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Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Travelers gateway to the Black Hills: Wall, SD
Wall, S.D. (KELO) — Any trip this summer to the Black Hills needs to have Wall, South Dakota, on a places to see list. Measles inching closer to South Dakota This town sees thousands of visitors each day. For many, summer kicks off after Memorial Day Weekend. However, for Wall, guests start arriving as early as late April. 'Kind of preparing people to stop here in Wall, but once they get here we definitely have the Badlands and that's well known. We get a lot of travelers that will come through the Badlands, see the Badlands, then come through Wall and stay in Wall and then kind of finish through the Badlands to the Black Hills, ' Wall Chamber Executive Director Ali Webster said. Mary Williams, the current and first female Mayor for Wall, has seen an evolution over the years as more people continue to show up. 'Welcome to Wall is what we say to the new faces that come and yes Wall Drug since 1931 has made this community an international destination because of their billboards they have world wide,' Williams said. Wall Drug struggled at the beginning. However, after putting up their famous signs, the business began to grow by first handing out free water to people going through the Badlands. Now that growth is seen a few generations later. 'Ted went and hired a high school boy and lettered the sign, went out and put it up and before he got back to the drug store, the first customers had already stopped. They were giving out free glasses of ice water, they were selling ice cream cones, Coca-Colas, snacks and knickknacks and instantly they weren't going broke anymore,' Wall Drug Chairman Rick Hustead said. Over the years, Rick's father Bill Hustead constructed the Wall Drug seen today and increased its size from roughly 4,000 square feet to now 76,000 square feet. 'And you'll notice in our community we have paved streets throughout town and that's important for us to give our visitors just a very inviting look when they drive into our community,' Williams said. So far, Williams has counted people from 37 different states that have already visited this season, with around a dozen different countries represented as well. 'Constantly growing, constantly shifting, to how we meet the needs of the people who are coming here. Do we need to build new hotels, do we need to renovate hotels that are already existing? Just trying to keep it a pleasurable experience for all of our visitors,' Webster said. In addition to seasonal staff, several people who grew up in the area have returned to take over shops and businesses from previous generations. 'And they're taking over businesses in the agricultural area, as well as the tourism area. So yes, Wall Drug is in their fourth generation, and we've got other main street businesses in that same manner,' Williams said. Wall Drug itself employs close to 200 staff to help it navigate its busy season 'We believe we're the best roadside attraction in America and we want to keep that title. We want our customers to have a great experience, enjoy Wall Drug and keep them coming back generation after generation,' Hustead said. Wall averages around 10,000 to 15,000 visitors each day, who stop by to eat, shop or just take in all that Wall and Wall Drug have to offer on their travels. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
How a Recession Might Tank American Romance
Life was bleak, bleak, bleak: Soup-kitchen lines ran for blocks. Teenagers walked across the nation on foot, looking for work. Parents fashioned cardboard soles for their children's little shoes. This was the Great Depression, and Americans were suffering. But many of them did have one thing to look forward to: dating. Young people still went to movies and dances; they shared ice-cream sundaes or Coca-Colas. (They called the latter a 'Coke date.') Not everyone could manage such luxuries, Beth Bailey, a University of Kansas historian and the author of From Front Porch to Back Seat: Courtship in Twentieth-Century America, told me. But for those who could, she said, the rendezvous were a 'respite from all the grimness.' Even in this country's darkest economic times, romance has offered a little light. In the 1930s, more jobs opened up for single women; with money of their own, more could move away from family, providing newfound freedom to date, Joanna Scutts, a historian and writer, told me. Nearly a century later, a 2009 New York Times article cited online-dating companies, matchmakers, and dating-event organizers reporting a spike in interest after the 2008 financial crash. One dating-site executive claimed a similar surge had happened in 2001, during a previous economic recession. 'When you're not sure what's coming at you,' Pepper Schwartz, a University of Washington sociologist then working for told the Times, 'love seems all the more important.' Now, once again, people aren't sure what's coming at them. Many consumers have been rattled by the Trump administration's erratic trade policies. And although the chances of an actual recession have declined since the president eased off some of his more aggressive tariff positions, J. P. Morgan Research still estimates the possibility at 40 percent. Meanwhile, the United States is facing another kind of recession: a romance recession. Marriage rates are going down; the number of single adults is going up. Based on trends from past eras, one might expect economic unease to give the dating market a jolt. But the way people view romance has shifted dramatically since 2008. Americans today may not be as likely as they once were to seek solace in love. This time, if an economic recession is coming, it might make the romance recession even worse. Dating has always been expensive. Going out to a restaurant or bar or movie theater costs money; getting there might require a car; taking