Table of Contents
Purpose
This audit maps the publicly indexed digital footprint of the City of Gettysburg, South Dakota across federal agency websites, state databases, news archives, and the city's own web properties.
What can anyone with a search engine learn about your organization in 30 minutes?
Public records transparency means understanding not just what you publish, but what federal, state, and third-party systems publish about you — and what picture it creates when assembled.
Methodology
Searches were conducted across eight OSINT layers using public data sources: Google advanced search operators, Wayback Machine CDX API, crt.sh certificate transparency, USASpending API, federal contracting databases, NARF/Municode legal archives, FEMA/USGS/EPA environmental databases, and news/media archives.
Findings
Governance & Sensitive Documents
Queries used:
"Gettysburg" "South Dakota" filetype:pdf "budget" OR "CAFR" OR "audit" OR "minutes" OR "ordinance"
"Gettysburg" "South Dakota" filetype:pdf "confidential" OR "internal"
"Gettysburg" "Potter County" filetype:pdf "resolution" OR "ordinance" OR "agreement"
site:gettysburgsd.us OR site:cityofgettysburg.com inurl:admin OR inurl:login
"Gettysburg" "South Dakota" intitle:"index of"| # | Document | Hosted On | Risk | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | City Council Minutes Index (2021-2026) | cityofgettysburg.com | Low | Full listing of all available minutes by year |
| 2 | City Council Agendas Index | cityofgettysburg.com | Low | Full listing of council agendas |
| 3 | Council Minutes — May 6, 2024 | cityofgettysburg.com | Low | References 2023 annual audit at $9,500 |
| 4 | Council Minutes — March 3, 2025 | cityofgettysburg.com | Low | Department reports (police, maintenance, finance) |
| 5 | Potter County Cooperative Policy | gettysburg.k12.sd.us | Low | Inter-entity cooperative policy on school district domain |
Assessment: LOW
Summary: The city maintains a well-organized public document repository on cityofgettysburg.com with predictable URL patterns (/files/minutes/YYYY/, /files/agendas/YYYY/). All documents found are standard public records. No confidential or internal documents, open directory listings, or exposed admin/login panels were discovered.
Wayback Machine Archive
Domain(s) queried: gettysburgsd.us, cityofgettysburg.com
| Metric | gettysburgsd.us | cityofgettysburg.com | Combined |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total unique pages archived | 123 | 785 | 908 |
| Total unique PDFs archived | 0 | 749 | 749 |
| Earliest snapshot | 2004-04-04 | 2021-11-29 | 2004-04-04 |
| Most recent snapshot | 2006-01-18 | 2024-12-28 | 2024-12-28 |
| Hosting platform | Static HTML + PHP (2004) → Wix (current) | Hand-built static HTML | — |
Document breakdown (cityofgettysburg.com):
| Category | Count | Date Range |
|---|---|---|
| Meeting minutes | 333 | 2005–2024 |
| Meeting agendas | 327 | 2006–2024 |
| Highway 212 project docs | 40 | 2021 |
| Ordinances | 18 | Various |
| Reports (audits + water quality) | 13 | 2017–2024 |
| Forms (permits, applications) | 10 | Various |
| Government docs (MFAs, appointments) | 6 | 2023–2024 |
| Announcements (salary listings) | 2 | 2024–2025 |
Notable archived paths:
| # | URL | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Full scanned ordinance book | Complete municipal ordinance book | |
| 2 | 2024 Drinking Water Report | Annual water quality report | |
| 3 | 2025 Salary Listing | Employee salary listing (public record) | |
| 4 | 2022 Financial Audit | Financial audit report |
Assessment: CLEAN
Summary: The city has an exceptionally well-organized digital archive — 749 PDFs comprising nearly 20 years of council minutes and agendas, financial audits, drinking water reports, the complete municipal ordinance book, and Highway 212 project documentation. All content is appropriate public records. No admin panels, configuration files, or sensitive paths were exposed. The older gettysburgsd.us domain was the original city site (2004-2006) and has since been repurposed as a Wix-hosted community/tourism portal.
