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Historic Rapid City Families to Join Birthday Bash Parade
RAPID CITY, S.D. — Thursday’s Real America Birthday Bash community parade will include several members of Rapid City’s historic families. The names of Brennan, Scott, Duhamel, Van Nuys, Lockhart, Farrar and Brockelsby are synonymous with Rapid City’s 150-year history. Family members will be participating in the parade, one of several major events of this week’s Real America Birthday Bash. The parade is scheduled for downtown Rapid City at 7 p.m. Thursday. (Full story)
Mayor Salamun to Lead America 250 Parade
RAPID CITY, S.D. — Rapid City Mayor Jason Salamun and Rapid City Council members will be taking part in this week’s Real America Birthday Bash Celebration. Mayor Salamun will serve as grand marshal of Rapid City’s America 250th Birthday Parade. Parade organizer Connie Olson, who also oversees Rapid City’s annual Festival of Lights Parade each November, says the community parade will feature more than 100 entries, including floats, music, classic cars, dignitaries and of course, candy. (Full story)
Rapid City Unveils $5 Million Recycling Grant Plan
RAPID CITY, S.D. — Rapid City Public Works is presenting a plan on how to use a five-million-dollar grant for recycling programs. Director Mike Theis presented the strategy Tuesday during the City Council’s Public Works Committee meeting and another presentation is set for today’s Legal and Finance Committee meeting. The money comes from the EPA’s Solid Waste Infrastructure for Recycling grant. Rapid City was selected as one of just 17 communities nationwide for the grant and must submit their plans on how to spend the money to the EPA in July. (Full story)
Sturgis Man Sentenced in Federal Child Pornography Case
STURGIS, S.D. — A Sturgis man has been sentenced to federal prison after pleading guilty to receipt of child pornography. Luke Basche, 21, was given seven years in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release. Basche was indicted by a federal grand jury in February of 2025 and pleaded guilty on March 31. Authorities say between December of 2022 and January of 2025, Basche used an Internet-based chat application to search for, download and view child pornography. (Full story)
Rapid City Woman Sentenced for Money Laundering Conspiracy
RAPID CITY, S.D. — A Rapid City woman has been sentenced to prison after being convicted of money laundering. A’Aliyah LeClaire, 30, was sentenced to a year and a day in federal prison followed by two years of supervised release after pleading guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering in April. Authorities say LeClaire was involved with moving money generated from a cocaine conspiracy that spanned from Texas to Rapid City. A source in Texas supplied cocaine through the mail to an individual in Rapid City. LeClaire assisted that individual with moving the money. (Full story)
Supreme Court upholds state laws banning transgender girls and women from school athletic teams
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is upholding state laws barring transgender girls and women from playing on school athletic teams, in another setback for transgender people. The court’s conservative majority has repeatedly ruled against transgender Americans in the past year. It rules Tuesday that state bans in Idaho and West Virginia don’t violate the Constitution or the federal law known as Title IX, which prohibits sex discrimination in education. More than two dozen other Republican-led states have adopted bans on female transgender athletes. Left unresolved by the outcome are lawsuits challenging state laws and regulations in Connecticut, California and elsewhere that permit transgender athletes to compete consistent with their gender identity. (Full story)
3 firefighters killed in Western wildfire were trying to shield themselves from flames
GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (AP) — Federal officials say the three firefighters killed over the weekend in a Colorado wildfire were part of a specialized crew that goes into remote areas to quickly put out new fires. Two other crew members suffered burns. The crew was overcome Saturday after deploying emergency shelters to shield themselves from fast-moving fires. The U.S. Forest Service identified the firefighters killed in Colorado as 38-year-old Emily Barker of Clinton Township, Michigan; 27-year-old Nick Hutcherson of Glendale, Arizona; and 26-year-old Sydney Watson of Warrior, Alabama. Officials say firefighting resources are beginning to be strained as the risk of more wildfires worsens this week across the West. (Full story)
Virginia to allow recreational marijuana to be sold in retail stores beginning in 2027
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Recreational marijuana sales are set to begin next year in Virginia. Five years ago, Virginia became the South’s first state to legalize possession of the drug but until now had failed to set up a retail market. That will change under budget legislation that reached final passage Monday. Under the new law, up to 350 cannabis shops can open across the state and will be able to sell to adults over 21 beginning July 1, 2027. The change marks the latest expansion of access to the drug through state-level policy making. Marijuana remains illegal at the federal level. (Full story)
