For over a century, the Indian Village at Cheyenne Frontier Days has been a vibrant and integral part of the "Daddy of 'em All," showcasing the rich cultural heritage of Native American peoples. What began as an early feature of the Western celebration has evolved into a cornerstone of the event, fostering cultural exchange and understanding. Looking ahead, a significant expansion and renaming to the Morning Star American Indian Village is poised to further elevate its prominence and impact.
Driving down the highway. . .
One of the inherent joys of living in the Black Hills and working in the Great Plains is the long drives through the region's diverse landscapes. The Great Plains are chock-full of unique landforms, roadside attractions, second-take oddities, giant mining operations, spectacular views, and an ever-changing sky.
COVER OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE MAGAZINE! WOW!
Here’s a little story. . .
Timothy Schuler of LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE MAGAZINE came to visit us last summer. We toured him around the Hills. We told him stories about rural Landscape Architecture practice. We introduced him to the dogs, Mike Stahl, and the Custer Wolf. We shared family stories and heard about life as a writer. What a fun time.
Then a few months went by and while we knew we were going to have a short article written about our work in the northern hills we had no idea it was going to be on the COVER of LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE MAGAZINE!
We were driving when we found out and had to pull over and hyperventilate while we processed!
The October cover of Landscape Architecture Magazine featured our work in Lead! Wow!
This issue was the current issue during the 2023 Landscape Architecture Convention in Minneapolis and man, did we feel honored.
This article is fantastically written, with beautiful photography by Louise Johns - an amazing photographer who has a film about her father and her called “The Wonder and the Worry” premiering at Big Sky Documentary Film Festival @bigskydocfest in Missoula, MT on February 25th. She’s amazing. And so is Timothy. We are so happy to have gotten to know them both.
The article is a good summation of our philosophy of working in small towns and rural communities. You can read it with a free Zinnio account here.
Summer 2023 Construction Activity
Normal day in the life of Mike Bender:
Wake up early and stagger out the door to check forms at Dinosaur Park.
Navigate Rapid City Street Construction to find a way up to Dinosaur Park.
Park on the north half of the lot at Dinosaur Park, grab the digital level, and get ready to relay bad news about sidewalk cross slopes being over 2%.
Climb the hill to the current pour location.
Exchange a few barbs with the crew tying steel together.
Be pleasantly surprised with the forms!
Hang out until the pump truck and concrete arrive.
Observe placement.
Check watch!
Yikes! Time to head to Spearfish!
Repeat steps 5-8 once he’s in Spearfish!
Grab something cold to drink.
Arrive back at the office just in time to download a stack of pictures and write up a couple observation reports.
Exchange a couple memes with the team regarding concrete.
Check the news.
The Hive
"The Hive" by Dale Lamphere being placed in the roundabout of Jackson Boulevard. Five years in the making, the utility and streetscape project is winding down to its close. As Dale says - this is the icing on the cake!
Rural Communities: Clues to Surviving and Thriving
At Tallgrass we live and work in rural communities across the west-midwest and have been doing some research and thinking about what rural communities want and need to survive this era of urbanization and the institutionalization of urban policy. When an economic disruption occurs, what are the keys to small town survival?
South Rim Parks Master Plan
In collaboration with the City of Lead, we created a Master Plan to be used to identify future community-supported projects and to guide project funding and development of Prospect Park, Manuel Brothers Park and the Lead Dog Park as well as important adjacent community properties.