Local, county bodies look to fill vacancies

Nominating petitions for Hill City Common Council positions are available for pickup at city hall. 

Several positions are available, including that of mayor for a two-year term. The current mayor is Tana Nichols.

Two-year term positions for Ward I and Ward II aldermen are also up for grabs. The seats are currently held by Justin Thiry and Dennis Siebert.

Circulation of nominating petitions began Feb. 2. Petitions must be filed with the finance officer at city hall no later than 5 p.m. March 24. They can also be sent by registered mail with the same deadline. 

Todd Grabow’s seat on the Hill City School District  (HCSD) Board of Education is also up. This position is for a three-year term.

As of Feb. 2, petitions can filed in the office of the  HCSD business manager located at 488 Main Street, Hill City, SD 57745 between the hours of 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. or mailed by registered mail. The deadline is March 24 at 5 p.m. 

Candidates need to reside in the HCSD boundary and be registered to vote in the district.

At the Pennington County level, there are open seats for county commissioner in Districts 1, 3 and 5. Currently, the seats are held by Ron Rossknecht, Deb Hadcock and Gary Drewes. The terms are for four years. District 1 serves Hill City and Keystone.

Nominating petitions for these positions can be picked up now from the Pennington County Auditors Office. Petitions from republican and democrat candidates are due by March 31 at 5 p.m. The deadline for independent candidates is April 28 at 5 p.m.

The current term for the Register of Deeds, held by Audra Casteel, and Pennington County Sheriff, held by Brian Mueller, also expire this year. 

There are no special qualifications to run for Register of Deeds. Any candidate for election to the office of county sheriff shall file with the county auditor by the last Tuesday of March of the election year a certification of qualification issued by the law enforcement officers standards commission that the candidate meets the qualifications provided in South Dakota statute 23-3-43. The terms are for four years. 

Republican and democrat candidates must file petitions in person or by registered mail with the county auditor by March 31 at 5 p.m. The deadline for independent candidates is April 28 at 5 p.m.

Keystone is holding its elections in November, so there are currently no vacancies or petitions available to pick up.

In District 30, the offices currently held by Sen. Amber Hulse, Rep. Tim Goodwin and Rep. Trish Ladner are up for election for two-year terms.

Nominating petitions became available Jan. 1 and must be filed in the Office of the Secretary of State at the state capitol building in Pierre between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Petitions can also be mailed by registered mail to the Office of the Secretary of State at 500 E Capitol Ave Suite 204 Pierre, SD 57501 and must be postmarked by the deadline. The deadline for republican and democrat candidates is March 31 at 5 p.m. The deadline for independent candidates is April 28 at 5 p.m.

Statewide, U. S. Sen. Mike Rounds’ seat is up for a six-year term, U. S. Rep. Dusty Johnson’s seat is up for a two-year term and Gov. Larry Rhoden’s seat is up for a four-year term.

The primary election is Tuesday, June 2.