News

New school board members take office

Published by admin on Wed, 07/23/2025 - 9:39am

Brandy Tarap and Corey Virtue officially took their seats at the table during the Custer School District (CSD) Board of Education meeting July 14 at the School administration building. They swore to support the laws of the Constitution of the United States and the State of South Dakota and to faithfully perform the duties of school board membership to the best of their judgment and ability.

Himrichs moving after 63 years in Custer

Published by admin on Wed, 07/23/2025 - 9:37am

Custer is saying farewell to two long-term residents next week as Ed and Fran Himrich pack their bags after 63 years. 
Originally, Ed and Fran were born and raised in Selby. Ed went to dental school in Minneapolis, Minn. at the university, and Fran taught school in Bloomington, Minn. From there, they moved to Perham, Minn., for a while, partly because there were 1,000 lakes in the county and Ed liked to fish. 

Legislators talk state prison process

Published by admin on Wed, 07/23/2025 - 9:36am

“It’s time to stop pretending this is just about criminal justice infrastructure. This is about hundreds of millions of dollars changing hands.”
Those are the words of South Dakota District 30 Sen. Amber Hulse regarding the ongoing process of determining where to build the new men’s prison in South Dakota. Hulse said she believes the public needs to know who is cashing in on the process—and why.
“We need transparency and real oversight before this becomes the most expensive prison South Dakota has ever seen,” she said.

Council hears budget requests

Published by admin on Wed, 07/23/2025 - 9:32am
Four entities came before the Hill City Common Council (HCCC) at its first budget hearing July 10. The Pennington County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) is asking for a flat five percent increase on all its contract towns, which includes Hill City. 
In addition, PCSO will ask the Pennington County Commission for a wage increase for its deputies, according to sheriff Brian Mueller, who came before the HCCC. 

Open meetings laws clarified—sort of

Published by admin on Wed, 07/23/2025 - 9:30am
Code of conduct and open meeting laws were discussed at the July 14  Hill City Common Council (HCCC) meeting. City attorney Nathan Chicoine led the discussion, prompted by a new law requiring review of open meeting laws, which became effective July 1. Chicoine explained to council members that they should be cautious of getting together outside of regularly scheduled council meetings. 

School board wraps and begins new year

Published by admin on Wed, 07/23/2025 - 9:29am
The Hill City School District Board of Education’s (HCSDBE) July meeting served as the final meeting of the 2024-25 school year and the inaugural meeting for the 2025-26 year, while reorganizing and swearing in re-elected members for their next term and recognizing board achievements. 

Task force tasked with diverse state demands

Published by admin on Wed, 07/23/2025 - 9:27am
The South Dakota  Comprehensive Property Tax Task Force 2025 met at the School of Mines in Rapid City July 20. The message from the meeting was very clear—there is no one size fits all for South Dakota when it comes to fiscal issues.
The meeting began with a discussion amongst committee members about Tax Increment Financing (TIF) districts, with Sen. Taffy Howard, R-District 34, taking repeated jabs at Rapid City for its continued use of the concept. 

Jail expansion project met with tough questions

Published by admin on Wed, 07/23/2025 - 9:25am
About 30 people were at the Monument in Rapid City July 15 to hear about the proposed Pennington County Jail Expansion project.
After 14 months of design and five initial options, there are now only two options on the table—Option B, adding 296 beds in two housing floors, or  Option C, which is Option B plus two additional shelled floors for future growth.
Pennington County Sheriff Brian Mueller said, “I think that on the current course that we’re looking at if we had two finished floors that would be 2040” when the jail would reach capacity. 

Body extracted from Hippie Hole

Published by admin on Wed, 07/16/2025 - 9:32am
The body of 23-year-old Jaden White Plume of Box Elder was recovered between 10:30 and 11 p.m. the night of July 12 at Hippie Hole outside of Keystone.

Goodwin pitches state prison to Hill City

Published by admin on Wed, 07/16/2025 - 9:31am
Hill City Common Council members discussed putting in a bid for a new men’s South Dakota State Prison at its July 14 meeting. The matter was brought to the council by District 30 Rep. Tim Goodwin.
Goodwin said Box Elder had recently withdrawn its application, however, it was not clear why. He said currently if someone goes to the penitentiary to visit an inmate, they have to travel to Sioux Falls and that having a site West River might be more convenient for people since the area has a high recidivism rate.