Certificate Transparency
Domain(s) analyzed: gettysburgsd.us, cityofgettysburg.com
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Total certificates found | 25 (gettysburgsd.us); 0 (cityofgettysburg.com) |
| Certificate issuer(s) | GoDaddy Secure Certificate Authority - G2 |
| Earliest certificate | 2017-10-27 |
| Most recent certificate | 2026-02-12 |
| Wildcard certs? | No |
| Renewal pattern | Annual (2017-2023) → 90-day automated (2024-present) |
Subdomains discovered: Only www.gettysburgsd.us — no additional subdomains.
Assessment: CLEAN
Summary: Minimal certificate footprint. Only two hostnames across a single domain with a single issuer over 8+ years. No shadow IT, no subdomain sprawl. The cityofgettysburg.com domain has zero certificates in transparency logs — it likely serves HTTP only. The shift to 90-day automated renewal in 2024 is a positive hygiene indicator.
Funding & Contract Records
Queries used:
site:usaspending.gov "Gettysburg" "South Dakota"
"Gettysburg" "South Dakota" grant OR award ARPA CDBG EDA
USASpending API recipient search + place-of-performance queriesFunding records found:
| # | Record | Source | Amount | Agency | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | FAA Airport Improvement — "Improve Existing Airport" | USASpending | $173,169 | DOT (FAA) | Direct grant to City of Gettysburg, 2014 |
| 2 | FAA Airport Master Plan Study | USASpending | $66,349 | DOT (FAA) | Direct grant to City of Gettysburg, 2011 |
| 3 | FAA ARSR Radar Replacement (BIL-funded) | USASpending | $1,190,065 | DOT (FAA) | Contract to Quad J Inc, Gettysburg radar site, 2024 |
| 4 | FAA Radar Catwalk/Railing Upgrade | USASpending | $220,707 | DOT (FAA) | Contract to JE Hurley Inc, 2019 |
| 5 | Gettysburg VFD Fire Protection | USASpending | $9,588 | Interior | Grant to Volunteer Fire Dept, 2017 |
| 6 | Little Angels Playground Enhancement | USASpending | $19,023 | Interior | Via SD Game Fish & Parks, 2013 |
| 7 | US-212 In-Place Asphalt Recycling, Potter County | USASpending | $3,287,487 | DOT (FHWA) | Pass-through to State of SD, 2016 |
| 8 | US-83 Resurfacing, Potter County | USASpending | $2,806,068 | DOT (FHWA) | Pass-through to State of SD, 2013 |
| 9 | Impact Aid — Gettysburg School District 53-1 | USASpending | ~$32K/yr | Education | Annual recurring |
| 10 | Small Rural School Achievement Program | USASpending | ~$18K/yr | Education | 11 years, ~$203K total |
| 11 | COVID-19 Response — DX Beef LLC | USASpending | $7,200 | USDA | Local business, 2022 |
| 12 | AARP Community Challenge Grant | AARP | Undisclosed | AARP | To Gettysburg-Whitlock Bay Dev Corp, community garden, 2024 |
Subsidiary entities discovered:
| # | Entity Name | Relationship | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gettysburg School District 53-1 | Independent school district | ~$268K federal grants identified |
| 2 | Gettysburg-Whitlock Bay Development Corp | Economic development nonprofit 501(c)(6) | EIN 36-3734207, $465K assets, provides business loans |
| 3 | Gettysburg Volunteer Fire Department | Nonprofit fire service | Federal award recipient |
| 4 | Avera Gettysburg Hospital | Critical Access Hospital (HPSA) | Part of Avera Health system |
| 5 | County of Potter | County government | Direct DoD contracts (USACE weed spraying) |
| 6 | Mid-Dakota Rural Water System | Regional water utility | $21.6M+ ARPA grants; serves Gettysburg |
| 7 | Gettysburg Community Foundation | Community foundation | SD Community Foundation affiliate |
| 8 | DX Beef LLC | Local business | $7,200 USDA COVID grant |
| 9 | 40 registered nonprofits in ZIP 57442 | Various | Combined $39.4M assets, $15M income |
Assessment: LOW
Summary: The city has a modest but visible federal funding footprint. $239K in direct FAA airport grants, $1.4M in BIL-funded radar infrastructure contracts, and $6.1M in FHWA highway grants flowing through the state. The broader ecosystem includes Mid-Dakota Rural Water's $21.6M ARPA program and 40 registered nonprofits with combined $39.4M in assets — a surprisingly deep organizational landscape for a town of 1,100.
