Photo by Charity Maness/Fall River County Herald Star The Justice Center Town Hall panel consisted of, from left to right: moderator Mayor Bob Nelson, Hot Springs Police Chief Ross Norton, Hot Springs Police Officer Cherelle Hughes, Fall River County Chief Deputy Ish Belt, Sheriff Lyle Norton, FRCSO Administrative Assistance Rachel Hosterman, Deputy Vince Logue (civil process server), Deputy Brandon Peterson (former Martin City Police Chief), Clerk of Courts Tammy Grapentine, Liz Hassett (Court Administrator for the 7th Circuit), Carol Foster (former court magistrate), Kent Hansen (bailiff ..read more

Photo by Charity Maness/Fall River County Herald Star Cultural Diversity Council members and advisors pictured left to right: top row, Jessica Bossingham, Nate Durrett, Matea Mumma, Malia Vargas, Johnny Bossingham, middle row; Lakoda Keller, Ashlinn Hannah, bottom row;  instructor Jeannie Dumire, council President Mya Marshall, Keely Mogen – Frankfort, Katie Burchfield. ______________________________ By Charity Maness HOT SPRINGS – What began five years ago as a support group for Native American youth at Hot Springs High School (HSHS) has grown into an all inclusive group reaching out t ..read more

HOT SPRINGS – The South Dakota Department of Transportation (SDDOT), in cooperation with the City of Hot Springs, Avid4 Engineering, and Complete Concrete, Inc., will hold an informational meeting for the start of 2024 construction on the U.S. Highway 385 and U.S. Highway 18 Urban Reconstruction Project in Hot Springs. The meeting will be held on Wednesday, March 6, at 6 p.m. at the Mueller Civic Center, located at 801 S. 6th Street, Hot Springs. The project extends along U.S. Highway 385 and Highway 18 through Hot Springs. (Highway 18 from Highway 385 to the Hot Springs City Limits, Highway ..read more

Mafer Bandola of Venezuela, Lara Klaus of Brazil, Daniela Serna of Colombia and Sara Lucas of U.S. are LADAMA. (Shervin Lainez photo) _________________________________ By Charity Maness HOT SPRINGS – Musical ensemble LADAMA is coming to Fall River County next week, courtesy of Chautauqua Craftsmen and Artisans of the Black Hills (CCABH) and Custer Area Arts Council (CAAC). The visit is made possible through the World Fest program, a performing arts residency program of Arts Midwest that tours world music ensembles to communities in the Midwest connecting cultures through music.   Mafer ..read more

Photos by Mandy Scherer & Abbey Ries LEFT: Hot Springs senior Caleb Rickenbach competes last Thursday during the first day of the Class “B” State Championships.  RIGHT: Hot Springs freshman Sarah Rickenbach works to get control of Sammie Reil of Harrisburg in the 3rd place medal match. _____________________________________ By Brett Nachtigall Publisher HOT SPRINGS – Hot Springs’ small but mighty contingent of state wrestling qualifiers included a pair of senior boys ending their careers on the mat and a pair of underclassmen girls just getting their careers underway. Leadi ..read more

SIOUX FALLS – During this past weekend’s State Wrestling Championships in Sioux Falls, Hot Springs head wrestling coach Ray Ringstmeyer was presented a 25-year Coach Award from the South Dakota High School Activities Association. Ringstmeyer graduated from Winner High School in 1990 and wrestled for South Dakota State University while earning Academic All-American Honors studying Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Geography Education. He served as a student assisting the Jackrabbits during the 1995-96 season, followed by a volunteer assistant at Sioux Valley High School the followin ..read more

Photo by Charity Maness/Fall River County Herald Star John Curtis of Hot Springs poses with his winning watercolor art piece to be unveiled on a billboard on Hwy 18 bypass this coming week. ______________________________ By Charity Maness HOT SPRINGS – Later this month, local artist John Curtis will see his work on an existing billboard along the Highway 18 truck-bypass, thanks to the ‘Home is Where the Art is’ program through the partnership between Arts South Dakota and Lamar Advertising. According to Jim Speirs, Executive Director Arts South Dakota, dozens of billboards across the state a ..read more

By Cathy Nelson HOT SPRINGS – The Fall River County Commission voted at their meeting on February 15 to approve hand-counting ballots for the primary election this June. Some Republicans have pushed for banning traditional ballot scanning machines in favor of hand-counting paper ballots. Matthew Monfore and Kim Allen, both of Oral, spoke to the commission in favor of hand-counting ballots. Included in a resolution that Monfore handed to the commissioners, he highlighted a statement that reads,” The grassroots activists of the Republican Party have discovered and made it abundantly clear ..read more

Photo by Brett Nachtigall/Fall River County Herald-Star District 30 Senator Julie Frye-Mueller stands at the podium and addresses a crowd of more than 80 area residents during this past weekend’s Legislative Crackerbarrel in the Mueller Civic Center Annex. _____________________________________ By Brett Nachtigall Publisher HOT SPRINGS – More than 80 attendees nearly filled the Mueller Civic Center Annex room in Hot Springs this past Saturday, Feb. 17, for the District 30 Legislative Crackerbarrel. The event, hosted by the Fall River Republican Party, was held with the intent to allow local c ..read more

HOT SPRINGS – There was a tie in the Fall River County Herald-Star’s recent Armchair Quarterback contest, associated with the Kansas City Chiefs vs. San Francisco 49ers Super Bowl earlier this month. Taking into account the total points scored per quarter, along with the final score’s total points, both Amy O’Leary of Hot Springs and Daniel Hodgin of Box Elder most accurately predicted the outcome. Rather than splitting an Ashley Recliner valued at $350, the owners of Ace Hardware (Brad & Kelly Bednar) instead awarded them each $175 in store credit towards the purchase of furniture.  ..read more