Custer County Chronicle

State of our union is still divided

Published by admin on Wed, 03/04/2026 - 2:56pm

You can actually pinpoint the exact moment in time that the annual State of the Union address given by the President of the United States turned into the circus it is today. If you want to point a finger, look no further than Rep. Joe Wilson.
It was Sept. 9, 2009, during then-President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address that Wilson shouted “You lie!” at President Obama when he said his health care plan would not cover undocumented immigrants. Wilson later apologized for what was then considered an outrageous breach of decorum. Now? Par for the course.

Saving us from the price of ‘Freedom’

Published by admin on Wed, 03/04/2026 - 2:56pm

A state senator recently offered an insightful opinion on South Dakota’s property tax conundrum.
He was arguing, unsuccessfully, for a bill incentivizing data center construction. But his comments made a broader point.
“What’s happened in South Dakota is we get people moving here for freedom, and that’s great,” said Sen. Steve Kolbeck, R-Sioux Falls. “But then they work from home. And there is no large commercial building paying property tax.”

A record amount of bills were filed

Published by admin on Wed, 03/04/2026 - 9:08am
Throughout history there have been moments marked by history-making speeches. On Feb. 14, during an 18-minute address in Munich, Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, delivered remarks that received a standing ovation.
Notably, he did not speak of dismantling or undermining the efforts of our ancestors in Europe or America. Instead, he emphasized unity of purpose, the importance of collaboration and rebuilding together. If you have not had the opportunity to hear his remarks, I encourage you to search “Rubio in Munich” and listen for yourself.

Two weeks left in this year’s session

Published by admin on Wed, 03/04/2026 - 8:52am
Greetings. We’re down to the last two weeks of session, the fourth quarter so to speak. On Monday, I present SB36 “to establish wildlife mitigation plans and associated liability limitations for wildfire damages.” I’m prime sponsor in the House. We got this through Commerce and Energy Committee 11-0. Now we need a majority floor vote to send it to the governor to become law. This is a huge deal and hopefully when I write next week it has become reality.

At least we’re not in Wyoming

Published by admin on Wed, 02/25/2026 - 3:00pm

If you’re following our state legislature and find yourself upset with something or even a few things that are coming out of it, it’s important to remember that we could always have it worse. We only have to look to our west to see how much more, let’s say, odd, a state legislature can act.

Still working on property tax relief

Published by admin on Wed, 02/25/2026 - 2:58pm

Greetings. Man, am I pumped up. Just finished watching the Olympic gold medal round, U.S. vs Canada. Last time the U.S. won was at Lake Placid, N.Y., way back in 1980. I can remember purchasing a color TV just to watch that hockey match. Yep, a 46 year drought. So, what happened? The United States won 2-1 in overtime!!

A record amount of bills were filed

Published by admin on Wed, 02/25/2026 - 2:57pm

Throughout history there have been moments marked by history-making speeches. On Feb. 14, during an 18-minute address in Munich, Secretary of State, Marco Rubio delivered remarks that received a standing ovation.
Notably, he did not speak of dismantling or undermining the efforts of our ancestors in Europe or America. Instead, he emphasized unity of purpose, the importance of collaboration and rebuilding together. If you have not had the opportunity to hear his remarks, I encourage you to search “Rubio in Munich” and listen for yourself.

Choose wisely

Published by admin on Wed, 02/25/2026 - 2:56pm

We bought bulls recently, part of the yearly refresh on the bull herd, to replace those culled due to age, injury, or lack of get-er-done-ness (technical terminology). Purchasing bulls is one of those yearly high-stakes decisions—costly, and with potential significant cascading effects. A bull with good temperament and genetics leaves a good lasting effect on the cow herd over time. A bull with poor temperament and genetic defects can have a poor lasting effect. So it is a decision that is approached carefully, and the bulls are chosen with intentionality and wisdom. 

Now is the time for fire opt-out

Published by admin on Wed, 02/18/2026 - 12:49pm

For the past few years, the Custer County Commission and our local volunteer fire departments have struggled with funding or how to fund the departments in the county that are not already funded through fire districts. Some money that was given to the county from the federal government during the Covid-19 pandemic helped shore up some of the departments for a while, but the fact remains they simply do not bring in enough money through the current fire fund mil levy to keep up with the cost of the equipment, training, etc., needed to truly have optimal departments in place.

Stronger when we stand together

Published by admin on Wed, 02/18/2026 - 12:48pm

As I drove to Keystone the other day, I was struck by how many trees were snapped or down along Hwy. 244. I hadn’t traveled that way since the record-breaking Dec. 18 windstorm that swept across the Black Hills, bringing down trees and taking out power lines along the way. 
Even months later, you don’t expect to see signs of such a storm. For some reason, we expect storms to blow themselves out and life to continue as usual. However, the damage storms leave in their wake takes time to manage and mend.