BELLE FOURCHE—Kids and adults alike gathered to celebrate the City of Belle Fourche’s new and expanded skatepark with a ribbon cutting on October 15.
The skatepark is dedicated to Mike Peterson, a Belle Fourche native who had a love for skateboarding and snowboarding. He snowboarded for Burton Snowboards and passed away tragically in 2007.
Mike’s family and friends wanted to create something in his memory. “Perry Jewett, who was Mike’s best friend, came to the City almost two years ago and asked if the City would be interested in a project like this,” explained City Administrator Jason LaFayette.
Mike’s mom, JoAnne Wells, wanted to contribute to a project like the skatepark in the name of her son. The City agreed and came on board for the revision and dedication of an expanded skatepark. With his mom’s money, coupled with the City’s funding, the Mike’s Skatepark came to fruition.
The skatepark revamp has been in the works for about a year. The work was done by American Ramp Company out of Joplin, MO.
It came together sooner than expected with a little luck. “Luckily, we were able to get on their schedule because they were just 10 miles down the road working on Spearfish’s skatepark. So they popped over here—we removed the skate equipment right before the Sturgis Rally—and here we are getting it done in October! So it was down for about two months,” said LaFayette.
The skatepark is located next to the Rec Center in Highland Park and is free to use.
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