Rapid City Living

05/25/2026

Seeley's Men's Store. They've been in Rapid City since 1925. That's 101 years in business. Let that sink in for a second.

The current owner, Mark, has been with the store for 51 years. The customers who came in when he was young? Now their kids are coming in. And their kids' kids. Three generations of loyal customers. That doesn't happen by accident.

What makes Seeley's different from just going to a department store? they do all their own tailoring right here in-house. Their tailor trained in France. They're known mostly for suits and sport coats — really good quality stuff. But they've also got dress shirts, dress pants, khakis, casual wear. And if you want something fully custom, they've got fabric books you can flip through and build something that's completely yours.

If you are looking for some really high quality men's wear, check out Seeley's downtown Rapid City.

🚨 Get the scoop on Rapid City every other week in your inbox! The Rapid City Lowdown brings you local news, cool businesses, city meeting updates, and all the buzz around town. Comment LOWDOWN for the link.

Hot tips around Rapid City? Thinking about buying, building, or selling real estate?

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📲 Text Tristan 605-391-7086

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👉 I'm Tristan Emond, a local REALTOR® w Mindful Living Realty - giving you all the Good Stuff about Living in Rapid City. I keep up with what’s going around Rapid City so you don’t gotta!

05/22/2026

Opening tomorrow!!

Opening Day is This Saturday! Who's excited?

📅 Storybook Island Opening Day – May 23, 2025!
✨ FREE ADMISSION ✨ May 23rd-Sept 7th, 2025
🎉 Join us as we open the gates for another magical season at Storybook Island! Our park is admission-free for all ages, offering a fun and safe place for families to explore, play, and make memories together.

✨ What to Expect:
✅ Over 60 play sets featuring your favorite fairytale characters!
✅ Toddler-friendly & stroller-friendly paths for easy exploration.
✅ Train rides – Just $4 per person, wheelchair accessible. 🚂
✅ Carousel rides – Enjoy the magic for $4 per person 🎠
✅ Plenty of shaded areas & grass to relax and play.
✅ Enchanted Gift Shop – Find toys, books, and Storybook Island souvenirs!
📍 Open Daily: 9 AM – 7 PM (Memorial Day to Labor Day)
Bring the whole family and experience the magic where stories come to life! ✨💫

🍧Kona Ice will be joining us in the park as well serving their shaved ice. May 23-25, 9am-2pm. Price range $5-$8.

🩸Vitalant Blood Drive May 23, 10am-1pm
Every blood donation will receive a free train or carousel ticket and custom t-shirt from Vitalant!

🎨Caricatures By Alyssa
Sat May 23, 9am-1pm
Sunday May 24, 9am-1pm
$15-$25 per person.

05/22/2026

For your Friday good news story, this one’s just plain cool.

A local student is taking on a project that most of us wouldn’t even attempt with a full construction crew… they’re rebuilding the Alex Johnson Hotel—brick by virtual brick—inside Minecraft.

We’re talking about a real-world building that stands about 8 stories tall, originally built in 1928, with over 140 rooms… and now it’s being recreated in a game where every single block has to be placed by hand.

It’s creative, it’s technical, and honestly… it’s a pretty awesome way to showcase Rapid City in a digital world. I mean, we’ve officially made it when our landmarks are getting rebuilt in video games.

🚨 Get the scoop on Rapid City every other week in your inbox! The Rapid City Lowdown brings you local news, cool businesses, city meeting updates, and all the buzz around town. Comment LOWDOWN for the link.

Hot tips around Rapid City? Thinking about buying, building, or selling real estate?

➡️ DM me
📲 Text Tristan 605-391-7086

Save/share to spread the word about the place we call home! 💓

👉 I'm Tristan Emond, a local REALTOR® w Mindful Living Realty - giving you all the Good Stuff about Living in Rapid City. I keep up with what’s going around Rapid City so you don’t gotta!

05/21/2026

Pennington County is pushing forward on a brand-new Tax Increment Financing district called the Black Hills Marketplace.

The proposed TIF district covers an estimated 172 acres, located generally south of Catron Boulevard, west of Fifth Street, and east of Black Hills Boulevard.

County plans for the site include major retail and restaurant development, along with single- and multi-family housing, plus improvements to Black Hills Boulevard and Fifth Street.

