Tuesday, July 01, 2014 • Vol. 16--No. 346 • 22 of 32

(Continued from page 21)

vice. Pierre in central South Dakota got more than 1.4 inches that day, also a record, and nearly all of that rain fell in just one hour, according to KCCR radio.
• Water inundated some roads, including U.S Highway 83 in central North Dakota -- a major north-south artery. Water receded from the northbound lanes Monday morning, but there was still water in the southbound lanes that slowed traffic, according to the state Transportation Department. Water also remained on sections of state Highway 256 south of Antler, in north central North Dakota.
• The rain on Saturday also washed out a day of games at the McQuade charity softball tournament in Bismarck, which drew more than 450 teams from around the country. The annual event is billed as the largest nonprofit, one-weekend slow-pitch tournament in the country.
• It was only the third time in 39 years that a day of the tournament was rained out, according to The Bismarck Tribune. Manager Mike Wolf told the newspaper and KXMB-TV that it was hard on everyone involved.
• "We lost literally thousands of dollars (Saturday) in money. We lost money at the gate, in T-shirt sales and from the silent auctions. It's a trickle-down effect," Wolf said. "I have umpires who have driven hundreds of miles to get here and fans who have driven a long way."

Historic large gold nugget on display in Deadwood

• DEADWOOD, S.D. (AP) -- One of the largest gold nuggets ever found in western South Dakota's Black Hills is now on permanent display in Deadwood.
• The Potato Creek Johnny gold nugget is housed in a $4,000 bulletproof display case at the Adams Museum. The case was paid for with money from the sale last fall of a replica of the nugget. Additional funds were used on electronic security measures. The nugget was put on display late last week.
• John Perrett found the nugget on his claim on Potato Creek on May 27, 1929. It weighs nearly 7.4 troy ounces. Adams Museum founder W.E. Adams bought the nugget for $250 in 1934.
• Museum Exhibit Curator Darrel Nelson said the value of the nugget is priceless.
• "People can estimate the dollar value based on the price of gold, but historically its value is incalculable," he told the Rapid City Journal. "Like any artifact, it is one-of-a-kind and what it does to the imagination is what's so invaluable. This nugget concentrates the Black Hills story so dramatically.
• "It is tangible evidence of a much bigger story - the European settlement of the Black Hills, the reasons for it and the drama behind it," Nelson said. "It represents the last great gold rush in the U.S."

(Continued on page 23)

© 2013 Groton Daily Independent • To send correspondence, click here.