Jill's Journal: Small in number, but big in local news

If you happen to see me this week walking around in a zombie-like state, knocking my head against the wall, or simply looking like I’ve forgotten what sleep feels like, please forgive me.

The reason is the very product you’re holding in your hands right now.

This week’s edition is, without question, the largest, single edition the Brandon Valley Journal staff has ever produced in the newspaper’s near 10-year history. In total, it spans 66 broadsheet pages. Honestly, it feels a little like the Sunday newspapers that I grew up with, thick with sections of local, state and national news, life, sports, classifieds, the comics, and of course, oodles of advertisements from stores tempting you with sale items that you couldn’t live without.

But that was then, and this is now. And this monster issue simply came down to timing.

Truthfully, how it all got done is beyond me.

Well, maybe not entirely beyond me. It happened because of a dedicated staff willing to continually push forward, even during one of the busiest weeks imaginable. While this massive edition was coming together, I was in Deadwood attending the South Dakota NewsMedia Association convention, where newspaper people from across the state gathered to learn, share ideas and – perhaps most importantly – recharge.

Because, truth be told, this business can be grueling.

Week in and week out, community journalists across South Dakota pour themselves into publications they deeply believe in. We do it because we love our communities. We believe in the First Amendment, freedom of speech and the power of the press. And we believe our communities deserve to know what’s happening in their own hometowns.

At the convention, I was privileged to serve on a panel to talk about our recent GoFundMe campaign and the realities of trying to keep a small-town newspaper afloat in today’s world. What became clear very quickly was this: The Journal is not alone.

Community newspapers everywhere are facing the same struggles. Advertising support has become harder to maintain, and it’s not because local newspapers have stopped producing meaningful work. Actually, it’s quite the opposite. Our readers tell us every week how much they value having a newspaper dedicated solely to them.

I remember photographing a tennis match between Brandon Valley and Harrisburg last year. I was snapping photos of the BV players when a Harrisburg player called out, “Hey, take some pictures of us!”

It dawned on me in that moment: The Tigers do not have a community weekly newspaper dedicated to them like our Brandon Valley Lynx have.

The Brandon Valley Journal exists solely to spotlight this community. We cover our students in our schools, our city council meetings, school board meetings and events, put the spotlight on new businesses and existing businesses celebrating milestones, and like this week, our local speedway and our high school graduates.

We shine the spotlight on The Lynx Way, all it stands for and the people, projects and events that represent it.

That mission is especially meaningful in this edition as we celebrate the Brandon Valley High School Class of 2026.

I graduated in 1982 from St. James High School with a class of about 140 students. This year’s Brandon Valley graduating class numbers 338.

Despite a variation in class sizes, there’s one thing that the Class of ’82 and the Class of ’26 have in common: a graduation section put together by their hometown newspaper.

I have to tell you, that what I remember most from my own graduation experience wasn’t just the ceremony itself. It was special publication our local newspaper created in our honor. It included our senior photos, memories and highlights from that oh-so-important chapter in our lives.

And you know what?

I still have it today.

That little keepsake remains tucked away among my treasured memories, and every once in a while, I pull it out, smile and remember.

And that is one of the many, many reasons that community weekly newspapers like the Journal honor their graduates in special sections year after year.

It is my hope that this graduation section will become one of those keepsakes that our Brandon Valley seniors and their families will treasure, and years from now, whether it be for a milestone reunion or while sorting through boxes of memories, these pages will resurface. And I hope when they do, that you, too, will smile and remember this special time in your lives, and the community that celebrated you.

Because none of this happens without support.

The advertising sponsors throughout these pages didn’t just “buy ads.” For one last time, as a Brandon Valley student, they’re supporting our graduates, just as they have throughout their educational journey as a Brandon Valley Lynx.

And that leads me to taking this opportunity to thank the many, many advertisers who made both our graduation special section and racing season previews roll off the press once again. 

Happy graduation.

Happy racing.

And oh so happy to put this issue – and this editor – “to bed.”