Custer County Chronicle

What to know about the primary

Published by admin on Thu, 04/28/2022 - 9:06am

With the start of the absentee voting period on April 22nd, another election cycle in South Dakota has begun. I want to use this opportunity to share important information regarding the upcoming primary election, which will be held June 7.

DOR needs new message, messenger

Published by admin on Thu, 04/28/2022 - 9:04am

Cheers to Lea Anne McWhorter, Monica McGowan and the rest of the crew from the Custer County Tax Reform Committee for their great work in putting together the property tax forum held at Custer High School last week!
Jeers to the South Dakota Department of Revenue (DOR) and its representative, deputy secretary David Wiest, for spoiling what was an otherwise informative and productive meeting with a superior attitude of negativity and dismissiveness.

Early voting and Amendment Charlie

Published by admin on Thu, 04/28/2022 - 8:58am

It’s early voting season!  Yep, it began last Friday, April 22, and goes to June 6. The actual Primary Election Day is Tuesday, June 7.  Our General Election is Tuesday, Nov. 8. Early voting can be accomplished at your county courthouse.  
I stopped by my county courthouse (Pennington) and picked up a sample ballot along with what they call a “Primary Ballot Question Information Pamphlet.” This pamphlet is put out by our Secretary of State’s office.

We proudly present Progress 2022

Published by admin on Thu, 04/21/2022 - 9:27am

Whew.
That huge sigh of relief you heard sweep across Custer County last week was emanating from the office of the Custer County Chronicle. It was last Wednesday afternoon that two months of hard work concluded when the pages of the 2022 Progress Edition were sent to the press. That’s always a big day here at the Chronicle, and a day we usually celebrate with some sort of party or treats. Actually, we celebrate after the papers are officially on the racks and at the post office on Wednesday, but you get the idea. We are always glad when it’s over.

Learning the lessons of history

Published by admin on Thu, 04/21/2022 - 9:23am

I love learning about history. When I see the granite faces on Mount Rushmore, I always want to learn more about the men enshrined there. When I walk through downtown Rapid City and see the bronze statues of our presidents, I want to learn more about each of their successes and failures. I love the stories — and we can learn powerful lessons from those stories.

Impeachment now moves to Senate

Published by admin on Thu, 04/21/2022 - 9:07am

At 11:04  April 12, 2022, 36 of 70 lawmakers of the House of Representatives voted to impeach attorney general Jason Ravnsborg (pronounced rounsborg).  This was the very first impeachment since statehood Nov. 2, 1889. Thirty-six was a simple majority of House members elected.  We did have three House members excused but a simple majority is figured of the number of House members elected, not the number of House members present.

Property tax reform, I’m on it

Published by admin on Thu, 04/21/2022 - 9:06am

As the desire to leave the urban congestion behind them, South Dakota, and especially the Black Hills has been experiencing a huge influx of people moving here from all over the United States. I understand why they would want to relocate from places that are becoming undesirable to live and raise a family.

I don’t support a Convention of States

Published by admin on Wed, 04/13/2022 - 4:07pm

Now that session is over our campaign season is beginning. I will run for re-election as your state senator in District 30. I appreciate all of the support and encouragement to continue representing the citizens of our great state.
I am very happy to have had the opportunity to work with everyone on stopping the Custer State Campground and expansion of municipal campgrounds.  The state does not need to be competing with the private sector. Big thank you to all of you who helped with those issues.

First responders save the day

Published by admin on Wed, 04/13/2022 - 4:02pm

Seriously—what would we do without our first responders?

City, county must work together

Published by admin on Wed, 04/13/2022 - 4:01pm

If you’ve been reading the pages of the newspaper over the past few weeks, you know it is a contentious time when it comes to our local governments. Both the Custer County Commission, the Custer City Council, and even the Town of Hermosa are dealing with extremely important issues that can cause some rancor among the boards and the people those boards serve.