Hill City Prevailer

Clubs innovating after budget shortfalls

Published by admin on Wed, 09/17/2025 - 9:46am
Boys and Girls Clubs in some of the most vulnerable communities across South Dakota are finding ways to innovate in the midst of budget cuts.
“The level of disruption that we’re seeing as an organization is, in some ways, trivial compared to the everyday life of most of the kids we serve,” said Rachel Kocak, program director of the Rosebud Boys and Girls Club, which operates in Parmelee, Rosebud and Mission on the Rosebud Indian Reservation.

Keystone Museum getting painted

Published by admin on Wed, 09/10/2025 - 9:54am
Despite some concerns, Keystone trustees approved a painting contractor for the  Keystone Museum. Trustee David Cofoid asked the item be put on the Sept. 3 Keystone Town Board agenda, wanting the project started prior to winter. 
“I went and looked at it myself,” Cofoid said. He showed pictures to a contractor who he said agreed it should be done this year.
“It’s got places all the way around where the paint is coming off,” Cofoid said about the building.

Dewey Burdock project could get expedited

Published by admin on Wed, 09/10/2025 - 9:35am
Federal officials have chosen a long-lingering uranium mining proposal in southwestern South Dakota for an expedited permitting process.
That doesn’t mean the Dewey Burdock project is greenlit. Instead, it means the project will be included in FAST-41, a federal process meant to improve coordination among permitting agencies and hold them accountable to deadlines. The 25-person federal Permitting Council says it can shave 18 months off a project’s review time.

Three of five SD governor hopefuls endorse statewide approach to cellphones

Published by admin on Wed, 09/10/2025 - 9:34am
Three candidates hoping to be South Dakota’s next governor support a statewide policy or law banning cellphones from school classrooms. Another said the decision should be left to local school districts, while a potential candidate is seeking local input on the issue.

School board reports positive start to the school year

Published by admin on Wed, 09/10/2025 - 9:33am
It was a full house, or rather staff, at the Hill City School District Board of Education meeting Monday night. With reports from board members and each department director, it was a full agenda, touching on a range of topics.

Leak repair approved for big blue

Published by admin on Wed, 09/03/2025 - 9:41am
The big blue tower leak is one step closer to being repaired. Aldermen voted to approve a quote from TMS in the amount of $16,875. The approval came at the Aug. 25 Hill City Common Council (HCCC) meeting. The quote was not the lowest one received. However, public works director Justin Asher said he is confident that it is the only company to guarantee to fix the tower. 
The other quote, from Great Plains Structures, was for $11,500, but according to Asher, if they show up with a small manlift, “They won’t be able to reach it.” 

County freezes hiring temporarily

Published by admin on Wed, 08/27/2025 - 4:48pm

Creative ways to cut. That seemed to be the sentiment of the Pennington County Commissioners when they met Aug. 19 to discuss the 2026 provisional budget, among other things. 
Commissioner Jerry Derr’s sentiment seemed to be in favor of consolidating services by means of finding commonalities in certain county positions.
“One of the biggest issues that I’ve seen coming in is trying to get a handle on our personnel and what those costs are,” Derr said. 

Keystone trustees ordered to keep apart

Published by admin on Wed, 08/27/2025 - 4:44pm

A one month order for protection has been granted to Keystone Town Board president  Casey McNulty  against fellow town trustee Matt Fullilove. The two men appeared in court Aug. 25 in front of Seventh Circuit Court Judge Janki Sharma. Both men brought witnesses to the hearing. 
The order of protection states that Fullilove is restrained from acts of abuse, making threats of abuse, stalking or harassment.  In addition Fullilove is not permitted to have contact with McNulty directly or indirectly including via phone, email or third party contact.

Keystone trustees opt to align sewer line

Published by admin on Wed, 08/27/2025 - 4:43pm

Keystone trustees voted to keep the same existing location for the new upsized sewer line. The pros and cons of the location were discussed at the Aug. 20 Keystone Town Board meeting. 
Keystone town engineer Zach Grapentine said the benefit of following the existing alignment is the underground had been disturbed, whereas to the south, the town could find bedrock or boulders. 
“I would suspect there aren’t going to be any critical areas we’re gonna run into,” Grapentine said, using the existing alignment. 

SDPB cuts announced prompting campaign of support

Published by admin on Wed, 08/27/2025 - 4:42pm

A campaign to fund South Dakota Public Broadcasting (SDPB) is underway, with the goal of reaching $2 million in identifiable contributions by Oct. 31. Called the Bison Campaign, the fundraising effort hopes to stabilize current operations and protect the future of SDPB.
Earlier this year Congress voted to eliminate federal funding for public broadcasting. This amounted to a $2.3 million cut  from SDPB’s annual budget.