LUSK – It has been roughly a month since Ty Thompson stepped into the vacancy left by Bo Krein on the town council. While his tenure as a councilman is still very young, Thompson’s tentative appraisal of the situation can be summed up by a single idiomatic expression, “So far, so good.”

This is the first time the Niobrara County resident has held public of- fice. So, needless to say, there’s a bit of a learning curve for him. Fortunately, Thompson has a body of experienced council members to draw knowledge from.

“I’m kind of excited,” Thompson said. “It’ll be somewhat of a challenge. There’s great leadership already in place with mayor [Doug] Lytle and the other council members. They’ve got lots of experience. If I’m not sure about something, I’ll ask and find out.”

Thompson is no stranger to Niobrara County. The fledgling councilman was born and raised in the community. In addition, he owns multiple properties and a local business. As a businessman, Thompson sees many parallels be- tween managing a town and managing a company.

“It’s a business,” Thompson said. “It’s for the council, but it’s also for the town of Lusk. We’re trying to make ends meet on both ends.”

Thompson stated he has nothing radical in mind for Lusk during his tenure. His chief focus will be fixed upon the ongoing sewer project involv- ing Oftedal. Apart from that, residents shouldn’t expect too many surprises from the new councilman.

“I don’t really have a huge agenda,” Thompson said. “I’m not really going to try to change a whole lot of things.”