someone home is trickier if you can't afford to not have roommates (or if your roommates are your parents). Some people still prioritize romance in rocky times—but a lot of Americans these days are letting financial anxiety deter them. In 2022, surveyed single people about how inflation and economic uncertainty were influencing their love lives; nearly half of respondents said they'd refrained from scheduling a date in order to save money. In a 2024 poll from LendingTree, an online lending marketplace, 65 percent of participants said inflation had affected their dating life; 81 percent said they believed that dating might be easier if they had more money. In some sense, sure, dating is easier if you have more money. But wouldn't someone with less money be more intent on finding a partner to struggle alongside? [Read: How to prepare for a recession] Today, maybe not: People might want to weather the storm before searching for love. As the sociologist Andrew Cherlin has argued, marriage was once seen as a step toward adulthood; spouses strived to build a future—and a flush bank account—together. Now, more often, marriage is seen as the culmination of the maturing process: a 'trophy' earned once you've figured out everything else—including your finances. In one recent study, researchers asked participants making different incomes how much they desired a relationship and how ready they felt for one; six months later, they checked in to see whether those subjects had started dating someone. Johanna Peetz, a psychologist at Carleton University in Ottawa who worked on the project, told me that she and her co-author thought a higher income might make single life easier and more fun—and partnership seem less necessary. In reality, the participants making the least were the ones who viewed coupledom as only a distant priority, and who were less likely to enter a relationship. They seemed to 'really want a stable base,' Peetz said, 'before they start looking for a partner.' Something else has changed too. More people, stressed about their finances, may now see romance not as a fun distraction or a balm, but as a stressor in itself. Economic insecurity, researchers have found, tends to make people more risk-averse. That might not affect your dating game if going out with someone doesn't feel so scary, or if you're nervous but expect that the butterflies might lead to something beautiful. Today, though, people may be more wary of letting other people in. In recent years, researchers have clocked a growing discomfort with emotional intimacy and a drop in social trust. In 1972, the first year the General Social Survey was conducted, 46 percent of participants in that poll agreed that 'most people can be trusted'; earlier this month, Pew Research Center reported that, in a poll it conducted in 2023–24, only 34 percent of people said the same. Straight people might be especially hesitant to put themselves out there. Suspicion between men and women seems to be on the rise. The Survey Center on American Life found that from 2017 to 2023, the number of women who said they feared being sexually assaulted had increased steeply. And a lot of women, for various reasons, really are having bad romantic experiences; in a YouGov poll from February, 44 percent of men said they'd been on a 'terrible' date—while 57 percent of women said the same. Many of them might want to depend on a partner. They also might doubt that dating will yield one, at least not easily. For young adults in particular, an economic recession could be a disaster for romance. Gen Z is, overall, a financially anxious cohort. Leading up to the 2024 election, young adults across races and party affiliations rated inflation as their top concern. In the aftermath of that election, I talked with Meghan Grace, a co-author of Generation Z: A Century in the Making, and she summarized what she sees as this group's consistent, underlying concern: 'I just want to feel safe.' That attitude applies to finances but also to romantic risk. In a 2023 survey from the dating app Hinge, more than half of Gen Z users said they'd let the fear of rejection hold them back from pursuing someone; 44 percent had 'little to no dating experience.' [Read: Teens are forgoing a classic rite of passage] Even if an actual recession doesn't hit, economic angst isn't likely to disappear soon. And the romance recession isn't likely to reverse itself either. The mood may remain, for a while, distinctly unsexy. 'Overall, I guess my message really is, Oh, you better buckle up,' Peetz told me. 'It's definitely not gonna be a dating boom.' Being single is expensive. But no one can will a suitable partner into existence—and making romance work really can be harder with less wealth. In studies, people perform worse on cognitive-processing tasks when their funds are low: Some of their headspace seems to be occupied by worrying. 'You need cognitive resources to take the perspective of your partner, to communicate with your partner,' Peetz said, 'and to do all kinds of things that help relationship quality.' Holding off on the slog of modern dating could mean conserving emotional and financial reserves. It could mean leaning instead on long-known loved ones and strengthening those bonds. Partnership may once have felt like a relatively safe bet in an otherwise precarious world. Now, for many people, it's just one more thing that they can't depend on. When you buy a book using a link on this page, we receive a commission. Thank you for supporting The Atlantic. Article originally published at The Atlantic
Atlantic
28-05-2025
- Business
- Atlantic
What Recessions Do to Romance
