Teddy Roosevelt landmark restored in SD

DEADWOOD, S.D. (AP) — Restoration work is almost complete on a landmark in South Dakota's Black Hills that honors former President Theodore Roosevelt.

The rock masonry is being repaired on Friendship Tower on Mount Roosevelt west of Deadwood. Crews also have built a new stairway and done foundation upgrades to direct water away.

KEVN-TV says Box Elder Job Corps students and a stone mason who specializes in restoring historical landmarks are doing the work through the federal stimulus program.

The tower was built in 1919 by Deadwood pioneer Seth Bullock, in honor of Roosevelt, who was his close friend. Roosevelt was regarded as one of the country's great conservationists. He ranched a little to the north of the Black Hills, in the North Dakota Badlands.

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