was finished in 1998. And two years ago, his left hand was completed.

“It’s amazing what they can do,” said Keith Ferrin, who was visiting from Rosemount, Minnesota. “With dynamite, that’s even more impressive.”

“I can’t believe it’s still going on but I know these things take time. It’s interesting to see the progress and how that’s going,” said Kendra Gerber, visitor from Duluth, Minnesota. 

The hope is that Minnesotans and other visitors leave with an appreciation for the work that’s been done, and the work still ahead. And a better understanding of why the memorial exists in the first place.

“We have to do our own research to really, truly understand the beauty of Native American culture,” said Rencountre. “That there are different cultures that exist in the world. And when we take time to learn from one another, it makes our world a better place.”

Next to Colorado, the Crazy Horse Memorial said Minnesotans visit their site the most.

The focus now at the memorial is the sculpting of the horse’s head and mane.

The Midwest has a way of turning pizza into a destination, not just a meal, but a reason to get in the car and chase something warm, nostalgic and a little surprising. Across Iowa, South Dakota and Wisconsin, these five incredible pizzas map out a road trip that swings from crackery Milwaukee squares to smoky Iowa City Neapolitans to whole wheat Ames heft and New York-style slices in the Des Moines metro and Sioux Falls. Each stop carries its own personality: the whole‑wheat crust meant to dip in honey in Ames, the foldable metro slices that feel straight off a Manhattan sidewalk, the wood‑fired Iowa City pies kissed by local produce, the ’90s‑cool Sioux Falls hangout slinging high‑end toppings and the historic Milwaukee tavern that essentially wrote the city’s pizza playbook. Together, they form a trail worth following.

Great Plains Sauce & Dough Co. | Ames, Iowa

Details: 129 Main St., Ames, Iowa, 515-232-4263; facebook.com/greatplainspizza.

Great Plains has been part of Ames’ rhythm for decades. Since it opened in 1979, it has been known for its hearty, old‑school approach to pizza and its unmistakable whole‑wheat crust. Walking in feels like stepping into a place that’s seen generations of students, families and regulars pass through. The menu leans into comfort — thick, chewy dough, generous toppings and a sauce that’s been a local talking point for years. Many people swear by the honey for dipping the crust, a tradition that’s become almost synonymous with the restaurant. It’s the kind of spot where you settle in, take your time and enjoy the feeling of a meal that’s meant to be shared. —Ronna Faaborg, Ames Tribune

More: Five iconic pizza places in the Ames area offer comfort by the slice

Taste of New York | West Des Moines, Iowa

Details: 769 S.E. Alice’s Road, Waukee, 515-987-1585; 7450 Bridgewood Blvd., Suite 215, West Des Moines, 515-223-8669; The Pizza Bar, 1225 Copper Creek Drive, Pleasant Hill, 515-335-8388; tasteofnypizza.com or thepizzabaria.com.

Taste of New York brings classic New York-style pizza to the metro with foldable slices, crisp, chewy crusts and a 550-degree oven that delivers the perfect char. With locations in West Des Moines, Pleasant Hill and Waukee — including a drive-thru at the latter — the restaurant has become one of the metro’s most reliable stops for a quick slice or a whole pie. The style is true to its name: thin, lightly blistered, sturdy enough to fold and topped with balanced sauce and mozzarella. Diners can order slices reheated, just like in New York, or opt for whole pizzas that showcase the shop’s consistency and craft. Taste of New York is on the Des Moines Register’s essential restaurant list. —Susan Stapleton, The Des Moines Register

More: A guide to the pizzas that shaped Des Moines food culture

Maggie’s Farm Wood-Fired Pizza | Iowa City, Iowa

Details: 1308 Melrose Ave., Iowa City, 319-351-4588, maggiesfarmpizza.com.

What started as a family tradition to share a love of farm-fresh produce and the craft of wood-fired pizza has now turned into one of the Iowa City corridor’s top dining destinations. Maggie’s leans into local ingredients, such as mushrooms and house-made basil pesto, to bring a fresh influence on the Italian classic. Maggie’s serves a traditional Neapolitan-style wood-fired pizza, made using Italian “00” flour and baked at a very high heat (around 900 degrees) in a wood-fired oven, yielding a smoky, slightly doughy and authentic Napoli-inspired crust. From seasonal pizza varieties to mainstay classics like classic pepperoni to the soppressata, Maggie’s has big energy. —Jessica Rish, Iowa City Press Citizen

More: Five locally owned Iowa City pizza spots defining the dining scene

Totally Rad Pizza | Sioux Falls, South Dakota

Details: 196 E. Sixth St., Sioux Falls, S.D., 605-789-2014, totallyradpizzasf.com.