Life was bleak, bleak, bleak: Soup-kitchen lines ran for blocks. Teenagers walked across the nation on foot, looking for work. Parents fashioned cardboard soles for their children's little shoes. This was the Great Depression, and Americans were suffering. But many of them did have one thing to look forward to: dating. Young people still went to movies and dances; they shared ice-cream sundaes or Coca-Colas. (They called the latter a 'Coke date.') Not everyone could manage such luxuries, Beth Bailey, a University of Kansas historian and the author of From Front Porch to Back Seat: Courtship in Twentieth-Century America, told me. But for those who could, she said, the rendezvous were a 'respite from all the grimness.' Even in this country's darkest economic times, romance has offered a little light. In the 1930s, more jobs opened up for single women; with money of their own, more could move away from family, providing newfound freedom to date, Joanna Scutts, a historian and writer, told me. Nearly a century later, a 2009 New York Times article cited online-dating companies, matchmakers, and dating-event organizers reporting a spike in interest after the 2008 financial crash. One dating-site executive claimed a similar surge had happened in 2001, during a previous economic recession. 'When you're not sure what's coming at you,' Pepper Schwartz, a University of Washington sociologist then working for told the Times, 'love seems all the more important.' Now, once again, people aren't sure what's coming at them. Many consumers have been rattled by the Trump administration's erratic trade policies. And although the chances of an actual recession have declined since the president eased off some of his more aggressive tariff positions, J. P. Morgan Research still estimates the possibility at 40 percent. Meanwhile, the United States is facing another kind of recession: a romance recession. Marriage rates are going down; the number of single adults is going up. Based on trends from past eras, one might expect economic unease to give the dating market a jolt. But the way people view romance has shifted dramatically since 2008. Americans today may not be as likely as they once were to seek solace in love. This time, if an economic recession is coming, it might make the romance recession even worse. Dating has always been expensive. Going out to a restaurant or bar or movie theater costs money; getting there might require a car; taking someone home is trickier if you can't afford to not have roommates (or if your roommates are your parents). Some people still prioritize romance in rocky times—but a lot of Americans these days are letting financial anxiety deter them. In 2022, surveyed single people about how inflation and economic uncertainty were influencing their love lives; nearly half of respondents said they'd refrained from scheduling a date in order to save money. In a 2024 poll from LendingTree, an online lending marketplace, 65 percent of participants said inflation had affected their dating life; 81 percent said they believed that dating might be easier if they had more money. In some sense, sure, dating is easier if you have more money. But wouldn't someone with less money be more intent on finding a partner to struggle alongside? Today, maybe not: People might want to weather the storm before searching for love. As the sociologist Andrew Cherlin has argued, marriage was once seen as a step toward adulthood; spouses strived to build a future—and a flush bank account—together. Now, more often, marriage is seen as the culmination of the maturing process: a 'trophy' earned once you've figured out everything else—including your finances. In one recent study, researchers asked participants making different incomes how much they desired a relationship and how ready they felt for one; six months later, they checked in to see whether those subjects had started dating someone. Johanna Peetz, a psychologist at Carleton University in Ottawa who worked on the project, told me that she and her co-author thought a higher income might make single life easier and more fun—and partnership seem less necessary. In reality, the participants making the least were the ones who viewed coupledom as only a distant priority, and who were less likely to enter a relationship. They seemed to 'really want a stable base,' Peetz said, 'before they start looking for a partner.' Something else has changed too. More people, stressed about their finances, may now see romance not as a fun distraction or a balm, but as a stressor in itself. Economic insecurity, researchers have found, tends to make people more risk-averse. That might not affect your dating game if going out with someone doesn't feel so scary, or if you're nervous but expect that the butterflies might lead to something beautiful. Today, though, people may be more wary of letting other people in. In recent years, researchers have clocked a growing discomfort with emotional intimacy and a drop in social trust. In 1972, the first year the General Social Survey was conducted, 46 percent of participants in that poll agreed that 'most people can be trusted'; earlier this month, Pew Research Center reported that, in a poll it conducted in 2023–24, only 34 percent of people said the same. Straight people might be especially hesitant to put themselves out there. Suspicion between men and women seems to be on the rise. The Survey Center on American Life found that from 2017 to 2023, the number of women who said they feared being sexually assaulted had increased steeply. And a lot of women, for various reasons, really are having bad romantic experiences; in a YouGov poll from February, 44 percent of men said they'd been on a 'terrible' date—while 57 percent of women said the same. Many of them might want to depend on a partner. They also might doubt that dating will yield one, at least not easily. For young adults in particular, an economic recession could be a disaster for romance. Gen Z is, overall, a financially anxious cohort. Leading up to the 2024 election, young adults across races and party affiliations rated inflation as their top concern. In the aftermath of that election, I talked with Meghan Grace, a co-author of Generation Z: A Century in the Making, and she summarized what she sees as this group's consistent, underlying concern: 'I just want to feel safe.' That attitude applies to finances but also to romantic risk. In a 2023 survey from the dating app Hinge, more than half of Gen Z users said they'd let the fear of rejection hold them back from pursuing someone; 44 percent had 'little to no dating experience.' Even if an actual recession doesn't hit, economic angst isn't likely to disappear soon. And the romance recession isn't likely to reverse itself either. The mood may remain, for a while, distinctly unsexy. 