Congratulations to The Collegian for its courageous actions for open government.

Because of your persistence and commitment to the principle of the people’s right to know, the state Board of Regents has been forced to open up its meetings to the press. This was not only a great victory for journalists in South Dakota; the real beneficiaries are the taxpayers and citizens who pay the expenses for higher education and deserve to know what is going on.

If more newspapers would respond to closed-door challenges like The Collegian has done in this case, our state would be far better off.

We all owe you a debt of gratitude.

Noel Hamielpublisher of The Daily Republic,Mitchell, S.D.