Aberdeen resident elected president of South Dakota Livestock Auction Markets Association

By Scott Waltman
American News, Aberdeen
 -A local businessman has been selected as head of a statewide professional group.
 Steve Hellwig, one of the owners of Hub City Livestock Auction, has been elected president of the South Dakota Livestock Auction Markets Association. He started his two-year term at during the group’s annual meting last month in Sioux Falls.
 Hellwig said he was vice president of the association the past two years.
 The group meets periodically to discuss pending legislation and topics that concern livestock and auction barns, including health issues, brand inspections and environmental concerns, Hellwig said.
 "There’ll be lots of miles and lots of phone calls logged in the next two years," he said.
 Brand inspections -- which are required West River -- have been a topic the group has discussed recently, Hellwig said. Assuring prompt payment of livestock transactions is another, he said.
 There are roughly 30 livestock auctions in South Dakota, Hellwig estimated. He and his brothers -- Rick and Ron -- bought Hub City Livestock from their father, Steve, about five years ago. The business opened in February 1990.
 Steve Hellwig said Hub City is one of only a couple of livestock auctions in South Dakota that sells all classes of livestock -- hogs, sheep, cattle and horses.
 "We’re really proud of how many sale barns there are in the state and how strong we are," he said.