MITCHELL — The city of Mitchell’s recent cybersecurity incident remains unresolved, leaving city staff without computer access and the city’s public committee meetings in limbo.
On Thursday, Aug. 6, an email directed to Davison County employees stated for county employees to not open emails from the city of Mitchell. However, Mitchell Mayor Jordan Hanson stated the city had no indication email services were affected.
On Monday, the Mitchell Republic asked Hanson if city customer utility billing information was safe.
“I cannot answer that,” Hanson said. “We don’t have enough updates to answer questions like this yet.”
Hanson declined to identify the experts the city is working with regarding the cybersecurity incident.
City staff are unable to access work computers, but are able to respond to emails from mobile devices.
“Everybody’s finding stuff to do,” Hanson said.
According to Hanson, residents with utility billing accounts are still able to pay their bills.
Previously scheduled meetings this week were postponed, including Golf and Cemetery Board, Sports and Events Authority and Corn Palace Entertainment Board. According to officials, city staff are unable to upload documents to the city of Mitchell’s platform for meeting agendas and documents.
The City Hall free public wifi was unavailable Monday. Hanson told the Mitchell Republic that city staff had not yet had the discussion about reinstating the free public wifi at City Hall.
On Monday, the Mitchell Planning and Zoning Commission held its meeting without a live broadcast or recording. City Administrator Stephanie Ellwein noted state law requires city staff to post meeting minutes within seven days of a meeting if no video is available.
Hanson expects city services for televising and recording city meetings to continue “as soon as everything’s fixed.”
“I think next week we’ll have everything back recorded. They should be streamed. Just (Monday), we don’t have it up,” Ellwein told the Mitchell Republic.
In July, cybersecurity attacks in South Dakota included Pennington County governmental offices and Rapid City’s wastewater system.
Marshall Mitchell is a reporter with the Mitchell Republic covering local news and politics. He has over 15 years of experience working with leaders, authors, non-profits, and small businesses in publishing, marketing, and content creation. He moved to Mitchell in December 2024, and can’t wait to hear from you. Reach out to him at mmitchell@mitchellrepublic.com.
