HURON – The Beadle County Commission on Tuesday morning heard from Sheriff Doug Solem about a number of issues, beginning with the need to re-floor much of the jail as the flooring is coming up and could become a danger to inmates. This will be done utilizing 24/7 money.

The commission also approved a new hire in the jail and approved the purchase of a new pickup for 2025 for the Sheriff’s department.

Commissioners opened the meeting with county highway superintendent Jason Fritzsche. Fritzsche submitted a pay request for the work done on the Virgil Road for $225,303.75 along with a change order on the project. Both were approved. Fritzsche reported that the overall project was more than $20,000 under bid, primarily due to lower oil costs.

Fritzsche also submitted right of way certificates, utility certificates, and letting authorization for a bridge in Wolsey Township. These were all approved.

Gayle Stahl, executive director of the Hope House, presented the commission with the background on the Hope House, along with the success that the rehabilitation home has seen in its first two years as a female-only facility. Stahl reports that Hope House is looking to open a facility for men in the city, and to help fund this, she plans to apply for the opioid settlement grant funds from the state and sought a letter from the county in support. This was approved, with commissioners thanking Stahl for all that she and Hope House have done thus far and continue to do.

Monthly bills and payroll both received scrutiny by the commission but were ultimately approved as presented.

The second reading of the amended burn ban ordinance, No. 15-59 was approved with no opposition.

County auditor Jill Hanson presented the post-election audit. She noted that 952 ballots were hand-counted and matched the machine count. This has been the case across the state, according to Hanson, as only one county that she is aware of has reported being off - and that county was off by one due to human interpretation versus machine interpretation whether a voting oval was properly filled in or not for counting.

The 2025 memorandum of understanding for the shared cost with SDSU Extension for the 4-H youth program advisor in the county was approved.

Three plats were approved. Eckmann outlots 1 & 2 were approved for estate planning. O.K. Brink Outlot 1 was approved to separate home from outlying property for sale. Finally, the Martin Outlot was approved as part of a land sale.

The commission held an extended conversation regarding county employee health insurance. After extended discussion, the commission chose to hold further discussion with the county employee insurance board before making a decision. That special meeting will be held Tuesday, Dec. 3, at 9 a.m. in the commission room on the second floor of the county courthouse.