Custer County Chronicle

Two arrested after standoff

Published by admin on Wed, 03/12/2025 - 1:03pm

A pair of Rapid City men are in the Pennington County Jail on a variety of charges following a standoff in southern Custer  County.
At about 7 a.m. Saturday, March 8, citizens reported two men in a vehicle were burglarizing the Sunshine Storage units south of Custer.

Senate Bill 191 fails on House floor

Published by admin on Wed, 03/12/2025 - 12:58pm

After unanimously running through the Senate, Senate Bill (SB) 191 introduced by District 30 Sen. Amber Hulse narrowly passed the House State Affairs Committee March 5 with a 7-6 vote before failing on the House floor March 10 with a 62-7 vote of opposition.
Originally, Hulse introduced SB 191 Feb. 3 as “An Act to limit annual valuation increases on owner-occupied single-family dwellings.”

Body found near county line

Published by admin on Wed, 03/12/2025 - 12:55pm

On Tuesday, March 4, at approximately 1 p.m., Pennington County Sheriff’s  Office deputies were dispatched to a location south of Hill City, near the Pennington County and Custer County line in reference to a badly decomposed body. A hiker in the area discovered the body and called the sheriff’s office.

Hermosa board talks wells, lagoons

Published by admin on Wed, 03/12/2025 - 12:55pm

At the Hermosa Board of Trustees meeting March 4, among the first items to be addressed was the article in the Feb. 26 issue of the Custer County Chronicle, in which it was stated that Well No. 1 was “offline due to radium,” when in fact it is Well No. 2 that is offline. Well No. 1 has had radium in the past but currently it does not.

Custer County Commission discusses liquor license fees

Published by admin on Wed, 03/12/2025 - 12:54pm

Liquor license costs are expected to increase in Custer County soon, but the exact amounts are yet to be determined. This was discussed at the Custer County Commission meeting March 5.
Commissioner Mike Busskohl said, “I’ve been working on the liquor licenses with (states attorney) Tracy Kelley, of course, and trying to bring us forward and straighten out a lot of stuff that hasn’t been looked at in a long time.”

Bid awarded for second phase of West Dam construction

Published by admin on Wed, 03/12/2025 - 12:54pm

A bid has been awarded and work has begun on the second phase of the project to reconstruct West Dam, as Moss Rock Excavation & Landscaping was the low bidder for the second phase, which will see the removal of thousands of cubic yards of material from the West Dam reservoir. All told, 90,000 cubic yards of material will be removed from the reservoir.
The bids were opened the afternoon of March 3, and the low bid approved at the council’s regular meeting later that evening.

City, school board seats up for election

Published by admin on Wed, 03/05/2025 - 3:40pm

Calling all future politicians. It is election petition time once again, and a variety of offices around the county are open due to the expiration of the present terms or the resignation of the elected officers. The open positions include school board and council seats as well as a mayoral seat.
In the City of Custer, there are three seats up for election on the city council, including the Ward I seat belonging to Jeannie Fischer, the Ward II seat belonging to Nina Nielsen and the Ward III seat belonging to Peg Ryan. Each position is for a two-year term.

Legislature tables West Dam funding

Published by admin on Wed, 03/05/2025 - 3:36pm

The legislative bill that would see the state appropriate $1.5 million in funding toward the reconstruction of West Dam was tabled last week in a 13-4 vote by the legislature’s Joint Appropriations Committee.
That doesn’t mean the bill is dead, nor does it mean it’s approved, but rather, it likely signals the committee is waiting to see what kind of funds are available for such projects as the legislative session winds to a close.

County talks Hermosa ambulance service

Published by admin on Wed, 03/05/2025 - 3:35pm

By the end of this year, a new ambulance service is likely going to be needed to cover the Town of Hermosa and the Hwy. 79 corridor to the Fairburn area.
That’s because the cost of doing business as usual is about to increase—dramatically.

Waste makes for good neighbors

Published by admin on Wed, 03/05/2025 - 10:31am
Keystone will be getting some waste from neighboring Hermosa. 
The seemingly unusual deal is not so unusual at all, according to both cities.
Hermosa has trucked some of its waste to Hot Springs in the past, as it waits for its sewer plant to come back on line.
“Thank God we could take it there,” Hermosa Town Board president Linda Kramer said of that deal with its neighbor to the south.