Rapid City, South Dakota was founded in 1876[1] and was run by a village board of trustees until 1882, when John Richard Brennan, a member of the board and cofounder of the city, was chosen as mayor.
[2] Two months after the city was incorporated, Fred E. Stearns was elected mayor.
Rapid City returned to a mayor–council government in 1957.
[4] The Rapid City Council chose to extend the mayoral term to four years in 2015, and the change took effect in 2019.
[5] Former mayors Edward R. McLaughlin and Jim Shaw agreed with the change.