KIMM, the venerable AM radio station in Rapid City, mysteriously went silent recently, leaving its regular listeners wondering what happened to their favorite station.
I'm not sure.
I called Badlands Broadcasting, the Rapid City company that leases the station. Program director Lonnie Glasford referred me to Steven Silberberg. Silberberg, of Bedford, N.H., is the majority owner of Badland Broadcasting. He wasn't available for comment Wednesday afternoon.
Badlands Broadcasting, with studios on West Main Street in the Gap, also operates KFMH, or B-102.
KIMM's actual licensee is Duane Butt, a Pierre accountant who also owns radio stations in Huron and in Kansas. I didn't get a chance to talk to him, either. But I hope to do that before next week.
I believe KIMM, which broadcasts on 1150-AM, has been primarily a country station in recent years.
Smatterings, Hadd are back in business
Kim Hadd is back. So is Smatterings, the picture-framing shop and art gallery she closed three years ago. Her mother is ill, and at the time, she wanted to concentrate on family things.
"It's time for me to get back into it," she said.
The new Smatterings Creative Studio is at 609 Mount Rushmore Road, next to Black Hills Staple a& Spice. This time, Kim said, she's not operating an art gallery. She's just framing pictures and putting on creative kids parties.
Her business has been all over town at various times. Most recently it was in a very large space in the old Metz Bakery building on West Main Street, next door to her husband's Computer Village store. Her gallery had a reputation for featuring young, new artists whose works were affordable for collectors who didn't have the money to buy from established names.
Speaking of young artists, I asked her about the creative parties. "It's very fun; I used to have a kids art club at the gallery, and I love working with kids," she said. She will come in and decorate for parties and line up art projects such as T-shirt painting for kids to do at the party.
The shop is open six days a week, and there's parking in the back. For more information, call 415-2559.
Sisters to Perk It Up at the library
The Rapid City Public Library's coffee shop has new owners and a new name. It's called Perk It Up at the Library, owned by Mindy McCaskell and her sister, Julie Rhodes.
They recently bought the former Crossroads Coffee.
Julie has worked in the coffee shop for the past 10 months. Mindy operates the Country Manor Bed and Breakfast Inn in Hill City.
The coffee bar opened inside the library in August 2006. It's in the heart of the library on the main level. (Before the library remodeled, it was the genealogy room.)
It offers a variety of espresso coffees, Italian sodas and other beverages. Mindy said she and her sister plan to add soups, sandwiches and other nutritious foods. "We're going to take it up a little bit," she said.
Hours are Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Friday from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m.
Life coach sets up on Main Street
Dace Price Life Coaching, a service offered by Dace Price of Rapid City, has set up shop in Suite 214 of the Dusek Building, 919 Main St.
Price said his move into the life-coaching profession was a natural progression for him. When he was young, he liked working with people, and he started offering various health and nutritional help. That led him into spiritual and holistic help for people.
That is how he discovered something called the Emotional Freedom Technique, or EFT. It's a form of energy psychology, probably too complicated for me to explain here.
"It's a way to overcome blockages, and using other coaching techniques, … to identify belief systems that people may or may not know they are running," he said.
If you would like more information on EFT or on Price, there's an open house scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 2, from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. For more information, call 209-5140.
Nic's Nax gets bigger
One of my favorite Spearfish stores, Nic's Nax Handcrafted Jewelry, at 605 Main St., just got bigger.
I got a note from owner Nicola Meeks the other day. She recently opened a new addition to the store, called RaneMaker Beads. It's in the back of Nic's Nax, and it has thousands of strands of beads, turquoise and semi-precious stones, as well as jewelry making findings, clasps and other supplies. Beading classes will resume this month. For more information, call 717-6427 (717-NICS), or visit www.nicsnax.com.
A British expatriate, Nicola opened Nic's Nax two years ago. She moved to the United States in 1989 from Newquay in Cornwall.
Cracker Barrel: Thanks, but no thanks
Fans of the Cracker Barrel restaurant aren't going to like this, but the Tennessee-based chain is not coming to Rapid City any time soon.
If it did, I think it would be a success. I can't remember how many times readers of this column have told me how much they like the down-home style of Cracker Barrels they've been to in their travels.
One such reader, Bud Brummer, wrote a letter to Cracker Barrel asking the company to come to Rapid City. He sent me the response letter.
"We appreciate the suggestion for a new location in Rapid City. Unfortunately, we have no expansion plans for your state at this time. I wish I had better news for you," wrote S. James Torcivia, director of real estate for Cracker Barrel Old Country Store.
So there you have it. Or don't have it, I guess.
Talking Business appears Thursdays in the Journal. Contact Dan Daly by telephone at 394-8421, by fax at 394-8463 or by e-mail: dan.daly@rapidcityjournal.com
