Spearfish: "Especially Hot," But Not with Students?

KELO-TV alerts us today that Spearfish has made the National Geographic Adventure list of "best towns" in America. According to its press release on the September 2007 edition, the magazine picked one small town from each state, based on categories of ideal spots for "wilderness seekers," "small-town dreamers," "mountain adventurers," "waterfront addicts," and "big-city explorers." Perhaps oddly, Spearfish, gateway to Black Hills hiking, mountain biking, and skiing (not to mention spectacular autumn leaf viewing in Spearfish Canyon) is listed as a destination for "small-town dreamers," while Rochester, Minnesota, and Valentine, Nebraska, make the "wilderness seeker" list. Perhaps NGA is just balancing its coverage: last year, Spearfish made NGA's list of 31 great adventure towns. (Evidently, the NGA writers have never tried the adventure of kayaking through whitecaps on Lake Herman to get water samples or weaving among the numerous spirited boaters on Lake Madison.)

Unfortunately, students at Spearfish's Black Hills State University don't appear to evaluate towns by the same criteria as the National Geographic writers. AP reports yesterday that BHSU had the lowest student retention rate of South Dakota's six public universities. (Note: the headline reads, "BHSU Has Lowest Retention Success;" it could just as easily have been "SDSU Has Highest Retention Success," since AP reports SDSU's 76% retention rate versus BHSU's 50%, but evidently the negative side gets the lead.) BHSU President Kay Schallenkamp attributes the lower retention rate to higher numbers of non-traditional students on campus.

Still, this hiker and biker scratches his head at the numbers. What are those kids thinking? Spearfish itself is a gorgeous little town -- I-90 access but small-town feel. And if SDSU had the recreational opportunities of the Black Hills (bike rides up Spearfish Canyon and around the Eagle Cliff Trails every week! campouts under Harney Peak!), I probably would have stayed for nine years rather than four and a half.

But maybe those recreational opportunities are part of the problem: the kids have so much fun rock-climbing and camping, they skip class and devote their time to the great outdoors!