Neil deGrasse Tyson is scheduled to speak in Rapid City, SD on October 1st. Not often is Rapid City lucky enough to have such a renowned speaker visit, and the community has been anticipating the ability to attend, since the announcement earlier in the year. Tickets went on sale at 10am MST, August 24, and within minutes were completely sold out. There were many people waiting in line to purchase tickets in person, most (if any) were unable to do so. The same goes for the hundreds that were online or calling in to secure a spot to this incredible event. The tickets that were barely made available to the public are now selling on the third market for $200+ each, less than 12 hours after their release. (http://www.excite.com/events/ResultsTicket.php?evtid=2575429)

The Rushmore Plaza Civic Center has many other event spaces that would be able to accommodate a much larger audience. This petition is to encourage the RPCC to make the space available, or revoke the tickets that are being sold at 4000% markup, so the community is able to benefit from this renowned speaker, not the scalpers.