It’s pizza, pinball and vinyl spinning with tap beer in one hand and a cheesy slice in the other. Like a Saturday night in the ’90s, Totally Rad Pizza in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, is where the cool kids hang out past curfew. Although the pizza joint is new downtown, co-owners Derek Fernholz and Blake Thompson, kitchen virtuoso Beau Vondra, managers Nick Lund and Cole Casper and chef JP Muko are extremely beloved in Sioux Falls, having run Fernson Brewing Co. for over a decade. Now they’re tossing hot pies with high-end ingredients like Ezzo pepperoni, Porcellino Diablo salami, Bianco DiNapoli tomatoes and homemade pickled chiles. Play darts, snuggle up in the photo booth and chill. —Angela George, Argus Leader

More: Here are 5 best pizza places in Sioux Falls that locals love

Caradaro Club | Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Details: 5010 W. Vliet St., Milwaukee, Wisconsin; 414-476-7700; caradaroclubpizza.com. 

Pizza had never been served in Milwaukee until 1945, when Caradaro Club opened its doors. In advertisements, the new tavern touted its “famous Italian delicacy” and became an instant hit. Eighty-one years later, the restaurant is still going strong (albeit in a different location; the original burned in 1978), serving the same recipe that became the foundation for Milwaukee-style pizza: a crackery crust so thin it shatters to the bite, sliced into “junior cut” squares (easier to hold a slice in one hand and a beer in the other) and preferably topped with Milwaukee pizza’s holy trinity of sausage, mushroom and onion (aptly called “The Classic” at Caradaro). The pizzeria oozes with charm: checkered floors, plastic red drinking cups on each table and children’s drawings of fluorescent-colored pizza slices displayed on the walls like fine art. —Rachel Bernhard, Milwaukee Sentinel Journal

More: Yes, Milwaukee-style pizza is real. And it’s fabulous

It’s been nearly 80 years since work began on the Crazy Horse Memorial in the Black Hills of South Dakota.

While progress has been made over the decades, years of construction still lie ahead. Like many Minnesotans this time of year, WCCO’s John Lauritsen and photojournalist Mike Durenberger traveled to the Black Hills to learn more about the memorial’s unique history and its vision for the future.

“It’s amazing what they can do,” said visitor Kirk Ferring of Rosemount, Minnesota. “With dynamite, that’s even more impressive.”

Since the late 1940s, Thunderhead Mountain has been a 300,000-square-foot canvas for a sculpture that’s slowly, but surely, taking shape.

“The focus now is the horse’s head. And right now, you see the hand resting on the horse’s mane,” said Whitney Rencountre II, CEO of the Crazy Horse Memorial.

The famous Lakota warrior Crazy Horse is the man in the mountain. He’s there because his first cousin, Chief Henry Standing Bear, was worried that with so many Native Americans being forced off their land, their culture could be forgotten.

“In his mind, he wanted to carve this mountain so no matter what happened to our people, there would always be a place for people to come learn, and we could protect and preserve our culture,” said Rencountre.

Standing Bear ultimately turned to artist Korczak Ziolkowski, who had helped with Mount Rushmore and whose Paderewski sculpture won first prize at the 1939 World’s Fair.

“Korczak was an orphan. As a young man, he was abused by adopted parents. So, when he learned about the Native American people, he kind of had a heart for the underdog,” said Rencountre.

From the beginning, it seemed like an impossible project. There was no funding, and Ziolkowski had to build roads and more than 700 stairs to the top before he could even begin. His equipment, including his Buda machine, would often break down. But during the first blast in 1948, five survivors of the Battle of the Little Bighorn were guests.

“The bottom line is he knew he would never live to see any finishing surface,” said Rencountre.

And he didn’t. Ziolkowski died in 1982. But his wife, Ruth, and his 10 children carried on his mission, helping to drill, blast, and push rock off the mountain. In 1998, Crazy Horse’s face finally came into focus.

The face is 87 feet tall. And to put this in perspective, all four presidents’ heads on Mount Rushmore could fit on the side of Crazy Horse’s head.

That’s because his hair and his horse will cover much of the mountain. Crazy Horse’s left hand was finished in 2024. The challenge in all of this is that the Lakota warrior never let anyone take his picture. Up close, battle scars are carved into his granite face. Those details came from chiefs and warriors who once rode with Crazy Horse.

“Right now, at the pace we are going, we could have the horse’s head done in 10 years,” said Rencountre.

Rencountre said the site has turned down millions of dollars in federal money over the years and mostly relies on private funds and visitor donations.

It’s all led to the opening of a university and museum on campus, the latter of which has more than 14,000 items from tribal leaders. But at the heart of it all, the face of a warrior will always be there. A man, Rencountre says, led his people with courage and compassion.

“A young Lakota warrior who accomplished something greater than himself,” said Rencountre. “We have Native Americans, Caucasians, different races of people working together towards a common cause. And that is something we don’t see a lot in today’s world.”

The Crazy Horse Memorial is about 25 minutes from Mount Rushmore. It’s open seven days a week.

So far, more than $250 million in private funds have been spent on the project.