That is a significant chunk of land on the southwest side of town, and it is primed for growth. It's time to start growing that way.

🚨 Get the scoop on Rapid City every other week in your inbox! The Rapid City Lowdown brings you local news, cool businesses, city meeting updates, and all the buzz around town. Comment LOWDOWN for the link.

Hot tips around Rapid City? Thinking about buying, building, or selling real estate?

➡️ DM me
📲 Text Tristan 605-391-7086

Save/share to spread the word about the place we call home! 💓

👉 I'm Tristan Emond, a local REALTOR® w Mindful Living Realty - giving you all the Good Stuff about Living in Rapid City. I keep up with what’s going around Rapid City so you don’t gotta!

05/20/2026

It’s a new McRestaurant on today's "What is THAT building" Wednesday!

So here’s what’s cooking… literally. There’s a brand new McDonald’s going up at 135 East Stumer Road, right over by that Stumer and 5th Street corridor. Next to the gas station and down the road from southside Walmart.

Now, if you’ve driven that area lately, you’ve probably seen the dirt work and early site prep already happening. I took this picture a couple weeks ago and it's already old - the walls are going up!

That whole stretch has been quietly turning into a bit of a commercial hotspot—so this fits right in.

🚨 Get the scoop on Rapid City every other week in your inbox! The Rapid City Lowdown brings you local news, cool businesses, city meeting updates, and all the buzz around town. Comment LOWDOWN for the link.

Hot tips around Rapid City? Thinking about buying, building, or selling real estate?

➡️ DM me
📲 Text Tristan 605-391-7086

Save/share to spread the word about the place we call home! 💓

👉 I'm Tristan Emond, a local REALTOR® w Mindful Living Realty - giving you all the Good Stuff about Living in Rapid City. I keep up with what’s going around Rapid City so you don’t gotta!

05/19/2026

South Dakota schools just got handed a failing grade… and this one’s raising a lot of eyebrows.

A new national “Phone-Free Schools Report Card” gave South Dakota an “F” rating—putting the state among just four states in the entire country to land at the bottom tier.

The report, released in April 2026, evaluates how strict each state is when it comes to student phone use during the school day. And the key factor isn’t just whether phones are allowed… it’s how restricted they are.

What do you think? Should students be required to put away their phone for the entire school day?

🚨 Get the scoop on Rapid City every other week in your inbox! The Rapid City Lowdown brings you local news, cool businesses, city meeting updates, and all the buzz around town. Comment LOWDOWN for the link.

Hot tips around Rapid City? Thinking about buying, building, or selling real estate?

➡️ DM me
📲 Text Tristan 605-391-7086

Save/share to spread the word about the place we call home! 💓

👉 I'm Tristan Emond, a local REALTOR® w Mindful Living Realty - giving you all the Good Stuff about Living in Rapid City. I keep up with what’s going around Rapid City so you don’t gotta!

05/18/2026

I was honored with the opportunity to get a tour of Rapid City's newest and biggest Pet Care facility! Meadow Ridge Pet Lodge.

I was impressed with how many different rooms and services they included in the building - from long term stays to VIP rooms to daycare. Even one for the cats! Each one had their own outside play yard with private door.

And then there was the splash park...and that's just cool.

🚨 Get the scoop on Rapid City every other week in your inbox! The Rapid City Lowdown brings you local news, cool businesses, city meeting updates, and all the buzz around town. Comment LOWDOWN for the link.
Hot tips around Rapid City? Thinking about buying, building, or selling real estate?

➡️ DM me
📲 Text Tristan 605-391-7086

Save/share to spread the word about the place we call home! 💓

👉 I'm Tristan Emond, a local REALTOR® w Mindful Living Realty - giving you all the Good Stuff about Living in Rapid City. I keep up with what’s going around Rapid City so you don’t gotta!

05/15/2026

Coming up July 1st through July 4th, 2026, Rapid City is hosting the ‘Real America Birthday Bash'. A full 4-day celebration for America’s 250th birthday.

The headline event is happening Thursday, July 2nd at 9:30P PM, the America 250 Drone Show is set to launch from Central High School, lighting up the sky over downtown and Memorial Park. That same day kicks off at 4:00 PM with the downtown festival, followed by a community parade at 7:00 PM and capping the day off with the drone show.

