Badlands Observatory in Quinn, South Dakota, near Wall, was founded in 2000 by amateur astronomer Ron Dyvig and gained an important place in minor-planet research. Working from a former medical facility, the observatory benefited from the town’s efforts to reduce light pollution by shielding street lights. Dyvig brought experience from the University of Arizona’s Optical Sciences Center and Steward Observatory, as well as observing runs on Kitt Peak. By November 2016, twenty-five numbered minor planets had been discovered there, including asteroid 26715 South Dakota. The observatory also advanced remote observing, including the 2008 Internet-based discovery of main-belt asteroid 315495 2008 AQ3 by Fabrizio Tozzi.