Occupy Rapid City Council

Members of the Occupy Rapid City group gathered outside city hall this evening.  The group had an objective that they hope will help to improve the local economy and stimulate local job growth in the future.  The group assembled inside the council chambers after a brief protest gathering on the sidewalk outside.  About ten members of the group registered to speak publicly before the council.  Each speaker approached the topic from their own unique prospective, but the common theme was to encourage the council members to reconsider the makeup of the officially designated depositories for the city’s money.  Occupiers want to see the list limited to locally owned banks, local investment companies, and local credit unions.

The current list includes numerous large national institutions and some foreign companies.   Two additional institutions wanted to be included in the list and this was the reason the resolution was up reconsideration at tonight’s council meeting.  The resolution on tonight’s agenda included the following financial institutions:

A.G. Edwards & Sons, Inc.

BankWest Inc.

Black Hills Community Bank

Black Hills Federal Credit Union

Capstone Asset Management Company

Dougherty & Company, LLC

Edward Jones Investment

First Interstate Bank

First National Bank

First Western Federal Savings Bank

Great Western Bank

Investment Center of America, Inc.

KT Investments

Merrill Lynch

Pioneer Bank and Trust

RBC Wealth Management

US Bank

Voyageur Investment Management

            Wells Fargo

The council passed an amended motion to approve the list and create a committee to review the criteria for choosing the institutions on the list.  The issue is to be revisited by the council in sixty days.