More activities all week! July 1st starts with a 7:00 PM Air Force Academy Band performance. July 3rd brings live music starting at noon, plus a Mount Rushmore fireworks watch party at 9:00 PM. And July 4th wraps it all up with a full fireworks show.

Where else would you want to be on America's 250th than the City of Presidents?

🚨 Get the scoop on Rapid City every other week in your inbox! The Rapid City Lowdown brings you local news, cool businesses, city meeting updates, and all the buzz around town. Comment LOWDOWN for the link.

Hot tips around Rapid City? Thinking about buying, building, or selling real estate?

➡️ DM me
📲 Text Tristan 605-391-7086

Save/share to spread the word about the place we call home! 💓

👉 I'm Tristan Emond, a local REALTOR® w Mindful Living Realty - giving you all the Good Stuff about Living in Rapid City. I keep up with what’s going around Rapid City so you don’t gotta!

05/14/2026

If you’ve lived in Rapid City longer than about… five minutes, you already know—construction season hits fast, and by now....it’s game on.

Let me tell you about your new best friend. There’s actually a super simple way to stay ahead of all the orange cones—and it’s on rcgov.org.

They’ve got an interactive road construction map right on the site. You can literally pull up current projects, see exact locations, start dates, expected completion timelines, and even traffic impacts. Check out the "featured content" section on their site.

Updates are happening regularly, especially as we roll into peak construction months—May, June, July, and August.

🚨 Get the scoop on Rapid City every other week in your inbox! The Rapid City Lowdown brings you local news, cool businesses, city meeting updates, and all the buzz around town. Comment LOWDOWN for the link.

Hot tips around Rapid City? Thinking about buying, building, or selling real estate?

➡️ DM me
📲 Text Tristan 605-391-7086

Save/share to spread the word about the place we call home! 💓

👉 I'm Tristan Emond, a local REALTOR® w Mindful Living Realty - giving you all the Good Stuff about Living in Rapid City. I keep up with what’s going around Rapid City so you don’t gotta!

05/13/2026

New Construction going on behind Northside Walmart on today's "What is THAT Building?" Wednesday!

It's.....a strip mall. I know - exciting right?

The local contractor has the permit to build the shell and ground work that will become available to tenants when complete. With the lease of the space, any tenant will build out the interior of the spaces to their needs.

Not alot of other information at this point - but it'll be a pretty decent size building with an over $2mil price tag.

🚨 Get the scoop on Rapid City every other week in your inbox! The Rapid City Lowdown brings you local news, cool businesses, city meeting updates, and all the buzz around town. Comment LOWDOWN for the link.

Hot tips around Rapid City? Thinking about buying, building, or selling real estate?

➡️ DM me
📲 Text Tristan 605-391-7086

Save/share to spread the word about the place we call home! 💓

👉 I'm Tristan Emond, a local REALTOR® w Mindful Living Realty - giving you all the Good Stuff about Living in Rapid City. I keep up with what’s going around Rapid City so you don’t gotta!

05/12/2026

The South Dakota Community Foundation has recently awarded Emily’s Hope a $100,000 “Beyond Idea Grant”. A major boost for a major issue.

Emily’s Hope is a South Dakota based nonprofit focused on substance use awareness, prevention, and saving lives, especially around fentanyl and fake pills that are driving overdose deaths up across the state.
This specific grant funds a new initiative called “Facing Fentanyl: Empowering South Dakota Families Through Awareness.”

The goal? Reach more than 50,000 students, parents, and educators statewide with clear, honest info before tragedy hits. This grant lets them meet families with life saving info before it’s too late, not after.

🚨 Get the scoop on Rapid City every other week in your inbox! The Rapid City Lowdown brings you local news, cool businesses, city meeting updates, and all the buzz around town. Comment LOWDOWN for the link.

Hot tips around Rapid City? Thinking about buying, building, or selling real estate?

➡️ DM me
📲 Text Tristan 605-391-7086

Save/share to spread the word about the place we call home! 💓

👉 I'm Tristan Emond, a local REALTOR® w Mindful Living Realty - giving you all the Good Stuff about Living in Rapid City. I keep up with what’s going around Rapid City so you don’t gotta!