Legal & Regulatory Records
Queries used:
"Gettysburg" "South Dakota" municipal code site:municode.com OR site:codepublishing.com
"City of Gettysburg" "South Dakota" lawsuit OR litigation OR v.
"Gettysburg" "South Dakota" site:federalregister.gov
"Gettysburg" "South Dakota" site:law.justia.com| # | Resource | Source | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SD Codified Laws Ch. 9-19 (Municipal Powers) | SD Legislature | Enabling statutes for SD municipalities |
| 2 | City ordinance book (scanned) | cityofgettysburg.com | Full ordinance book available via Wayback |
| 3 | $2.96M Clean Water SRF Loan | KXLG News | Wastewater line cleaning and lagoon improvements |
Litigation: No cases found where the City of Gettysburg is a named plaintiff or defendant. Seven cases mention Gettysburg as a location, but the city is not a party in any of them.
Assessment: LOW
Summary: Minimal legal footprint. No litigation against the city. The municipal code is not published on major online code libraries (Municode, American Legal) but is available as a scanned document on the city's own site. The only notable regulatory record is a $2.96M Clean Water SRF loan for routine wastewater infrastructure.
Infrastructure & Technical Surface
Domain(s) analyzed: gettysburgsd.us, cityofgettysburg.com
DNS Configuration:
| Record | Value | Significance |
|---|---|---|
| gettysburgsd.us A | 76.223.105.230, 13.248.243.5 | AWS Global Accelerator — GoDaddy Website Builder |
| gettysburgsd.us MX | gettysburgsd-us.mail.protection.outlook.com | Microsoft 365 email |
| gettysburgsd.us NS | ns35.domaincontrol.com, ns36.domaincontrol.com | GoDaddy DNS |
| cityofgettysburg.com A | 107.180.63.55 | GoDaddy shared hosting (Plesk/Windows/IIS) |
| cityofgettysburg.com MX | cityofgettysburg-com.mail.protection.outlook.com | Microsoft 365 email |
Infrastructure Profile:
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Hosting platform | gettysburgsd.us: GoDaddy Website Builder. cityofgettysburg.com: GoDaddy shared Windows hosting (IIS/10.0, Plesk) |
| Domain type | .us (primary) + .com (legacy government site) |
| Email provider | Microsoft 365 on both domains |
| CDN/Proxy | AWS Global Accelerator on .us only |
| Subdomains discovered | www.gettysburgsd.us only |
| Security headers | gettysburgsd.us: HSTS + CSP. cityofgettysburg.com: none — exposes IIS/10.0, ASP.NET, Plesk |
| DMARC | Missing on both domains — email spoofing risk |
Assessment: MEDIUM
Summary: Split infrastructure with a modernized primary site (gettysburgsd.us with HSTS/CSP) alongside a legacy Windows/IIS/Plesk site (cityofgettysburg.com) that exposes full server stack fingerprinting with zero security headers. Email is centralized on Microsoft 365 with strict SPF, but the absence of DMARC records on either domain leaves both vulnerable to spoofing.
