We Weren't First?

Aug 22, 2012

By Bernie Hunhoff

We started publishing this magazine before several of our staff members went to school, so it's getting old — especially by South Dakota publishing standards.

Lots of magazines have come and gone. The earliest we've tracked was started by the legendary historian Doane Robinson right here in Yankton in 1898. He called it the Monthly South Dakotan. It lasted for eight years.

We have single copies of many other attempts. There was a Dacotah Magazine that began in Watertown shortly after Robinson's Monthly failed. The state Chamber of Commerce tried a Sunshine Magazine in the 1920s.

Another startup failed shortly before we started in 1985. As I recall, the advertising sales director went to prison on a murder charge.

South Dakota isn't the easist place to publish a magazine, but it has been fertile ground for us. Our advertising directors have stayed out of jail and our writers and photographers have shown great passion for the art of publishing a prairie and mountain magazine.

We are constantly on the lookout for other publishing brethren who may have preceded us, and today a reader sent us this image of a front cover of a publication. My guess is that it is a state agriculture department yearbook from the 1920s, but we would welcome any further input.

We would also be interested in identifying the pretty young model on the cover. Any leads?