Opinion

Progress is worth celebrating

Published by admin on Wed, 04/16/2025 - 9:33am

When you opened your copy of the Custer County Chronicle today, you likely discovered a nice, thick special edition tucked inside the regular newspaper. This is our April Progress Edition, which features stories about the progress in infrastructure, businesses, nonprofits, tourism and more across Custer County.

We proudly present Progress 2025

Published by admin on Wed, 04/16/2025 - 9:32am

By the time some of you pick this newspaper up Wednesday afternoon, the office at the Chronicle will be locked up and we won’t be there. Why? A celebration will be taking place at a local restaurant.
That celebration is for a good cause. The 2025 Custer County Chronicle and Hill City Prevailer News Progress Editions are out the door. They are out of our lives. For another year, at least. The Progress Edition is truly a labor of love, but there should be an emphasis on the labor part of that phrase. The Progress Edition is a lot of work. And we mean a lot of work.

Providing real property tax relief

Published by admin on Wed, 04/16/2025 - 8:38am
Now that the legislative session is in the rearview mirror, I’m focused on looking forward and unlocking new opportunities for South Dakota. We had a historic 100th legislative session, and we accomplished a lot for the people of South Dakota—but there’s more work to do!

When is the breaking point?

Published by admin on Wed, 04/16/2025 - 8:36am
Greetings! Let’s talk property taxes, shall we? First off, let’s put things in the proper perspective. The state of South Dakota receives zero dollars from property taxes. All of our property taxes are collected by the county and dispersed to the different tax entities within the county. The state is funded by sales tax, federal monies, unclaimed property, etc., not property taxes.

Vandalizing Teslas is counterproductive

Published by admin on Wed, 04/09/2025 - 11:34am

In the latest installment of the Democrat saga “We haven’t grasped why we lost the election,” some Democrats have taken to burning and vandalizing Teslas or vandalizing Tesla dealerships all in the name of allegedly sticking it to Elon Musk. Why is it every time Democrats (again, not all, I think that goes without saying) get angry they immediately resort to violence? It accomplishes absolutely nothing, and if anything, is off-putting and extremely counterproductive.

Carries make Custer a great place

Published by admin on Wed, 04/09/2025 - 11:31am

It was last Friday when I wrapped up my Progress Edition interviews (finally!) when I went over the Petals and Pages, formerly known as Jenny’s Floral, to interview owner Carrie Moore about both moving her business as well as changing the name.
As I talked to her and looked around her new place (and if you haven’t checked it out, you definitely should) I couldn’t help but feel very proud of her. And she really should be very proud of herself.

You think the property tax issue is fixed?

Published by admin on Wed, 04/09/2025 - 10:28am
Some of us thought it might help, didn’t we? I know I did. And yet in this one measure, our new governor has come out of the starting gate with an immediate lack of transparency and trust. 
Upon reading an article on Keloland entitled, “Three percent value cap isn’t for individual homes in SD,” dated April 2, I learned what a sham our governor’s so-called “property tax relief” really is.
The article explains Gov. Larry Rhoden’s recently passed SB216. And if the story is correct, the bill doesn’t seem to help most of us at all.

Taking responsibility seems to be lost art

Published by admin on Wed, 04/02/2025 - 10:31am

If you don’t like this editorial, we feel compelled to let you know—it’s not our fault, it’s someone else’s.

Signs of spring showing in Death Valley

Published by admin on Wed, 04/02/2025 - 10:30am

Hello again from Death Valley! Things have begun heating up here, and even though spring has just begun, it’s already warmer than it usually is in a Black Hills summer–just last week the thermometer was pushing 100 degrees! As it continues to get warmer and warmer, I’ll be able to be outside less and less often, so I’m soaking it up as often as I can.

A look at my bills that passed and failed

Published by admin on Wed, 04/02/2025 - 10:23am

Greetings! As of this writing, I’m packed and ready to go back to Pierre for our final day of legislative session. We call it Veto Day because the break gives the governor a couple of weeks to sort through all the bills that passed and decide if he’s going to sign the bills, in effect making them law, or to veto the bills. If vetoed, we need to get  two-thirds (47 in House, 24 in Senate) of the legislators to vote to override his veto.