Disaster & Environmental
Queries used:
"Gettysburg" "South Dakota" FEMA disaster declaration
"Potter County" "South Dakota" FEMA disaster declaration
"Gettysburg" "South Dakota" site:usgs.gov
OpenFEMA API: Potter County SD disaster declarationsFEMA Declarations (Potter County, including Gettysburg):
| # | Declaration | Date | Type | Assistance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | DR-4718 | 2023-07-06 | Flood | PA, HM |
| 2 | DR-4689 | 2023-02-27 | Winter Storm | PA, HM |
| 3 | DR-4527 | 2020-04-05 | COVID-19 | IH, PA, HM |
| 4 | DR-4440 | 2019-06-07 | Flood | PA, HM |
| 5 | DR-1984 | 2011-05-13 | Flood | PA, HM |
| 6 | DR-1887 | 2010-03-10 | Winter Storm | PA, HM |
| 7 | DR-1596 | 2005-07-22 | Severe Storm | PA, HM |
| 8 | DR-1173 | 1997-04-07 | Flood | IA, PA |
| 9 | DR-1156 | 1997-01-10 | Winter Storm | PA |
| 10 | DR-1052 | 1995-05-26 | Flood | IA, PA |
| 11 | DR-1045 | 1995-03-14 | Snowstorm | PA |
| 12 | DR-1031 | 1994-06-21 | Severe Storm | PA |
| 13 | DR-764 | 1986-05-03 | Flood | PA |
| 14 | EM-3475 | 2020-03-13 | COVID Emergency | PA |
| 15 | EM-3234 | 2005-09-10 | Katrina Evacuation | PA |
| 16 | EM-3015 | 1976-06-17 | Drought | PA |
Environmental Monitoring:
| # | Station | Agency | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | USGS-06361070 Lake Oahe near Forest City | USGS | Surface water | Potter County, hydrometric monitoring |
| 2 | ~349 groundwater wells | USGS | Groundwater | Potter County inventory via NWIS |
| 3 | Multiple Lake Oahe sampling points | USGS | Lake/reservoir | Potter County |
EPA: No Superfund sites, no brownfields, no NPDES violations, no enforcement actions.
Assessment: MEDIUM
Summary: Potter County carries a significant disaster footprint with 16 FEMA declarations since 1976, dominated by winter storms and flooding — consistent with central South Dakota's Missouri River basin exposure. Two Individual Assistance declarations (1995, 1997) indicate events severe enough for direct household aid. USGS maintains active monitoring with ~350 groundwater wells and a Lake Oahe surface water station. EPA profile is clean.
Media & Public Narrative
Queries used:
"Gettysburg" "South Dakota" news 2025 OR 2026
"Gettysburg" "South Dakota" mayor OR "city administrator"
"Gettysburg" "South Dakota" "city council" minutes
"Gettysburg SD" development OR project OR infrastructureKey coverage:
| # | Article | Date | Publication | Key Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US-212 Urban Reconstruction | 2024-25 | SD DOT | $12.9M highway reconstruction through town |
| 2 | AARP Community Challenge Grant | 2024 | AARP | Community garden for downtown apartments |
| 3 | Confederate Flag Police Badge Removed | 2020-07 | Rapid City Journal / AP / CBS / Fox | National coverage; Selwyn Jones (George Floyd's uncle) is local resident |
| 4 | Gettysburg Grain Buyer Penalties | 2023 | KELOLAND | Banghart Properties $70K fines, PUC hearing |
| 5 | Newspaper Editor Elected Association President | 2024-05 | SDPB | Molly McRoberts, Potter County News |
Leadership identified:
| # | Name | Role | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bill Wuttke | Mayor (since at least 2012) | Multiple outlets |
| 2 | Sheila Schatz | Chief Financial Officer | cityofgettysburg.com |
| 3 | Shane Wager | Deputy Financial Officer | cityofgettysburg.com |
| 4 | Dave Mogard | Police Chief | News outlets (2015-2020) |
| 5 | Molly McRoberts | Editor, Potter County News | SDPB |
| 6 | Jesse Zweber | Potter County Commission Chair | Potter County News |
| 7 | Selwyn Jones | Community advocate (George Floyd's uncle) | AP, Fox, CBS |
Assessment: LOW
Summary: Gettysburg presents as a quiet, steady-state rural agricultural community. Its most significant national media moment was the 2020 Confederate flag police badge controversy, resolved by removal. Current priorities center on infrastructure: $12.9M highway reconstruction, $3M wastewater loan, AARP community garden. No contested elections for City Council or School Board in the most recent cycle.