'Overall, I guess my message really is, Oh, you better buckle up,' Peetz told me. 'It's definitely not gonna be a dating boom.' Being single is expensive. But no one can will a suitable partner into existence—and making romance work really can be harder with less wealth. In studies, people perform worse on cognitive-processing tasks when their funds are low: Some of their headspace seems to be occupied by worrying. 'You need cognitive resources to take the perspective of your partner, to communicate with your partner,' Peetz said, 'and to do all kinds of things that help relationship quality.' Holding off on the slog of modern dating could mean conserving emotional and financial reserves. It could mean leaning instead on long-known loved ones and strengthening those bonds. Partnership may once have felt like a relatively safe bet in an otherwise precarious world. Now, for many people, it's just one more thing that they can't depend on.
Wales Online
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Wales Online
Bride 'too full' to eat own wedding dinner - after she and hubby ditch stunned guests to grab Big Macs
Bride 'too full' to eat own wedding dinner - after she and hubby ditch stunned guests to grab Big Macs Rosie Driscoll and Jacob Straffon decided to head to McDonald's for a bite to eat and some alone time together Rosie Driscoll and Jacob Straffon eating food in McDonald's (Image: Kennedy News/@IvyAndPinePhotography ) A 'McDonald's superfan' bride admits she was too full to eat her own wedding dinner - as she ditched her stunned guests to grab a Big Mac with her new hubby. Rosie Driscoll, 28, and Jacob Straffon, 29, were married in Hereford, on April 19 and decided to head to McDonald's for a bite to eat and some alone time together. The couple's 90 guests were unaware they had snuck off for an 'untraditional wedding breakfast' during the reception drinks until they came back holding branded fast food cups half an hour later. While enjoying their Big Mac, chicken nuggets and fries, the pair decided to have a photoshoot despite 'strange looks' from other diners as they didn't want to only have 'really formal photos' from the day. Putting a spin on tradition, the bride's favourite snap was of her looping her arm around her hubby's as they drank their Coca-Colas instead of champagne. Video footage shows the bride and groom walking into McDonald's dressed in their wedding attire and each ordering a meal before tucking in. Another clip shows the couple simultaneously taking a large bite from the burger. However the bride admits that she and Jacob were 'so full' from their extra fast food that they were unable to eat the special wedding meal of a charcuterie meats, cheeses and fruits. Rosie, a graphic designer client executive who lives in Bristol, said: "We're the ultimate McDonald's superfans now. It was one of the stand-out memories just because it felt so bizarre. The pair were so full, they did not eat their wedding meal (Image: Kennedy News/@IvyAndPinePhotography ) "We were in our little wedding bubble and then to leave that to go to McDonald's which was obviously a very different environment was just quite surreal and funny. It was across the road from the venue where we got married. When we went to view the venue we were like 'oh my god, how iconic would it be if we went to McDonald's and had a photoshoot in there'. Article continues below "I had nuggets and fries and Jacob had a Big Mac and fries and we had a coke as well. It's an untraditional wedding breakfast. We got a few strange looks from people around us but everyone was really lovely and congratulated us. We got quite a lot of attention which was quite funny. "We absolutely love the photos. We did the really cringey photos where you link arms and drink champagne but with our coke instead and we 'cheers'-ed our chips. We went into a couple of different parts of the store and the poor photographers were climbing over chairs and tables." The couple said they 'loved' the photos taken inside (Image: Kennedy News/OneLushDay ) Article continues below The couple revealed their 90 guests were confused as to their whereabouts but re-joined them during the drinks reception at 3:30pm before tucking into a charcuterie board later. Rosie said: "There was a bit of a rumour that we were going to McDonald's but we came back with our cokes and everyone was like 'no way you went to Maccie's'. People found it quite funny. It's very us to do something like that. "It was really nice to carve out some time for just the two of us as it can be a chaotic day and also to do something quite untraditional. We didn't want to have loads of really formal photos so it was really lovely that we've got some fun photos. We then had a very different meal of a charcuterie of meats, cheeses and fruits which neither of us could really eat as we were so full of McDonald's." The pair, who have been together for five years and first met at University, revealed they 'absolutely love' the fast food chain and visit regularly. Rosie said: "We absolutely love McDonald's and go as much as we can but we haven't been for months as we've been trying to squeeze into our wedding outfits. We do especially love a McDonalds breakfast. I would recommend doing something a bit quirky and different for your wedding day. It was quite a nice talking point to do that."
