Sioux Falls City Council switches official newspaper from Argus Leader to The Dakota Scout
Change comes after the state Legislature revised the definition of an official newspaper for the posting of legal notices
Sioux Falls residents will find information about the actions and plans of their government posted in a different newspaper for at least the next year.
The City Council on Wednesday unanimously approved The Dakota Scout as the official newspaper for legal notices. The Argus Leader served that role for decades but the council made the change in advance of a new state law that allows more publications to meet the definition of an official newspaper.
The one-year contract with The Dakota Scout is effective July 1.
Councilor David Barranco forwarded the proposal to make the switch, citing the potential to save taxpayer money and the local ownership of The Dakota Scout.
NEWS: Norwegian ambassador to U.S. touts cultural, military ties in S.D. visit
The Argus Leader is owned by Gannett, a publicly traded company with more than 200 newspapers under its umbrella.
The Dakota Scout was founded by two former Argus Leader reporters – Joe Sneve and Jonathan Ellis – in 2022.
“Jonathan and I appreciate all the support along the way,” Sneve said Wednesday. “Our staff does as well and we look forward to serving this community and state as chief in the fourth estate for years to come.”
All arms of local government, including cities, counties and school districts, are required to post legal notices with information such as the agenda and minutes of meetings, bid proposals, budgets and salaries.
Until recently, to qualify as a legal newspaper in South Dakota, the publication was required to have paid circulation. The Legislature adjusted those rules earlier this year to allow for free publications, like The Dakota Scout, provided they meet other requirements.
A key point in the discussion about which newspaper to select was the number of readers each outlet can deliver.
The current circulation of the Argus Leader is 5,769 weekdays and 7,239 on Sunday, according to documents submitted to the city.
The Dakota Scout prints 5,000.
“We actually reach more citizens,” Susan Patterson Plank, vice president of public notice strategic transformation for Gannett, told the council’s operations committee on Monday. “The nature of public notices, making sure as many people in the public are notified of the work of its government as possible, I think that’s critically important.”
Both outlets publish online as well. Plank said the Argus Leader has about one million page views per month, where The Dakota Scout is about 700,000.
There’s an ongoing discussion about whether the posting in a hard-copy newspaper was necessary, given the easy availability of digital information.
The state’s newspapers have long pressed to maintain the requirement. While it’s an important revenue source for many weekly newspapers across the state, posting legals in a local newspaper guarantees access to information and supports an important tenet of open government.
Still, the nature of media is changing. The South Dakota Newspaper Association, which for decades has lobbied in the newspaper companies interests in Pierre, recently changed its name to the South Dakota Newsmedia Association.
The change represents the shifting news landscape in the state and allows inclusion of digital-only organizations.
That was a key development when it came to legal notices.
The SDNA, once opposed to changes in the law, partnered with The Dakota Scout to advocate for the revision allowing free publications.
Calculating the rates for legals is complex and detailed in state law. But it’s broadly based on the number of lines in each column, the size of the type and other allowed costs. For instance, the Argus Leader proposal included an affidavit fee for each submission. The Dakota Scout does not charge an affidavit fee.
RELATED: Freely-distributed newspapers deserve chance to be legal papers of record
 | A guest post by
|
Victory in a long and hard-fought battle. The challenge for the Dakota Scout and similarly organized news outlets across the state becomes making the City Council's decision "stick." Income from legal notices posted by city, county, school and other governing bodies has been critical in supporting newspapers large and especially small. In today's world, ink-on-paper is less and less relevant. Times have changed. Little wonder the SF Argus lost this critical piece of business with daily and Sunday circulation numbers continuing to dwindle. Changing times, indeed.
Excellent decision! 👏🏼