South Dakota

Changed forest and market factors share blame for sawmill troubles, forest supervisor says • South Dakota Searchlight

Published

2 years ago

April 16, 2024

Changed forest and market factors share blame for sawmill troubles, forest supervisor says • South Dakota Searchlight

Changed forest conditions and market forces likely contributed to layoffs at a Spearfish sawmill, according to the U.S. Forest Service’s top official in the Black Hills.

Last week, the owner of the sawmill blamed logging reductions in the Black Hills National Forest for the layoffs.

The forest’s supervisor is Shawn Cochran. He said this week that the Forest Service was saddened to hear about the laid-off employees, and the agency is concerned about the economic health of sawmills.

Shawn Cochran, supervisor of the Black Hills National Forest. (Courtesy of U.S. Forest Service)

“The mills here in South Dakota and across the West are facing what appear to be some tough times,” Cochran said. “It’s not necessarily tied to just the timber supply chain, because we’re seeing the same things happen all throughout the West with mill closures.”

South Dakota Searchlight confirmed about 1,700 job losses at sawmills across the country since September, based on news reports about mill closures or layoffs in Florida, Montana, West Virginia, Oregon and Arkansas.

Companies cited outdated facilities, labor and housing shortages, rising costs, and plummeting lumber prices. One measure of those prices, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ producer price index for softwood lumber, has fallen by 56% since a peak in 2021. The “softwood” description includes the Black Hills’ predominant tree species, ponderosa pine.

Wyoming-based Neiman Enterprises announced 50 layoffs Thursday at Spearfish Forest Products, the company’s mill in South Dakota’s northern Black Hills.

Neiman said the layoffs were “the direct result of reductions to the Black Hills National Forest timber sale program.” The company made similar comments in 2021 when it closed its other South Dakota mill in Hill City.

A year prior to that closure, Forest Service researchers said severe wildfires and a pine beetle epidemic had drastically reduced the number of trees big enough for logging in the Black Hills. Those trees, called sawtimber, measure at least 9 inches in diameter at a point 4.5 feet above the ground. The forest had only half the sawtimber-size trees needed to sustain the level of timber sales allowed in the forest plan, the researchers said.

Some members of the timber industry disputed the research. Neiman’s Thursday news release included a statement from Ben Wudtke, executive director of a timber industry trade group called the Black Hills Forest Resource Association. Wudtke said “we have more timber now than in the ’70s and ’80s when the Black Hills National Forest was selling twice the amount of timber.”

The Forest Service initially declined to respond; then, on Monday, the Forest Service offered interviews with Cochran to several media outlets.

In his interview with Searchlight, Cochran defended the Forest Service research.

“The forest is very much in a changed condition,” he said.

There are many young trees in the forest, he added, which have sprouted in the wake of the pine beetle epidemic and severe wildfires. But those are not sawtimber size.

“More volume than ever?” he said, responding to a question about Wudtke’s statement. “I’d say, yes, we have a tremendous amount of volume that’s 9 inches and below. However, 9 and above, that has dramatically declined.”

Cochran said the Forest Service has spent $70 million during the last 10 years to help the Black Hills timber industry weather changing forest conditions. He did not provide a full breakdown of costs but said the amount includes stewardship sales. In those sales, the Forest Service covers some of the high costs that timber companies encounter in difficult logging areas, such as steep slopes.

There are more steep-slope areas to harvest, Cochran said, but logging those areas would come at great cost to the Forest Service, since companies need help to make steep-slope logging profitable. Cochran said the Forest Service’s cost to continue a full program of steep-slope logging on the forest could be up to $20 million.

“There is a need to do that, but there are also other needs on the forest,” Cochran said.

The Forest Service also spent $3 million on a pilot project to transport timber by train from other parts of the country to Neiman’s mill in Hulett, Wyoming.

“The last thing we want to do is see additional mill closures, and that’s why the Forest Service is investing heavily in the timber industry,” Cochran said.

Yet the changed conditions in the forest and the high costs of steep-slope logging remain “driving factors” for timber sales, Cochran added.

The Forest Service measures timber volume in a unit called “CCF,” with 1 CCF equaling 100 cubic feet. The agency plans to sell 63,000 CCF of timber in the Black Hills National Forest this fiscal year. That continues several years of reductions and is about a third of the allowable sale quantity of 181,000 CCF in the forest plan.