Daily Mirror
03-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
McDonald's spree by hungry bride has unexpected spin-off for wedding bash
Rosie Driscoll, 28, and Jacob Straffon, 29, were married in Hereford, on 19 April and decided to head to McDonald's for a bite to eat and some alone time together A hungry bride who ditched her 90 guests to go on a McDonald's spree admitted she was "so full" she couldn't eat her own wedding dinner. Newlyweds Rosie Driscoll, 28, and Jacob Straffon, 29, tied the knot in Hereford on April 19 when they decided to head to the fast-food chain for a bite to eat. The couple's guests had no idea they ditched them for an "untraditional wedding breakfast" during the reception drinks until they came back holding branded fast food cups half an hour later. While enjoying their Big Mac, chicken nuggets and fries, the pair decided to have a photoshoot despite "strange looks" from other diners as they didn't want to only have "really formal photos" from the day. Putting a spin on a tradition, the bride's favourite snap was of her looping her arm around her hubby's as they drank their Coca-Colas instead of champagne. Amazing footage shows the bride and groom walking into McDonald's dressed in their wedding attire and each ordering a meal before tucking in. Another clip shows the couple simultaneously taking a large bite from the burger. However the bride admits that she and Jacob were 'so full' from their extra fast food that they were unable to eat the special wedding meal of a charcuterie meats, cheeses and fruits. Rosie, a graphic designer client executive who lives in Bristol, said: "We're the ultimate McDonald's superfans now. It was one of the stand-out memories just because it felt so bizarre. "We were in our little wedding bubble and then to leave that to go to McDonald's which was obviously a very different environment was just quite surreal and funny. "It was across the road from the venue where we got married. When we went to view the venue we were like 'oh my god, how iconic would it be if we went to McDonald's and had a photoshoot in there'. "I had nuggets and fries and Jacob had a Big Mac and fries and we had a coke as well. It's an untraditional wedding breakfast. "We got a few strange looks from people around us but everyone was really lovely and congratulated us. We got quite a lot of attention which was quite funny. "We absolutely love [the photos]. We did the really cringey photos where you link arms and drink champagne but with our coke instead and we 'cheers'-ed our chips. "We went into a couple of different parts of the store and the poor photographers were climbing over chairs and tables." The couple revealed their 90 guests were confused as to their whereabouts but re-joined them during the drinks reception at 3:30pm before tucking into a charcuterie board later. Rosie said: "There was a bit of a rumour that we were going to McDonald's but we came back with our cokes and everyone was like 'no way you went to Maccie's'. People found it quite funny. It's very us to do something like that. "It was really nice to carve out some time for just the two of us as it can be a chaotic day and also to do something quite untraditional. We didn't want to have loads of really formal photos so it was really lovely that we've got some fun photos. "We then had a very different meal of a charcuterie of meats, cheeses and fruits which neither of us could really eat as we were so full of McDonald's." The pair, who have been together for five years and first met at University, revealed they "absolutely love" the fast food chain and visit regularly. Rosie said: "We absolutely love McDonald's and go as much as we can but we haven't been for months as we've been trying to squeeze into our wedding outfits. We do especially love a McDonalds breakfast. "I would recommend doing something a bit quirky and different for your wedding day. It was quite a nice talking point to do that."
