The Daily Slice, your Black Hills news podcast in under 10 minutes. Delivered every morning Monday-Friday at homesliceaudio.com/dailyslice
The Monument Completes $2.1 Million Digital Display Upgrades
RAPID CITY, S.D. — The Monument has completed a nearly $2.1 million capital improvement project replacing and expanding digital displays throughout the Ice Arena and upgrading the facility’s exterior marquee. The project includes a new South End video board more than twice the size of the previous display, the addition of a new North End video board, an upgraded ribbon board and new concourse displays throughout the Ice Arena. The new display system supports programming hosted in the Ice Arena throughout the year. The Ice Arena’s previous digital boards had been in place since the facility opened in 2009.
Crews Respond to Three Small Fires in Northern Hills
SPEARFISH, S.D. — Fire crews responded to a handful of small fires in the Northern Hills earlier Monday. The Spearfish Peak Fire had burned a quarter of an acre in an area north of Spearfish Peak. The Lexington Fire burned a tenth of an acre in an area south of Legacy Place off U.S. Highway 14A. And, the Spruce Fire burned a tenth of an acre southwest of Spruce Gulch Road.
Kinner Wins Inaugural Black Hills Backyard Ultra With 91.7 Miles
RAPID CITY, S.D. — The Black Hills first Backyard Ultra finished up over the weekend with the top runner clocking a whopping 91.7 miles. Justin Kinner of Casper, Wyoming, earned that top honor followed closely by Marlin Kingi of Rapid City who took second place overall with 87.5 miles. Casey Watkins of Rapid City was the first place female with 79.2 miles. A backyard ultra consists of running a 4.167 mile loop every hour until only one runner remains. 38 runners started black hills backyard ultra, 34 of those made it to an ultramarathon distance.
Registration Opens for Rapid City’s Fourth Annual Pumpkin Plunge
RAPID CITY, S.D. — Mark your calendars to swim…with the pumpkins! Registration opened Monday for Rapid City’s Parks and Recreation fourth annual Pumpkin Plunge where participants can take a plunge with floating pumpkins and can select a pumpkin for decorating. This popular event is free and open to youth ages 2-13. Registration is required and space is limited to 70 participants. Children under the age of six must have an adult in the water within arm’s reach. Life jackets are required. The event will be held Saturday, October 17 at the Roosevelt Swim Center. (Full story)
Maduro ally Alex Saab expected to plead guilty in federal money laundering case
MIAMI (AP) — Alex Saab, a close ally of ousted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, is expected to plead guilty Tuesday in a federal case. He is accused of bribing officials to win contracts to import food during widespread hardship in Venezuela. Saab was deported in May by Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodriguez under U.S. pressure. He faces a money laundering charge tied to an alleged conspiracy involving fake companies and falsified shipping records. Saab is scheduled to appear before Judge Kathleen Williams in Miami. President Joe Biden pardoned him in 2023, but federal officials continue to investigate other alleged crimes. (Full story)
New warnings about the risks of AI to humanity revive a long-running debate
LOS ANGELES (AP) — New warnings from the artificial-intelligence industry have revived debate over whether advanced AI models could escape human control and threaten humanity. The CEO of Anthropic suggests the industry should slow down developing the technology and put more safeguards in place. Worries that an artificial intelligence might exceed human abilities or be misused by unscrupulous people aren’t new. Experts have envisioned numerous routes by which a future AI system might cause a global catastrophe. They range from deploying weapons and engineering a pandemic to disrupting food, energy and communications networks. But there’s no widely accepted estimate for how soon any of these scenarios might happen and no consensus on their likelihood. (Full story)
Pope celebrates his 71st birthday but it’s Vatican employees who get the gift
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Leo XIV has celebrated his 71st birthday but it is Vatican employees who got the gift. The Vatican published a papal decree repealing 2021 salary cuts that Pope Francis had imposed on many Vatican employees. Francis had acted because the Holy See was experiencing a financial crisis and imposed a series of COVID-19 cost-saving measures. In the decree, Leo said the financial challenges the Vatican faced at the time “can now be overcome.” The unpopular salary cuts had included a 10% cut on pay for cardinals and smaller percentage salary cuts for office heads and lower-ranking priests and nuns. (Full story)
