Dakota Territory was created in 1861 and received its first major impetus in 1874 when gold was confirmed in the Black Hills by General Custer. One hundred years later, on August 27, 1961, Joe Floyd’s KELO-LAND TV and Radio stations and the Dakota Territory Centennial Commission staged a gold rush in which 1439 capsules were planted in a 200’x 300’ gold field. A total of 1439 prospectors, armed with gold shovels and chosen through a summer-long contest conducted by the KELO-LAND stations, entered the field to dig for $35,000 in cash and merchandise prizes. In a separate field, governors of the 50 states or their substitutes dug on behalf of charity for $3500. At a signal from bandleader Lawrence Welk, the diggers unearthed their capsules and rushed to the assay office to claim their prizes. Mrs. Floyd Carlon of Sioux Falls won first prize of $10,000. More than 150,000 people, the largest crowd in the state’s history, witnessed the Gold Rush of 1961. Governor Archie Gubbrud, Senator Francis Case, Senator Karl Mundt, Representative Ben Reifel, former governor Joe Foss, and other dignitaries attended. As the climax of the Dakota Territorial Centennial year, the event also included a Square Dance Festival, Amateur Talent Show, Boy Scout Camporee, Carnival, Fireworks Display, and appearances by TV stars Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound, Paul Brinegar, and Clint Eastwood.