Hill City Prevailer

Pandemic threatens fragile rural health-care system

Published by admin on Thu, 07/02/2020 - 11:24am
Editor’s note: This article is the second of three parts of a special report by South Dakota News Watch. The “Small Towns, Big Challenges” series was supported in part by a grant from the COVID-19 Local News Relief Fund Grant Program sponsored by Facebook. Part three will appear next week and feature profiles of small towns on the cusp of change and highlight a pair of committed rural practitioners.
 

Prevailer Down Memory Lane July 1

Published by admin on Thu, 07/02/2020 - 11:18am
      5 YEARS AGO, 2015

Small towns in facing big challenges amid pandemic, historic declines

Published by admin on Thu, 06/25/2020 - 10:04am
The COVID-19 pandemic could not have come at a worse time for many of South Dakota’s small towns.
The deadly virus has further complicated the already herculean task of keeping cherished rural communities vibrant and reversing a historic downturn in population and economic stability.
Though mostly spared from major outbreaks, small towns that once served as the backbone of rural South Dakota have been stung by the indirect economic and emotional outcomes of the pandemic.

Sculpture show to come back bigger in 2021

Published by admin on Thu, 06/18/2020 - 10:52am

Canceling Sculpture in the Hills (which was supposed to be held in late June) earlier in the year due to the COVID-19 pandemic wasn’t an easy decision for the Hill City Arts Council.

The decision to cancel it was unanimous, said Mackenzie Swanson, executive director of the arts council, but the five-member board was obviously disappointed.

“It stunk,” she said.

Sculpture in the Hills is the arts council’s largest event of the year, Swanson said, and it brings in many people from all over the Midwest and western United Sates.

Duprey pens book

Published by admin on Thu, 06/18/2020 - 10:52am

Jamie Duprey of Hill City knew in her heart she always wanted to write a book.

A high school basketball standout in Chester, Mont., Duprey decided to tell the tale of her high school basketball career. She chronicles her experience in her book “The Yellow Sports Bra,” which is due to be published later this month.

“I always wanted to write a book,” she said. “When I decided to do it, it didn’t take long to realize that I had all the research ready at my fingertips.”

Kinsley retiring after 50 years cutting hair

Published by admin on Thu, 06/18/2020 - 10:51am

After 50 years as a hairdresser and 30 years of owning Curl Up and Dye, Susan Kinsley is hanging up her scissors.

Kinsley said she provided hair care for the entire family and made many fond and interesting memories over the years.

Kinsley described her old studio as a “unique little shop.”

It has a history of being a telegraph office, then a telephone office, art gallery and an apartment, “at which point a gentleman did actually curl up and die there,” Kinsley said.

Finally, the space at 229 Elm Street in Hill City became a hair salon.

New engine in town

Published by admin on Thu, 06/11/2020 - 10:27am

Black Hills Central Railroad, who operates the 1880 Train, has a new locomotive: Engine 108.

The locomotive took its first revenue run — meaning it had its first paying customers — on June 3, but according to Nate Anderson, business operations manager for Black Hills Central Railroad, it’s been years in the making.

Railroad Museum turns 10

Published by admin on Thu, 06/04/2020 - 11:48am

The South Dakota State Railroad Museum, a major Hill City attraction, turned 10 this year.

But, according to Rick Mills, executive director of the museum, the history of the museum spans back farther than the 10 years it has been in Hill City.

The library is now open

Published by admin on Thu, 06/04/2020 - 11:48am

“Green was the silence, wet was the light, the month of June trembled like a butterfly,” Pablo Neruda, “100 Love Sonnets”

The library is currently open! On June 1, the library hours will change to Monday-Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Please knock on the north side door by the book drop. Notice the guidelines for entering the library. We are still offering curbside service, as well. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to call us at 574-4529.

New museum director ready for the challenge

Published by admin on Thu, 06/04/2020 - 11:47am

A new director recently took the helm at the Keystone Museum.

Casey Sullivan of Hill City is the museum’s new director. Sullivan is a recent graduate of University of South Dakota with a major in history and a minor in political science.

Sullivan found out the position was available by way of the former director, who now heads up the Hill City Arts Council.

“My parents and I went to an open mic in Hill City,” Sullivan said. “I met MacKenzie Swanson there. I learned she was the past director. That’s how I got wind of the opening.”