News

Opt out petition rejected by district

Published by admin on Wed, 04/30/2025 - 8:54am
About 20 people packed into the Hayward Fire Station to attend a special meeting of the Battle Creek Fire Protection District to discuss a petition for the district opt out to go to a public vote.
The all-volunteer district board is made up of former fire board members from Hermosa and Hayward as well as two Keystone residents. 
Those that attended came from Hayward and  Hermosa predominantly, with a varying number of newer residents and lifelong residents, including Jim Baker, who created the petition.

Custer commission agrees with jail partnership

Published by admin on Wed, 04/30/2025 - 8:45am
A $6 million partnership is not usually a cinch, but in this case, the Custer County (CC) Commission sees financially supporting the Pennington County (PC) jail expansion project as mutually beneficial.
At the April 23 commission meeting, PC sheriff Brian Mueller, along with PC commissioner Jerry Derr and PC buildings and grounds director Davis Purcell, provided the commission with more information about the jail expansion project. 

Consultant hired to replace Schade

Published by admin on Wed, 04/23/2025 - 1:26pm
Dani Schade, development services coordinator for the City of Hill City, has been let go from the position she served with the city for the past seven years.  Hill City mayor Tana Nichols made the announcement at the April 8 Hill City Planning and Zoning  (P&Z) Commission meeting saying, “She was not fired for disciplinary reasons.”
Nichols said, “What we’re doing is eliminating her position, basically,” due to “restructuring.”
Nichols said Schade would get the next couple of weeks paid and the decision was not easy for the common council members. 

Ranger Field renovations discussed

Published by admin on Wed, 04/23/2025 - 1:20pm
Phase three goals for renovating Ranger Field were discussed at the April 14 Hill City School District (HCSD) Board of Education meeting. 
The field has been home to the Rangers since 1971, but the land itself is owned by the U.S. Forest Service. The current permit is up for renewal in 2031, but superintendent Blake Gardner has hopes of taking ownership of the field someday.

License clarification leads to changes

Published by admin on Wed, 04/23/2025 - 1:18pm
A clarification about full service restaurant liquor licenses in Keystone may mean a change in its cost. 
Outgoing Keystone Town Board trustee Lynette Tyon brought up the matter at the April 17 Keystone Town Board meeting. Attorney Mitch Johnson said the city ordinance was the exact one the state uses, SDCL 35-4-110-120. The town sold its first license in 2008 for $60,000. Johnson said that is the price the license has remained for 10 years. 

School board discusses testing assessment results

Published by admin on Wed, 04/23/2025 - 1:05pm
With the elementary in the thick of the South Dakota English Lanugage Arts (ELA)  and Mathematics assessments and the high school getting ready to start SBAC (Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium) testing, much of the Hill City School District Board of Education (HCSD) discussion revolved around testing assessments at the meeting April 14.

Sarah Wedge receives Shining Star award

Published by admin on Wed, 04/23/2025 - 12:25pm

The Custer School District (CSD) has a new shining star. At the district’s board of education meeting in Hermosa April 14, business manager Sarah Wedge was presented the 2025 South Dakota Association of School Business Officials (SDASBO) Shining Star award.
The SDASBO presents this award to a business manager in their first five years as a business official. The business manager must demonstrate remarkable innovation and leadership qualities and make a positive impact on their school and community.

County, Carter settle lawsuit

Published by admin on Wed, 04/23/2025 - 12:24pm

A lawsuit filed by a former Custer County employee against the county has been dismissed, while a countersuit filed by the county against the former employee has been dropped.
At the end of it all neither side has admitted fault and no money changed hands, with both sides essentially agreeing to go their separate ways after three years of litigation.
It was January 2022 when former county emergency services director Mike Carter filed his lawsuit after it was alleged money he was promised by the county in exchange for his retirement was never received.

City council hears chamber update

Published by admin on Wed, 04/23/2025 - 12:23pm

It was a busy year in 2024 for the Custer Area Chamber of Commerce, with 21,625 visitors coming into the office, plenty of community events put on or supported and 298 members to attend to.
Those were among the numbers given to the Custer City Council by chamber executive director Dawn Murray at the council’s April 7 meeting.
Murray said the chamber maintains a 95.4 percent retention rate of its members, gave out $41,000 in Custer Cash last year and gives nearly that much back to the community through promotion.

Questions posed on Battle Creek opt out

Published by admin on Wed, 04/23/2025 - 12:23pm

Representatives from the Battle Creek Fire Protection District board recently held outreach meetings in Hermosa and Keystone. These informal meetings were to listen to concerns from constituents about a proposed $225,000 opt out for a five-year time frame beginning this year for taxes payable in 2026.
While not very well attended, the discussions did offer some insight about the district and the three stations it mans, as well as its budget and a petition asking the opt out be moved to a taxpayer vote.