Custer County Chronicle

Medical call leads to aggravated assault

Published by admin on Wed, 10/15/2025 - 9:44am

A medical call turned into charges for aggravated assault and grand theft in Hermosa Oct. 2. 
According to Custer County Sheriff Department Sgt. Derrick Reifenrath, a 911 call came into the dispatch center from Michael Kopeski, a 37-year-old male from Colorado Springs, Colo., from a Hermosa truck stop at 10:04 p.m. Oct. 2. The call was transferred to Pennington County for medical dispatch. A Custer County deputy was also notified about the situation and started heading that direction. 

Section line vacation denied by commission

Published by admin on Wed, 10/15/2025 - 9:44am

A section line vacation petition drew a small crowd for the Custer County Commission meeting Oct. 8 at the courthouse. 
Daniel and Amy Scherer, as well as Cleveland Trimble, petitioned Custer County to vacate a portion of a 66-foot-wide section line of highway right-of-way. The petition was advertised in the Custer County Chronicle Sept. 24 and Oct. 1, and all adjacent landowners were sent certified letters. 

Officials pledge to cover lighting during shutdown

Published by admin on Wed, 10/15/2025 - 9:43am

South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden has pledged to pay $217 of his own money to keep Mount Rushmore lit for the next week.
Rhoden’s Saturday morning announcement came in tandem with pledges from West River lawmakers to personally pay the national memorial’s nightly lighting ceremony bills. Rhoden pledged to cover seven nights. Various lawmakers and one private citizen have made pledges to pay the daily bill after Rhoden if the shutdown continues.
The nightly light bill is $30.94, Rhoden spokeswoman Josie Harms told South Dakota Searchlight.

Big Valley Road District presents usage concerns

Published by admin on Wed, 10/15/2025 - 9:42am

Whose problem is it, and who is supposed to deal with the situation? That’s what the Custer County Commission and Big Valley Road District representative Thomas Veigh discussed at the meeting at the courthouse Oct. 8. 
Veigh explained that the Big Valley Road District had a problem with a commercial vacation rental property using its residential road for access. Part of the issue, he said, was that due diligence was not completed and notice was not given to the district and neighborhood before the subdivision was formed for commercial use. 

County passes $13 million budget

Published by admin on Wed, 10/08/2025 - 2:54pm

Custer County will spend $13.2 million in 2026, after the Custer County Commission formally approved its final budget for next year at a special Sept. 24 meeting.
The budget of $13,221,560 is up around $170,000 as compared to last year’s budget, which was $13,050,418.
The highway and bridge fund is down slightly, from $3.44 million a year ago to $3.4 million in 2026. The sheriff’s budget rose again this year, from $1.918 million last year to cresting $2 million for the first time at $2,031,663.

Board member, attorney resign

Published by admin on Wed, 10/08/2025 - 2:53pm

The whole Hermosa Town Board of Trustees was turned topsy turvy Sept. 23, beginning with the acknowledgement by board president Kel Koontz of Shanna Harris’s resignation.
“For those of you who may not know,” Koontz said, “Shanna had resigned effective Sept. 5. At that time, we weren’t really privy to how the statutes speak on the matter, but since it was delivered to the town clerk, we have to consider that resignation effective.”
This resignation was submitted via text message. 

Vision, need for pipeline unfolds

Published by admin on Wed, 10/08/2025 - 2:53pm

The Western Dakota Regional Water System (WDRWS) annual meeting  was held at the K Bar S Lodge in Keystone Sept. 25.
Executive director Kristin Conzet said the underlying message is, “We are all interconnected because we are using the  aquifers that lie beneath us.” 
Conzet stressed that Western South Dakota is growing and that the challenges uncovered by the South Dakota School of Mines study indicate  “potential of droughts, limited recharge and strained infrastructure.”

Raising awareness, walking against violence

Published by admin on Wed, 10/08/2025 - 2:52pm

“No more,” was the silent cry of the crowd that marched through the intersection of 5th Street and Mount Rushmore Road to the 1881 Courthouse Museum Oct. 2 during the Walk Against Violence. The annual event is sponsored by Women Escaping A Violent Environment (WEAVE).
The Walk Against Violence and Candlelight Vigil has been going on since around 1990. 

United Way Lip Sync Battle Oct. 11

Published by admin on Wed, 10/08/2025 - 2:49pm

United Way of the Black Hills (UWBH) is syncing up with the Custer community for a fundraiser Saturday, Oct. 11, at the Custer Beacon.
The Lip Sync Battle is the primary fundraiser for UWBH in the Southern Hills. Contestants will battle it out for the win, and viewers vote with their money. 

Tourism numbers holding steady

Published by admin on Wed, 10/01/2025 - 12:44pm

With September over, the 2025 tourism season is starting to wind down across the Black Hills. Here in Custer County, community members are saying it was a busy year, but overall numbers remained relatively flat, unlike the dramatic swings seen after 2020. 
At the 60th Annual Buffalo Roundup Sept. 26, South Dakota’s secretary of tourism Jim Hagen said, “I’m really excited and optimistic to report that we’ve had a really steady tourism season. Nation-wide, tourism has been struggling a little bit, but we’re bucking that trend in South Dakota.”