By Brett Nachtigall

Publisher

HOT SPRINGS – Following an Executive Session which was added late to the Oct. 2 agenda, the Hot Springs City Council approved the hiring of a new City Administrator to replace Jeff Temple, who submitted an immediate resignation this past June after just over a year on the job.

The new City Administrator, Bob Nelson, Jr. (not related to current Hot Springs Mayor Bob Nelson), is a native of Deadwood but has been the City Administrator for the City of Belle Fourche...

Photo by Marcus Heerdt/Fall River County Herald-Star

Jasmine Pickner Bell (Good Road Woman), a member of the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe, performs a hoop dance as a part of Native Americans’ Day events at Wind Cave National Park on Oct. 9. Pickner Bell said that she has performed all over the world and is the first woman to win at the World Championship Hoop Dance Competition.

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By Marcus Heerdt

WIND CAVE NATIONAL PARK – On Monday, Oct. 9, Wind Cave National Park...

By Charity Maness

RAPID CITY – On Sunday September 24, country musicians from around the state were recognized as being community and state contributors to South Dakota’s country music industry. 

“I’ve been singing since before I could walk,” said Cope, but when it was her turn to perform her original songs on stage at the ceremonies she admitted, “I still got a touch of the butterflies.”

Nominated by fellow inductee Ivan (Ketterer) Rhea of Hot Springs, Cope was honored and attributes...

By Garland Wright 

EDGEMONT – On October 6, the Edgemont High School FFA organized a Donkey Basketball Tournament, with all proceeds benefiting the FFA Chapter. The event showcased three basketball games, and the Stevens’ Automotive Team emerged victorious in the overall tournament.

The games comprised two five-minute halves where participants rode donkeys, attempting to score baskets—a challenging feat leading to comical antics. Competitors grappled with mounting their donkeys, faced...

By Charity Maness

HOT SPRINGS – Richard Bershon was born in 1931 in Haydraw, S.D., “about 50 miles east of Sturgis,” he said.

“We had about 1/4 section of land we referred to as a ranch, but we couldn’t make a living off of it as the natural resources were rats, rattlesnakes and prickly pear,” laughed Bershon at the memory.

His mother was a bookkeeper and his father was a farmer, handyman, and custodian, working whatever job he could to bring home money for food. 

“It was the depth of...