Sawmill layoffs and closures

Some recent sawmill layoffs and closures around the country:

April 11, 2024: Neiman Enterprises says it will lay off 50 employees at Spearfish Forest Products.
March 29, 2024: A company spokesperson confirms the closure of the West Fraser Sawmill in Perry, Florida, affecting 126 workers.
March 20, 2024: Roseburg announces the closure of its particleboard plant in Missoula, Montana, and the layoffs of 150 employees.
March 14, 2024: Pyramid Mountain Lumber in Seeley Lake, Montana, announces its plan to wind down operations and close, affecting 100 employees.
Feb. 25, 2024: West Virginia state officials confirm that Allegheny Wood Products will shut down, eliminating jobs for 850 employees and contractors.
Feb. 16, 2024: A Canadian company, Interfor, says it will shut down its Philomath, Oregon, sawmill, and cut 100 jobs.
Feb. 9, 2024: Resboro Co. confirms the closure of a mill in Springfield, Oregon, and the layoffs of 25 workers.
Jan. 10, 2024: Hampton Lumber says its sawmill in Banks, Oregon, will shut down indefinitely, leaving 58 employees without work.
Jan. 9, 2024: West Fraser Timber Co. announces the closure of its sawmill in Maxville, Florida, affecting 80 employees, and also announces a plan to “indefinitely curtail” operations at its sawmill in Huttig, Arkansas, affecting 140 employees.

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South Dakota

28 SD school districts to receive literacy grant

Published

7 hours ago

December 12, 2025

Press Room

28 SD school districts to receive literacy grant

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — Nearly 30 school districts in the state of South Dakota will receive the Elevating Literacy Across South Dakota (ELA-SD) grant from the South Dakota Department of Education. The purpose of the ELA-SD grants is to help create a comprehensive program to advance literary and pre-literary skills, reading and writing for […]

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South Dakota

Rep. Dusty Johnson backs Senator Rounds push for investigation into mail service in South Dakota

Published

19 hours ago

December 11, 2025

Press Room

Rep. Dusty Johnson backs Senator Rounds push for investigation into mail service in South Dakota

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) -Congressman Dusty Johnson is backing Senator Mike Round’s push for an investigation in postal service delays in South Dakota.

Johnson took to social media saying Senator Mike Rounds was right to ask for an investigation into postal service delays in South Dakota. Rounds had previously sent a letter to the postal service’s inspector general asking for her to find the cause of mail delays in South Dakota. Rounds said in his letter he has heard from hundreds of constituents across South Dakota. Johnson opened up with KOTA Territory News about his support for the investigation.

“I think the postal service is a terrible disaster,” said Johnson.

Johnson noted that in the past the service did what he said was a pretty good job. Johnson says despite sending letters and making phone calls with the postal service, he has not gotten any answers.

“I have asked if I can come down to one of their facilities, get a tour so I can better understand what’s going on behind the walls. They have refused to even let me, a member of congress, come learn about how they conduct their business. And so, this appears to be an enterprise that A, is not improving, B, isn’t communicating why there, why there failing and C doesn’t even appear to be particularly interested in getting better,” explained Johnson.

Rounds has pointed to the problem as being that mail traveling across or into South Dakota taking indirect routes. Rounds previously took a meeting with the postmaster general however the senator appears not satisfied with the outcome.

Rounds wrote in part in his letter, “I expressed my concerns about this to the Postmaster General (PMG) Steiner who downplayed such issue existed in South Dakota.”

In a letter sent to Rounds in October, Postmaster General David Steiner said that fixing issues at central region plants in Chicago, St Louis and Kansas City will likely improve outcomes and that at the time it was something the USPS was actively working on. The postmaster general acknowledged poor performance for first class mail at the beginning of the year and mid-summer but noted that it has since improved. During the week ending September 19th for South Dakota’s postal district, about %93 percent of first-class mail was delivered on time and roughly %97 percent was delivered within one day of its expected arrival. The postmaster general said he wanted to focus on the %3 percent that’s not getting to its destination on time.

“It may be only a small percentage of the mail, but because we deliver hundreds of millions of pieces each day nationally, the raw number is large,” wrote Steiner.

Steiner emphasized that some mail in South Dakota has always left the state for processing before going to another part of the state. The postmaster general explained that some mail requires certain sorting equipment and therefor some mail travels to plants with the right equipment.

The postmaster general also maintained in his letter that mail going to and from the same area in South Dakota is not leaving the state.

