South Dakota once again heads for the high seas; this time in a submarine
The Navy is set to commission its newest fast attack submarine, the USS South Dakota, Saturday in Connecticut.
This will be the 17th Virginia-class submarine to join the U.S. fleet. It will also be the third commissioned U.S. Navy vessel to carry the South Dakota name; following a Pennsylvania-classed armored cruiser commissioned in 1908 and a battleship commissioned in 1942.
Senator Mike Rounds is set to be the featured speaker at Saturday's ceremony.
District 32 State Representative Scyller J. Borglum will also be a part of that ceremony.
The Navy says the USS South Dakota is 377 feet long, can dive to depths greater than 800 feet, operate at speeds greater than 25 knots while underwater and run for more than 30 years without ever refueling.
Custom Harley commemorates USS South Dakota
There's an incentive to get the crew of the U-S-S South Dakota to visit us here in the Black Hills. And they're doing it through a motorcycle.
You first got a look at this amazing 2018 Harley-Davidson Street Glide back in May.
It was customized by South Dakota airbrush artist Mickey Harris, painted in commemoration of the USS South Dakota battleship that sailed during World War II and the new USS South Dakota nuclear submarine.
The motorcycle was showcased at an event in Connecticut Thursday and will be placed at the Sturgis Motorcycle Museum.
Any member of the sub's crew at the time of the commissioning Saturday, Feb. 2, will be able to check the bike out in Sturgis -- for life -- and ride it here in the Black Hills.
Any crew member that joins the sub later will be able to ride it for as long as they remain a member of the USS South Dakota crew.
The motorcycle was donated by Harley Davidson.
