Hill City Prevailer

Five thousand dollars

Published by admin on Thu, 05/19/2022 - 10:16am

Five thousand dollars.
That’s my takeaway on what the Hill City Common Council and Planning and Zoning Commission decided that a firefighter’s life is worth.
Five thousand dollars.
 How did I or they come up with that number?

A letter about the sales tax proposal

Published by admin on Thu, 05/19/2022 - 9:03am

For discussion this week, I am, with her permission, printing the bulk of an email sent to me from a District 30 citizen:
“Dear Representative Goodwin, I read with interest your piece in the paper this week that proposes the elimination of private residence property tax via an increased sales tax (or consumption tax). My family wholeheartedly supports your proposal. If South Dakota could pull this off, it would be a revolutionary step in support of private citizen rights in this country.

Responding to the swamp postcard

Published by admin on Thu, 05/19/2022 - 9:02am

When opening my mailbox last Wednesday I found the hit piece on me that most of you received as well.  It is ironic that the swamp members sent this postcard. South Dakota Strong is a liberal political action committee in Watertown where Sen. Lee Schoenbeck is the head Republican In Name Only (RINO).

Answering some of your questions

Published by admin on Thu, 05/12/2022 - 10:32am
Several people have asked me if I am settled in Hill City yet. The answer is yes. I just passed six months with the Hill City Prevailer, and I already feel very at home here. The time has gone by fast, but it has been jam-packed with memories. 

A proposal to eliminate property tax

Published by admin on Thu, 05/12/2022 - 9:06am

Greetings! As promised, here is a proposal to eliminate all residential property taxes statewide. Before showing this proposal, I’d like to preface this by saying I feel our current property tax system is antiquated and quite frankly, broken. It picks winners and losers and is taxing homeowners out of their homes, not to mention the stress and strain it is putting on homeowners.  

Slide until your heart is content

Published by admin on Thu, 05/05/2022 - 10:18am
The other day I was sitting in the hot tub at the Roosevelt (by the way, shout out to the Roosevelt for being an amazing place. If you’ve never been there in my opinion you should check it out because for a very small fee you can swim and hot tub and staycation until your heart’s content).
But anyway, I digress.
I was in the hot tub when I saw a woman get up and head toward the stairs. I would estimate she was in her mid-60s. She was also about 50 pounds or so overweight. 

Committee will study property taxes

Published by admin on Thu, 05/05/2022 - 9:09am

Property taxes are the prime concern of South Dakotans, especially in the Black Hills, where the large number of people moving here has resulted in a housing shortage and our property assessments skyrocketing! Last session we passed some great legislation, increasing the income and property value requirements for seniors and disabled to qualify for a property tax freeze, as well as a bill correcting the classification of soil types for Ranchers that could have resulted in up to a 300 percent increase in their taxes without the correction of soil types.

No lion, I got skunked this season

Published by admin on Thu, 05/05/2022 - 8:55am

Lion season is officially over in the Black Hills Fire Protection District. The quota was 60 lions or 40 females. The actual harvest came in at 26 females and 16 males, for a total of 42 lions harvested. I believe this was the first season that neither of my two sons nor I got a lion or at least helped someone else get a lion. All three of us blanked.

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.

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.