News

Bridge work begins

Published by admin on Thu, 09/16/2021 - 1:23pm
Rehabilitation of a bridge on Old Hill City Road is underway, according to the Highway Department of Pennington County. 
The bridge is located 0.8 miles west of Keystone on  Old Hill City Road crossing Battle Creek.  The contractor, JV Bailey, has begun work on-site in the westbound (toward Hill City) lane. Crews will work on and off  on the bridge over the next few days.  

Experience plein air

Published by admin on Thu, 09/16/2021 - 1:22pm
The Black Hills Plein Air Paint Out comes to Hill City Sept. 22- 25. The Hill City Arts Council event is a one-of-a-kind experience that  allows artists to gather to paint the scenes and scenery of the  Black Hills.  
The French term “plein air” means out of doors and refers to the practice of painting entire finished pictures outdoors instead of in a studio.  
Plein Air attendees have an opportunity to watch artists in the field Sept. 23-24. It’s an opportunity and allows for artists to make and sell art in a matter of a few days.

Patterns and people fill quilt show

Published by admin on Thu, 09/16/2021 - 1:18pm
The 2021 Hill City Quilt Show and Sale had over 1,400 visitors and drew locals and tourists to the Heart of the Hills.
Quilt lovers and quilt curious folks could be seen admiring the numerous quilts hanging around town, strolling in and out of shops to participate in the quilt pattern piece scavenger hunt or perusing the decorative display of quilts  outside the library’s book sale. Quilts were everywhere and so were the people.

Keystone to host ‘shootouts’

Published by admin on Thu, 09/16/2021 - 1:04pm
The end of the summer season means the second annual Keystone Hometown Celebration. The activities span two days including two old fashioned Wild West shootouts in Keystone. 
The Black Hills Shootist Assoc. will have two shootouts Sept. 19  at 12:30 p.m. and at 3:30 p.m. The skits take place rain or shine. As Bob Stubbs, with Cowboy Action Shooting puts it, “we are tough cowboys and cowgirls.”
The shootists are used to performing the shootouts in Oblivion as part of The 1880 Train experience. The shootout is more difficult in Keystone.

2021 tourism season rated a ‘10’

Published by admin on Thu, 09/16/2021 - 9:19am

With Custer City sales tax figures rivaling banner year 2016, most travel and hospitality businesses are giving the 2021 tourism season a solid 10 out of 10 rating.
Custer City finance officer Laurie Woodward reported the city’s one-third-cent bed, board and booze (BBB) tax is up 79 percent though July over 2020 figures. Woodward said the massive increase is due in part to the fact that some of the city’s hotels were not open last year because of COVID-19. However, the 2021 figures still represent a 50 percent increase over 2019.

Harbach Park project is a go

Published by admin on Thu, 09/16/2021 - 9:17am

Buoyed by a new low bid $100,000 less than the previous one, the Custer City Council at its Sept. 7 meeting put its stamp of approval on moving ahead with the first two phases of the Harbach Park renovation plans.
Dana Foreman of KLJ Engineering, the firm helping the city with the design and bidding process for the renovation, told the council  the city’s rebidding of the project netted four bids, with RCS Construction the low bidder at $1,157,555.38. RCS was the only bidder the first time the project was bid, but submitted a bid of $1,270,537 that time.

City sets its budget at $10.5 million

Published by admin on Thu, 09/16/2021 - 9:17am

The Custer City Council passed the first reading of a $10,547,185 budget for 2022 at its Sept. 7 meeting, which is around $2.5 million higher than last year’s.
This might be the rare case where an increased budget brings cheers, however, as the increases almost entirely revolve around needed or citizen-sought projects that have been in the works for — in some cases — almost decades.

Hermosa sees first water rate increase in a decade

Published by admin on Thu, 09/16/2021 - 9:16am

When residents of the Town of Hermosa receive their September water bills, they will notice an increase in the cost of both sewer and water services. It is the first such increase the town has enacted in 12 years.
The reason for the increase is simple: the town is growing and infrastructure projects are needed to keep up with the water demand. The increase will help fund those projects and keep the town ahead of the curve when it comes to growth.
“We want to prepare ourselves now, be a little more proactive,” said town board president Dan Holsworth.

Friends to host book sale

Published by admin on Thu, 09/09/2021 - 11:04am
“A Patchwork of Books”  book sale will be hosted by the Hill City Friends of the Library Sept. 11-12 in conjunction with the Quilt Show and Sale. The book sale will be held at the Hill City Public Library garage from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days.
Book sales are the primary fundraiser for the Friends of the Library and proceeds support Hill City Public Library programming and equipment needs.
The book sale is a patchwork of gently used books for all ages. Quilts, quilt-making and needle-craft information will also be on display.

Keystone businesses cited for selling to minors

Published by admin on Thu, 09/09/2021 - 10:39am
Three businesses in Keystone failed a Pennington County alcohol compliance check.
According to The Pennington County Sheriff’s Office  six businesses were checked Tuesday, Aug. 31. Three  of those businesses were in violation: Keystone Country Store, Last Mile Brewery and Guadalajara's Restaurant were each caught selling alcohol to underage informants.
An employee at each business was issued a citation for the violation. Furnishing alcohol to a minor is a class 2 misdemeanor punishable by 30 days in jail and/or a $500 fine.