Hill City Prevailer

Keystone citizens make accusations to board

Published by admin on Wed, 09/09/2026 - 10:16am
William Waggoner  again came to the Keystone Town Board, this time demanding the town freeze water and sewer allocations to the KBarS Lodge.
The request came in front of a packed house at the Sept. 3 Keystone Town Board meeting.
Waggoner referred to several codified laws stating that “trust has been fundamentally broken” in regards to Keystone’s water and utility infrastructure.  
“This leadership has allowed our infrastructure to degrade,” Waggoner said. 

How donors in De Smet are bringing big projects to little town on the prairie

Published by admin on Wed, 09/09/2026 - 10:06am
Even though it happened more than a decade ago, Rita Anderson can still recall the worry she felt as all her hard work, planning and fundraising to build a community and event center in De Smet appeared to be fizzling out at the very last minute.
Anderson was the director of the De Smet Economic Development Corp. (EDC) in 2013 and had raised most of the money in private local donations to pay for the building that would include a senior center, theater, kitchen, workout room, meeting spaces and a new lighted high school football field outside.

BHE now seeks both rate increase, surcharge

Published by admin on Wed, 09/02/2026 - 9:35am
The average Black Hills Energy residential electric customer in South Dakota faces a monthly bill that will be $45 higher if state regulators approve a pending rate increase and surcharge.

Hill City takes the top spot West River

Published by admin on Wed, 09/02/2026 - 9:34am
Hill City once again is taking a top ranking in schools across the state, ranking third in this year’s U.S. News and World Report. The rankings, which were reported Aug. 18, shows Hill City was the highest-ranked high school in West River. It ranked behind Lincoln High School in Sioux Falls and Brandon Valley High School in Brandon. 

More discussion on subsidizing rates

Published by admin on Wed, 09/02/2026 - 9:32am
Aldermen once again discussed subsidizing water and sewer rates at the Aug. 24 Hill City Common Council (HCCC) meeting. No action was taken on the matter, but the item was on the agenda as a discussion. 
Alderwoman Lori Miner said she was in favor of subsidizing the sewer rates due to seeing a need in increased operations and expenses (O&M). Miner suggested using an expiring government (GO) bond for approximately $200,000 to help subsidize rates. 
“The end result to the user would be lessened,” Miner said. 

SD postal problems largely unchanged as Congress weighs legislation

Published by admin on Wed, 09/02/2026 - 9:28am
The slight improvements are limited to mail sent from elsewhere to some parts of the state, and most outbound mail delivery has gotten worse or not changed at all, according to USPS data.
Rounds, a South Dakota Republican who's up for re-election this year, has largely led the charge to reform USPS operations in the state.
Beyond the data, he has shared anecdotal evidence indicating the problem is far from solved, even as USPS begins investigating its own performance in South Dakota.

Citizen demands transparency in Keystone

Published by admin on Wed, 08/26/2026 - 9:47am
“State Constitutional Advocate” Shawn Waggoner, who handed out a business card that listed him also as a “veteran advocate” referred to an email he sent Aug. 14 to the Town of Keystone, District 30 representation and Sen. Taffy Howard regarding open meeting laws and a request for formal public records  regarding “the town’s current municipal water capacity limits, the KBarS Lodge tax increment finance  (TIF) district allocations and local infrastructure strains.”

Back to school for the Rangers

Published by admin on Wed, 08/19/2026 - 9:58am
With the end of the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally comes the start of the school year. Hill City and Keystone children have their first day Aug. 24.
Freshman orientation is Aug. 20 from 5-6 p.m. in the boardroom of the high school. 
Grilling on the Green, which is also the elementary school open house, is Aug. 20 from  5-6:30 p.m. 
The sixth grade orientation is also Aug. 20 at 5:30 p.m.
Laptop distribution takes place in the technology office Aug. 20 between 1-3 p.m. and Aug. 21 between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. 

Alderman say no to extra height

Published by admin on Wed, 08/19/2026 - 9:51am
Five sealed bids for the water tank were opened in mid-July and discussed at the Aug. 10 Hill City Common Council (HCCC) meeting. 
Maguire Iron was the lowest bidder. The tank will be painted as part of the sealed bid. Aldermen needed to decide if they wanted to expand the height of the tank (alternate one) and put the city logo on it (alternate two).
AE2S city engineer Joe Noble said his recommendation was to award base and alternates one and two, calling them “good value.”

School maintenance team paves the way

Published by admin on Wed, 08/19/2026 - 9:50am
The Hill City School District Board of Education met Aug. 10 for the last time before the 2026-27 school year begins Aug. 24.
A highlight of the meeting was the work completed by maintenance director TJ Schmidt and his team throughout the summer to prepare the district’s buildings and grounds for students to return.
“Thanks to the maintenance staff,” said Schmidt. “It’s a lot of work to go through each building and make sure we’re ready.”