70-Year-Old American Invests $150,000 in Tiny-House Village for Single Women

In Rapid City, South Dakota, Custer County Search and Rescue Director Sam Smolnisky helped extinguish an RV fire at a local campground. Smolnisky spotted the flames while driving with his family and tracked them to the source. The owners inside heard his knocking and got out safely. Smolnisky and other campground guests then grabbed hoses and sprayed the flames until the fire died out. The Custer County Sheriff’s Office said Smolnisky’s quick actions prevented a larger fire and potentially saved lives.

A 40-year-old Mineral man is accused of using a front-end loader to flip a motorhome and stack a Dodge pickup on top of it on July 22. According to a probable cause affidavit, Kelly P. Dempsey said he damaged the vehicles to get back at a man who "slept with his girlfriend," but later told law enforcement he had targeted the wrong person's vehicles. He faces charges including first-degree malicious mischief, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and $20,000 in fines. Dempsey failed to appear for a preliminary hearing on Aug. 13, and a judge issued a bench warrant with a $10,000 bail.

A motorhome caught fire Thursday afternoon on U.S. Highway 95 north of Moscow, Idaho. Volunteer firefighters arrived around 16:30; the motorhome rolled into a field, causing a small grass and brush fire. No injuries were reported.

Oakland city workers began towing vehicles and requiring owners to relocate on San Leandro Street south of the Oakland Coliseum in late August, according to council member Ken Houston. The action follows an April city council vote that removed inhabited vehicles from the official definition of a homeless encampment, effective in July, allowing RVs and cars with people living in them to be treated as abandoned and towed with less or no notice. Of Oakland's nearly 3,660 homeless people counted on a single night in 2024, about 2,120 (58%) lived in vehicles. The city has 1,260 shelter units for 4,410 homeless residents. In March, Oakland closed a safe RV parking site for 31 vehicles at 71st Avenue and San Leandro Street due to budget shortfalls.

Go RVing held its Ultimate RV Tailgate on Sept. 6 at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis., ahead of the Wisconsin vs. Notre Dame game. The seven-hour activation drew 8,000 booth visitors, with more than 1,000 touring the RV. The campaign features immersive pop-ups at major college football games and a sweepstakes offering $10,000 toward an RV.

The RV Technicians Association of America (RVTAA) and the National RV Inspectors Association (NRVIA) will hold the annual RVTAA & NRVIA Expo from Nov. 21–24 at the National RV Training Academy (NRVTA) in Athens, Texas. The event has been expanded from three to four days and is expected to be the largest gathering in the associations' history. Exclusive to active RVTAA and NRVIA members, the expo offers hands-on training, continuing education, product demonstrations and networking. Patrick Molina, inducted into the 2025 NRVTA Hall of Fame, has been announced as the official host of the 2026 Expo.