Hill City Prevailer

Officials emphasize preparedness

Published by admin on Wed, 05/13/2026 - 9:07am
Dustin Willett of the Rapid City/Pennington County Emergency Management Services delivered a presentation at the Hill City Center Wednesday, outlining the communication systems and strategies used during emergencies such as woodland fires.
Emergency management serves as the countywide agency responsible for planning, response, recovery and mitigation efforts of all major disasters and emergencies throughout Pennington County. 

Public urged to show patriotic pride

Published by admin on Wed, 05/13/2026 - 9:06am
Tourism director Emma Groninger encouraged  Keystone residents and businesses to sign up for the Independence Day decorating contest. Groninger made the suggestion at the May 6 Keystone Town Board meeting. 
“You guys, there’s money,” Groninger said. “We want to see the town look so patriotic.” 
She has printed out entry forms for people. She also encouraged people to submit any events they have going on this summer. 
“I don’t know what I don’t know so please send me everything you got,” she said.

Pe’ Sla protectors win, drilling plan withdrawn

Published by admin on Wed, 05/13/2026 - 9:01am
On May 8, NDN Collective was notified that Pete Lien & Sons sent a letter to the U.S. Forest Service, officially withdrawing their plan of operations for the Rochford Mineral Exploratory Drilling Project (RMEDP) at Pe’ Sla. 

Hulse, Frye-Mueller vie for District 30 Senate

Published by admin on Wed, 05/13/2026 - 9:01am
The race is on for the June 2 primary election as Republicans Amber Hulse and Julie Frye-Mueller vie for the office of South Dakota State Senator in District 30.
Incumbent Hulse is an attorney at Dhillon Law Group, and a lifelong District 30 resident, having grown up in Hot Springs. She currently serves as vice chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee and previously served as Miss South Dakota, representing South Dakota nationally.

Four vie for two seats in state House of Representatives

Published by admin on Wed, 05/13/2026 - 8:56am
Four candidates—three Republicans and one Democrat—are vying for a pair of two-year terms to represent District 30 in the South Dakota House of Representatives.
Two of the candidates are already serving District 30, while the other two have sought a seat  in the legislature before.
Incumbent Republican Tim Goodwin lives north of Three Forks near Sheridan Lake, and has served eight years in the House of Representatives.
“They say the Senate is a symphony and the House is a rock concert,” he said. “I”m more of a rock concert type of person.”

Hill City moves forward with merchandise ordinance

Published by admin on Wed, 05/06/2026 - 10:02am
The City of Hill City passed the first reading of a merchandise display ordinance. The move came at the April 27 Hill City Common Council (HCCC) meeting after little discussion. Council president Lori Miner asked people about the ordinance after it appeared on the agenda two weeks ago. Although Miner had previously been against the ordinance, merchants expressed to her that alternatives would be difficult to enforce, and that while this was not a perfect solution, she had “no idea how to make this better.”

Prevailer stacks up SDNA awards

Published by admin on Wed, 05/06/2026 - 10:01am
The Hill City Prevailer News won seven awards last Friday at the 2025 South Dakota NewsMedia (SDNA) Better NewsMedia Contest held as part of the annual SDNA convention held last week at The Lodge in Deadwood. The Prevailer competed in Division I of the competition for cities with a population under 3,000. 
Leslie Hladysz won first place for Best News Series for her work covering county library funds.
“You stuck with the reporting on this story over several weeks. This is what a local series should be,” commented the judges. 

Groups unite to protect sacred site

Published by admin on Wed, 05/06/2026 - 10:00am
NDN Collective, Black Hills Clean Water Alliance and Earthworks filed motions for an emergency temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction against the U.S. Forest Service April 1 in response to a February decision to grant a permit for exploratory drilling at Pe’Sla, a sacred and protected indigenous site. 
The controversy stems from the Rochford Mineral Exploratory Drilling Project initiated by Pete Lien & Sons in an effort to locate  graphite.  

Neighbors band together over horse permit

Published by admin on Wed, 05/06/2026 - 9:59am
A group of Pennington County neighbors came to the April 27 Pennington County Planning and Zoning (P&Z) meeting to express their concerns over a conditional use permit (CUP) to allow a horse and RV campground on Hwy. 385 in an area often referred to locally as Dead Man’s Curve. Highland Horse and RV Campground sits on 6.52 acres of land with its owner requesting 13 sites to accommodate short-term stays for people traveling with horses. The site has an existing corral and will have tie areas and feed storage for horses. 

Body of missing man found

Published by admin on Wed, 04/29/2026 - 9:49am
The evening of Tuesday, April 21 a deceased individual was located north of Hill City on Deerfield Road. The man has been identified as 86-year-old Ronald Deloss Blanchard of Hill City, who went missing April 6. 
Blanchard was located by Pennington County Search and Rescue, which had been conducting continued searches in the area. Based on the preliminary investigation, there is no indication of foul play. Cause and manner of death will be determined following an autopsy and the conclusion of investigative work.