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South Dakota

Best steakhouse in South Dakota? Top spots for premium cuts and sides

Published

1 day ago

December 11, 2025

Press Room

Best steakhouse in South Dakota? Top spots for premium cuts and sides

Step inside a few of South Dakota’s most iconic steakhouses, where the baked potatoes are foil-wrapped and the wood-fired grill is crackling.

Don’t mess with South Dakota’s red meat.

With some of the best, high-quality cattle in the country raised right here in the Mt. Rushmore state, you’ll easily find a ribeye nearby.

But not all steaks are the same. We compared the cut, the prep and the presentation and narrowed down a few of our favorite steakhouses for our carnivores.

Hartford Steak Co. Tavern

The concept for a small and affordable menu began with a burger sold for a nickel by Diane Friese’s great-grandfather in the 1920s. A family tradition untouched over the decades, you can still buy a filet mignon for an easy $15 at the Hartford Steak Co. today. But that’s about it. The filets are sized up to 24 ounces, then there’s steak tips or a hot beef sandwich to choose from. All come with a crisp, cold lettuce wedge, baked potato, and warm French bread. On the weekends, they spice it up with a $20 prime rib dinner (meaning the filets are off the menu, only one choice for you). Order a margarita on the side and enjoy a no-fuss night.

The Hartford Steakhouse has a second location in Vermillion, South Dakota.

Details: 709 N. Mundt Ave., Hartford, S.D., 605-528-6185, hartfordsteakcotavern.com.

Morrie’s Steakhouse

It’s giving Old Hollywood glam, some soft jazz and extravagance. Namesake Morrie Richards was a humble farmer from Ipswich, South Dakota, but Mama taught the family hospitality, and now the steakhouse is an experience for families and business diners. Steak is the star, but what comes with it elevates the night. Shared sides include loaded hash browns or smoked pork mac, and steak accompaniments include a 75-day-old cave-aged blue cheese slab or a three-day veal demi-glaze. Morrie’s honors community ranchers as well, bringing to the table local grass-fed butcher cuts and bone-in Tomahawk wagyu ribeyes.

Details: 2507 S. Shirley Ave., Sioux Falls, S.D., 605-362-8125, morriessteakhouse.com.

Mad Mary’s

Along the Big Sioux River in South Dakota is Mad Mary’s Steakhouse, a classic mom-and-pop in Flandreau, South Dakota, that’s been attracting hunters for more than 30 years. It’s changed hands a few times, but has been led now by Christina Ramos since 2018, who served at Mad Mary’s for more than a decade. She’s got a “secret seasoning” in the kitchen for her prime rib and sirloins, but come for the Butcher’s Trio to try it all: a plate of beef, chicken and pork served with a twice-baked potato and buttered toast for $50.

Mad Mary’s has a second location in Pierre, South Dakota, under different ownership, where you get a free T-shirt if you order a margarita. Size up after all that hearty South Dakota beef.

Details: 306 N. Veterans St., Flandreau, S.D., 605-997-9901, madmaryssteakhouse.com.

Ironwood Steakhouse

A bespoke contemporary experience in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, the Minneapolis-based restaurateurs of Ironwood Steakhouse bring to town their crisp white linens, sparkly chandeliers and floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the Big Sioux River and Falls Park.

The maître d wears a suit and tie, so maybe you should, too.

The two-story, upscale supper club brings in its prime-aged beef from Snake River Farms in Idaho and cooks over coals for that unmistakable sear. Try the eight-ounce wagyu Zabuton, steak tartare or the steak Diane: an eight-ounce teres major cut with mushroom cream sauce.

Then return for their mushroom pierogis, rabbit stroganoff or even just an espresso martini at the bar, served with your own picture printed atop the foam.

A toast to our steak victors.

Details: 150 E. Fourth Place, Sioux Falls, S.D., 605-937-0280, ironwoodsf.com.

Delmonico Grill

Another for the upscale diners, Delmonico Grill in Rapid City, South Dakota, has been serving its in-house, dry-aged “Kona” Hawaiian style ribeye for nearly 20 years. It’s classic steakhouse fare in a comfortable atmosphere: Choose from intimate booths or red velvet benches, with a view of downtown Main Street always abuzz.

Details: 609 Main St., Rapid City, S.D., 605-791-1664, delmonicogrill.com.

Did we miss your favorite steakhouse? Drop us a line at ageorge@usatodayco.com with details.

Angela George is the trending news reporter for the Argus Leader in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, part of the USA TODAY Co. network. Email ageorge@usatodayco.com.

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