The Brookings City Council and community members discussed the possible next steps regarding a new newspaper, after the Brookings Register shut down suddenly Aug. 6.
Tuesday’s City Council meeting kicked off by marking a recent uncertainty. The Council members voted to remove an item from the meeting’s agenda: a resolution to designate the official newspaper. After entertaining the motion to remove this item, Mayor Ope Niemeyer asked for further explanation from the city clerk Bonnie Foster.
“When we look at state laws, the declaration of an official newspaper versus what is a legal newspaper are two separate things,” Foster said. “So putting a hold on this resolution will allow the staff and the city attorney to review this topic and come back in a future council meeting.”
The Brookings Register was one of four South Dakota newspapers shut down by a parent company, News Media Corp. Other newspapers included the Huron Plainsman, Moody County Enterprise and the Redfield Press.
OPEN FORUM
Josh Linehan, the Brookings Register’s former managing editor, was the first to approach the microphone during open forum. He began by thanking the City Council and everyone in Brookings for their support in recent days.
“It shows me there is a deep thirst for a vibrant, local independent newspaper in Brookings and that is what I am going to start,” Linehan said.
According to Linehan, there is support and financial backing for a newspaper.
“What kills newspapers is debt and conglomeration and I don’t want to own a newspaper anywhere but Brookings, South Dakota,” Linehan said.
Next to speak was Shaun Sarvis, a former publisher at the Huron Plainsman, who announced his own recovery plans regarding all four newspaper closures.
“I’ve been working with a company that is helping us use their experience and also their resources to work up a plan so that we will be able to save the jobs that we had at those newspapers,” Sarvis said. “So I wanted to come forward and let you know that we intend to publish the Register again by the end of next week.”
Clarification from a Council member’s question determined Linehan and Sarvis are not working together, the two men are working to start separate newspapers.
Also at Tuesday’s meeting were members from the Brookings Multicultural Center. The fourth annual international ice cream social and community fair will be at Good Roots Farm Wednesday, Aug. 20. The Mayor proclaimed Aug. 20 as, “a day to celebrate the cultures of our community.”
“Today, the presence of 850 international students from 81 countries in all the South Dakota State University, continues to positively impact Brookings by fostering cross cultural understandings, supporting the local economy and enhancing the educational environment for all,” Niemeyer said.
REPORTS
Council member Wayne Avery reported on the Brookings Municipal Utilities (BMU) Board meeting. The $70 million water plant project is expected to be substantially complete by October. According to Avery, there will be crossover in the BMU staff beginning their operations at the water plant and the construction’s final stages of work. The entire project is expected to be finished by spring 2026.
Avery also reported the water tower on Sixth Street is expected to come down in Spring 2026.
IN OTHER NEWS:
The Brookings Public Library was awarded a grant, and according to library director Ashia Gustafson, the expectation is for the projects funded by this grant to be complete by November 2026.
“The children’s area will get what are called browsing shelves,” Gustafson said. “And then the teens will get some fun new furniture and some updates to their area.”
