ARGUS LEADER (SIOUX FALLS)
The
Argus Leader, published in Sioux Falls,
South Dakota, is the survivor of a number of
newspapers that have existed in that community
since its first founding in 1857. It is the
product of a merger of two early papers: the
Sioux Falls Argus, a weekly paper begun in
1881, and the Sioux Falls Leader, which was
founded in 1883. The consolidation occurred
in 1887, and the name was hyphenated until
December 3, 1979. The Argus-Leader was originally
a Democratic paper, but it switched to
the Republican Party during the 1896 McKinley
election. (The paper long ago dropped any
political party connection.) Begun as a morning
paper, it changed to evening publication in
1885 and continued on that schedule for the
next ninety-four years.
The Argus-Leader nearly joined the town's
other failed newspapers in 1889 when it ceased
publication for more than a week due to financial
problems. At that time, when Sioux Falls
had a population of about 10,000, the paper
had a total circulation of only 1,000 daily and
900 weekly. New owners moved the paper to
109 N. Main, where it thrived: by 1892 total
circulation had risen to 7,500, and the paper
had become a statewide publication. This success
became clearly visible in 1917 with the addition
of a second floor and a new pressroom
to the building and the erection of an electric
bulletin board and a large electric World Series
board on its facade. On January 1, 1928, the
Argus-Leader's main competitor, the Sioux Falls Daily Press, a morning paper, ceased operations,
and its publisher, Fred C. Christopherson,
became assistant editor of the Argus-Leader. Christopherson continued at the
Argus-Leader for the next thirty-three years,
retiring in 1961 as executive editor.
The
Argus-Leader experienced major changes
after World War II. In 1951 a massive fire destroyed
the business office and newsroom. After
operating in various temporary quarters,
the paper moved to its present site at Tenth
and Minnesota in 1954. A year later local
owners sold the paper to John A. Kennedy of
San Diego, California, who in turn sold it to
the Speidel newspaper chain of Reno, Nevada,
in 1963. In May 1977 the Gannet Company,
Inc., a newspaper chain of fifty-four papers,
merged with the thirteen-paper Speidel Company.
Through this merger, Allen Neuharth,
a native of Eureka, South Dakota, and head
of the Gannet Company, became owner of
the Argus-Leader. It was at this time that the
paper switched to being a morning paper and
dropped Sioux Falls from its nameplate.
The
Argus Leader, with a daily circulation of
about 52,000 in August 2000, remains the only
locally published daily newspaper in Sioux
Falls. While its primary focus is Minnehaha
and adjacent counties, the Argus Leader is also
the regional newspaper of "east river" South
Dakota, southwestern Minnesota, and northwestern
Iowa.
See also CITIES AND TOWNS: [Sioux Falls, South Dakota].