A little corner of Black Hills history got some recognition recently. The 80-year-old barn at the State Soldiers Home in Hot Springs — one of South Dakota’s great historic towns — has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The barn sits on the western edge of the Michael J. Fitzmaurice South Dakota Veterans …

Bob Willis, a Fort Collins-based photographer and travel writer, has a pretty incredible portfolio. His photos have appeared in a number of travel guides, national magazines, metro newspapers and fine art galleries. His work has taken him to Kenya, Thailand and across the United States.
Now, one of Bob’s images from the Custer State Park Buffalo …

It may very well be the most competitive high school basketball tournament in the country, but most people have never even heard of the Lakota Nation Invitational, or LNI as it’s more commonly called.
Originally started in Pine Ridge, as strictly a ball tournament for American Indian high school boys, LNI is now in its 33rd …

Mannheim Steamroller – the classically trained, rock-loving musicians paired up with Crazy Horse Memorial, near Custer? My first impression – it sounds like an odd couple.
But the folks down at the memorial have cooked up a creative new event for this holiday season that promises to combine the two into something really unique.
The creator and …

The other day I posted a story about the 50th anniversary DVD edition of “North by Northwest,” Alfred Hitchcock’s classic movie.
In reading about how the movie was made, I saw conflicting reports about whether any scenes were actually filmed on top of Mount Rushmore National Memorial.
Yesterday I went hunting, and found the definitive story about …

Of all the films made in the Black Hills, Alfred Hitchcock’s “North by Northwest” really put South Dakota on the cinematic map.

The name “Sturgis” conjures up different images for different people. Harleys as far as the eye can see, crazy concerts, camping, a week-long escape from reality. Everybody imagines the Sturgis motorcycle rally differently – it’s something that has to be seen to be believed.
Recently, Michael Ballard, owner of the Full Throttle Saloon, just east of …

The Journey Museum will be hosting an afternoon of free admission on Sunday, December 13th from 1 to 5 p.m.
On the 13th, in exchange for the afternoon of free admission to the museum, the staff is asking all visitors to bring a few non-perishable food items to donate to the KOTA Care & Share food. …

Today I was packing for some upcoming Thanksgiving travel and my mind started to wander. My train of thought jumped around from “here comes Thanksgiving” to “turkey dinner sounds so good” to “there are so many turkeys in the Black Hills” to “what’s the story of those goofy-looking birds?”
So, in the spirit of Thanksgiving, I …

I saw a show on the National Geographic Channel last night that has some very familiar-looking scenes. Called “America Before Columbus,” it dealt with the ecological effects of European settlement of the Americas, on both sides of the Atlantic.
If I’m not mistaken, part of it was filmed in the Black Hills. The backdrop for shots …