One of the first things that occurred in new towns as they were established was the creation of a newspaper or other media to keep people connected not only with each other, but also with the news and events back home. Written media was the backbone of many communities. 

Times change though and sadly, written media didn’t keep up. Local newspapers have slowly died away, either vanishing completely or being gobbled up by larger organizations that are only looking at the bottom dollar. With printers shutting down, other forms of written media also disappear, which leaves a void within the community. 

Sturgis hasn’t been immune to that. It was just a couple years ago that the Meade County Times-Tribune closed. There have been various attempts at filling that void, but none have yet quite succeeded. Part of the issue lies at the heart of why printed media is struggling to begin with; it isn’t evolving with the times. 

Before my family and I moved to Sturgis, I was also effected by the consolidation and loss of local papers. For years I worked as the editor of a county newspaper. I made the choice to focus more on the internet side of it, and the results were promising as readership was up drastically. The paper served a real purpose, it reported the news that makes up a small community. The parent company ended up deciding it was better to cut out the small paper though, as it did with the local papers here. 

After that, I opened up an alternative paper that followed the focus of what I was doing at the county publication. Running a publication is a unique adventure, and it was definitely a learning process. And it means adapting the traditional manner that written media pursues to our current times. 

This magazine is the product of all those years. It’s building on my past mistakes, and learning from them. And it is being built from the ground up to be suited for our current times. Instead of jumping into a print product, we’re putting the focus at where people are increasingly getting their news, the internet. In the future, we hope to also bring our publication to print, but baby steps. 

There is another aspect here though. The goal we have is to create a publication that truly focuses on this community. So we want to bring the community into the discussion. If  there is a story you think deserves to be covered, we want to cover it. If there are events you think should be photographed, we want to photograph them. If you have interesting stories about the past, we want to listen to them. We want to make this truly a community publication. 

We have some lofty goals with this magazine, and we are excited to begin this journey. So here is to taking the first step in discovering more of this wonderful community, and I hope you take the trip with us. 
One more thing, when I say we want you to be included, I sincerely mean that. If you have news, tips, suggestions, or just want to chat, don’t hesitate to contact me at Dustin@WhiteCanvasArtCo.com, or stop by White Canvas Art Co at 1060 Main Street.