Risk Summary
| Category | Assessment | Key Finding |
|---|---|---|
| Governance & Documents | LOW | Well-organized public repo, predictable URLs |
| Wayback Archive | CLEAN | 749 PDFs, 20 years of records, no sensitive exposure |
| Certificate Transparency | CLEAN | Minimal footprint, single issuer, no subdomains |
| Funding & Contracts | LOW | $239K direct FAA grants + $1.4M BIL radar contracts |
| Legal & Regulatory | LOW | No litigation against city |
| Infrastructure | MEDIUM | Legacy .com exposes server stack; no DMARC |
| Disaster & Environmental | MEDIUM | 16 FEMA declarations; ~350 USGS groundwater wells |
| Media & Narrative | LOW | Steady-state; 2020 Confederate flag controversy |
Overall footprint assessment: MODERATE
The City of Gettysburg has a well-managed but characteristic small-city footprint. Its document publishing is exemplary — 20 years of records organized in a clean directory structure. The risks are structural: a legacy website with no security hardening, missing email authentication (DMARC), and a jurisdiction with persistent disaster exposure. The organizational ecosystem is deeper than population suggests, with 40 registered nonprofits and $39.4M in combined assets in the ZIP code.
Recommendations
Immediate Actions
1. Add DMARC records to both domains. Both gettysburgsd.us and cityofgettysburg.com have SPF but no DMARC — this leaves the city vulnerable to email spoofing. A basic p=none DMARC record with reporting would be a zero-cost first step.
2. Harden cityofgettysburg.com. The legacy .com site exposes IIS/10.0, ASP.NET version, and Plesk platform identity with no security headers. Add X-Content-Type-Options, X-Frame-Options, and consider HSTS.
3. Consolidate domains. Operating two active domains with different hosting stacks doubles the maintenance surface. Consider redirecting cityofgettysburg.com to gettysburgsd.us.
Ongoing Monitoring
1. Quarterly footprint scan. Re-run this audit's query set every 90 days to catch new federal filings, grant awards, and news coverage.
2. Set Google Alerts for "City of Gettysburg" "South Dakota" filetype:pdf to catch new documents as indexed.
Strategic Considerations
1. The 749-PDF archive is an asset, not a liability. Gettysburg's document publishing is more organized than most cities ten times its size. This is a transparency strength.
2. Disaster preparedness data is publicly available. 16 FEMA declarations and the USGS groundwater network mean anyone can reconstruct the city's environmental risk profile. Future infrastructure grant applications should be written with awareness that reviewers can see this history.
3. The subsidiary ecosystem is the story. For a town of 1,100 people, the presence of a development corporation, community foundation, critical access hospital, and 40 nonprofits represents substantial civic infrastructure. This ecosystem is publicly visible through federal databases.
What This Means
This audit does not reveal "hacking" or unauthorized access. Every document found here is publicly indexed and accessible to anyone with a web browser. That is precisely the point.
Public records transparency means understanding not just what you publish, but what federal, state, and third-party systems publish about you — and what picture it creates when assembled. The City of Gettysburg's direct footprint is small and well-managed. But the federal databases (USASpending, FEMA, USGS) and third-party aggregators tell a broader story about the community's infrastructure vulnerabilities, funding dependencies, and organizational depth that any grant reviewer, journalist, or competing bidder can access in an afternoon.