Hill City Prevailer

Love INC offers free winter class series

Published by admin on Wed, 01/15/2025 - 2:54pm

In response to need, Love INC is holding two free Life INC classes, both beginning Jan 21.
Realign Financial Management runs through March 11 and focuses on the effects of financial challenges such as lack of financial knowledge, overspending and how poor credit can impact relationships. Grief Share, which runs through April 28, will help people deal with grief, specifically the difficult emotions felt after the death of a loved one.

Keystone tax figures relatively flat

Published by admin on Wed, 01/15/2025 - 2:53pm

The Keystone Town Board of Trustees approved its advertising contract with Homeslice Media Group at its Jan. 8 town board meeting. The three-year contract will cease Dec 31, 2027, after town attorney Mitch Johnson noticed an error in the original end date of the agreement.
Trustees approved  the contract with the stipulation that the error be fixed. The contract is for $130,000 annually for three years. There is also an extra fee for services in 2025 for video shooting, website rebuild and brand strategy.

Break the winter blues this Saturday

Published by admin on Wed, 01/15/2025 - 2:48pm

The Hill City Merchants Group is ready to ward off the chill of winter with their 15th annual Breakin’ the Winter Blues Chili Cook Off Saturday, Jan. 18.

Annual Burning Beetle set for Saturday

Published by admin on Wed, 01/15/2025 - 2:47pm

It’s that time of year again, where the phrase “Burn, Beetle, Burn!” can be heard in the air — Burning Beetle. This year’s Burning Beetle will be held Saturday, Jan. 18, and is packed full of fun, art, education and community spirit.
Thirteen years ago Burning Beetle was created to help the Custer community and the Black Hills come to grips with a beetle pandemic. While this is the 13th year of celebrating the event, this is the 12th year the beetle effigy has been annually torched.

Charges against state employees growing

Published by admin on Wed, 01/15/2025 - 2:46pm

A wave of criminal prosecutions against former South Dakota state employees continued Thursday with a new charge against a woman accused of using grocery vouchers intended for foster families.
The case is at least the fifth brought against a former state employee by attorney general Marty Jackley since last summer, all for fraud-related allegations.
“The Attorney General’s Office intends to continue to prosecute these cases to regain the public’s trust in state government,” Jackley said Thursday in a press release.
New case details

School, county mill levies decrease

Published by admin on Wed, 01/08/2025 - 9:55am

Pennington County homeowners have received their property tax bills, and many in Hill City and Keystone may have been pleasantly surprised that the increase was far less than it has been in the last few years.
Shannon Rittberger, director of the Pennington County Department of Equalization, said his office is not seeing the increases in property valuations that it had been over the last three to four years.
“Before that the real estate market went up 2-3 percent,” Rittberger said.

Businesses for sale not outside the ordinary

Published by admin on Wed, 01/08/2025 - 9:51am

Currently there are three commercial properties for sale in downtown Hill City and three for sale on the outskirts of town. And while six may seem like a lot, commercial real estate broker Chris Long said the Black Hills have always been a cyclical market.
Long, a 14-year veteran real estate expert with Keller Williams Commercial Team, said “people move in and out of properties in the Hills all the time,” calling it the “circular nature” of the Black Hills.

City sets 2025 water, sewer rates

Published by admin on Wed, 01/08/2025 - 9:51am

Final numbers are in. The Hill City Common Council set the 2025 water and sewer rates at its Dec. 30 meeting. The first bill will go out to residents Feb. 23.
Going off of previous discussions, city administrator Nate Anderson worked with city engineer AE2S to create a couple of different models for city rate structures that would honor the smallest users and account for the largest users.
After doing some additional analysis, Anderson recommended doing a three-tier model for residential and a five-tier model for non-residential.

Fresh-baked fundraiser

Published by admin on Wed, 01/08/2025 - 9:50am

Before you put away your old family recipes for the season consider submitting your favorites to the Hill City Lions Club’s (HCLC) new collaborative cookbook.
Early last year, HCLC president Stefanie Doaty saw a post on the Hill City Happenings Facebook page about an old recipe book from an organization in Hill City.

Keystone Country store to close its doors

Published by admin on Wed, 01/08/2025 - 9:47am

The Keystone Country Store will permanently close by the end of the month. That is according to current owner Sarah Digmann.
Digmann is sad at this decision, one that did not come easy to her. She has been wrestling with the idea for quite some time, staying open solely because of the people who really have nowhere else to go.
However, at this point she says the store was no longer economically viable for her and her family to continue to run.
“There are winter days when I see less than three customers,” she said.