News

Chronicle stacks up SDNA awards

Published by admin on Wed, 04/30/2025 - 12:26pm

The Custer County Chronicle won 16 awards at last week’s South Dakota NewsMedia Association (SDNA) Better News Media Contest last Friday in Aberdeen, including the coveted Sweepstakes Award that honors the most-awarded newspaper in its class. The awards luncheon was part of the 142nd SDNA convention.
The Chronicle competed in Division II of the competition as one of the smallest papers in that category, which covers media in cities from 3,000 to 15,000 in population.

Water leak billing, annexation discussed

Published by admin on Wed, 04/30/2025 - 12:23pm

The lengthy Hermosa Board of Trustees meeting covered a lot of ground Tuesday, April 15. The meeting was chaired by trustee Kel Koontz in Linda Kramer’s physical absence.

Wildcats get to greens between cancellations

Published by admin on Wed, 04/30/2025 - 12:15pm

Despite scattered cancellations due to weather, the Custer High School girls golf team made it out to the Black Hills Pre-Conference tournament in Douglas April 22.
“I was happy with scores at Douglas. The girls felt pretty good about it, and it was a good day,” said head coach Haley Uphoff.
Jordan Uphoff led the Wildcats with a 12th place finish and a score of 94.

City council asked to block F3 water use

Published by admin on Wed, 04/30/2025 - 12:08pm

A concerned citizen wants the City of Custer to deny the use of its bulk water for a planned search for gold by F3 Gold.
At the April 21 meeting of the Custer City Council the council heard from county resident Gary Placco, who has been outspoken in his opposition in regards to the proposed drilling.
“They’ve got their approval from the Forest Service and can start sometime after May 1,” Placco said.

Prevailer honored for excellence

Published by admin on Wed, 04/30/2025 - 8:55am
For the first time in its existence, the Hill City Prevailer News was named the best newspaper among newspapers its size in the State of South Dakota.
At the South Dakota NewsMedia Association (SDNA) Better News Media Contest last Friday in Aberdeen, the Prevailer won the General Excellence Award in its size division, meaning it was deemed the best overall newspaper.
The Prevailer competed in Division I of the completion, which is for cities and towns which are under 3,000 in population.

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.