1. The Great Sioux War of 1876 officially began on August 8th, 1876, when General George Crook and his soldiers clashed with a group of Lakota and Cheyenne warriors at the Battle of Slim Buttes in present-day Harding County, South Dakota.

2. On August 8th, 2005, a magnitude 3.6 earthquake shook the Black Hills region of South Dakota, causing minor damage but sparking concerns about the potential for larger quakes in the future.

3. August 8th, 1927, marked the dedication of the Mount Rushmore National Memorial, which features the faces of four US presidents (George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln) carved into the side of a mountain in the Black Hills.

4. In 1980, the South Dakota State Historical Society unveiled a commemorative marker in the town of Parker, SD, honoring the birthplace of Laura Ingalls Wilder, the author of the beloved "Little House on the Prairie" series of books.

5. On August 8th, 1976, the South Dakota Legislature formally adopted the state flag, which features a blue background with a sunburst design surrounded by the state name and the words "South Dakota" in yellow and gold letters.