News

Parks and rec seeks projects, help

Published by admin on Thu, 08/15/2019 - 9:09am
There are plenty of recreation opportunities in Custer, and plenty more that could be brought to life, say members of the City of Custer’s Parks, Recreation and Forestry Committee. However, to make those ideas a reality, they say, they need a driving force behind them.

Rally slow, down for some

Published by admin on Thu, 08/15/2019 - 9:04am
All signs point to the 2020 Sturgis Motorcycle Rally being a big one, as is usually the case with “anniversary years,” as next year’s Rally will be the 80th.
Because of that, this year’s Rally was expected to be down some, not only in Sturgis, but around the Black Hills, and to an extent, that was the case. For many it held steady or was even up a little from a year ago.
“It was excellent. We had great crowds,” said Nancy Gellerman, owner of Sage Creek Grille. “We had a good Rally. I think it was pretty similar to where we were last year.”

100-year flood

Published by admin on Thu, 08/08/2019 - 10:08am
On Friday afternoon, as Diane Olson was making burgers for the Friday evening barbecue that has become a tradition at French Creek RV Campground in Custer, she wondered how she should say the prayer before the meal.
Psalm 118:24 came to mind: This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.
“So I said it,” she says. “And 10 minutes later, we had this. I assume God told me to say that.”
This refers to the flash flood that inundated the campground situated along French Creek that Diane manages and where she lives.

Custer County Fair starts Thursday

Published by admin on Thu, 08/08/2019 - 10:04am
The Custer County Fair returns to the Custer County Fairgrounds in Hermosa Thursday evening, with another four days full of a variety of events for young and old. 

Disaster declared

Published by admin on Thu, 08/08/2019 - 9:48am
Custer and Custer County will have a disaster declaration made today (Wednesday) at the regular meeting of the Custer County Board of Commissioners, according to county emergency services director Mike Carter.
“The declaration will be forwarded to the governor’s office in Pierre and the governor will then forward it to the president,” Carter said.
Although a damage estimate was not available at press time, Carter said there was no doubt “we’ve got enough damage and more to qualify.”

Flood couldn’t have come at worse time

Published by admin on Thu, 08/08/2019 - 9:47am
Custer County Sheriff Marty Mechaley didn’t mince any words when asked about last Friday afternoon’s flash flood through Custer.
“It couldn’t have happened at a worse time,” the sheriff said early the next morning. “It came on so fast.”
The sheriff’s office was one of a multitude of first responder agencies to participate in a rally planning meeting Thursday, July 25.

Repeat of 20 years ago

Published by admin on Thu, 08/08/2019 - 9:31am
Last Saturday morning started out like many typical beautiful Black Hills mornings with some overcast skies in Custer, but by 9 o’clock everything began to change.
The sky turned dark, in fact it was dark enough to cause the street lights to flicker. It was easy to see it would soon be raining and sure enough around 11 a.m. in downtown Custer the rain started coming down in buckets. It kept coming and kept coming for more than five hours without a break. The rain would let up a little and then five minutes later it would become a downpour again. 

Lynn’s works to stay open

Published by admin on Thu, 08/08/2019 - 9:30am
When water started coming in both the front door and the back door of Lynn’s Dakotamart and the electricity went out shortly after 6 p.m. on Friday, manager Dan Grapentine evacuated the store.
“We lost some product. Some stands fell over,” he said on Saturday, “and we had to throw some meat product away, but the electricity came on soon enough that most was saved.”
Dan said everybody from the office worked until 2 a.m. to get the building cleaned up. The company’s general manager and owner from Rapid City came to Custer to help with the cleanup.

Stockade closed to swimming

Published by admin on Thu, 08/08/2019 - 9:24am

The beach at Stockade Lake in Custer State Park has been closed pending testing of its water following last Friday’s flood.

Storm sat on Custer for hours

Published by admin on Thu, 08/08/2019 - 9:20am
The Friday, Aug. 2, thunderstorm that caused the biggest flash flood in recorded Custer history did so by hovering over Custer and the French Creek Watershed and unleashing as much as seven inches of rain and two feet of hail in some places, sending water rushing down the north and south forks of French and Ruby creeks, which then converged in the Upper French Creek area before ravaging land it came in contact with as it made its way into and through the city of Custer.