Argus Leader

Argus Leader
The October 22, 2012, front page of the
Argus Leader, after the death of George McGovern
TypeDaily newspaper
FormatBroadsheet
OwnerLee Enterprises
FounderWilliam A. Fulmer
Founded1881 (as the Sioux Falls Argus)
LanguageEnglish
Headquarters710 N Western Ave
Sioux Falls, South Dakota 57104
Circulation7,000 Digital Subscribers
26,720 Daily
44,550 Sunday (as of 2015)
Websiteargusleader.com

The Argus Leader is the daily newspaper of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. It is the largest newspaper by total circulation in South Dakota.

History

On August 2, 1881, William A. Fulmer relocated the Hamburg Democrat from Iowa to South Dakota and relaunched it as the weekly Sioux Falls Argus. That November, Fulmer died at age 29. In February 1882, T.S. Goddard bought the paper, and then sold it that December to W.S. Wynn.

On March 4, 1885, the Argus expanded from a weekly to a daily. In November 1885, Goddard's sons, Walter W. and Paul R., bought the paper from Wynn. In 1886, Charles M. Day was hired at the Argus. In 1887, the Goddard brothers acquired the Sioux Falls Leader from Robert Buchanan and consolidated with the Argus to form the Argus Leader. In 1888, Day succeeded W.W. Goddard as editor.

Day published the paper until his death in 1945. He was succeeded by his son Dr. Herbert J. Day. In 1951, a fire caused $150,000 worth of damage to the paper's printing plant. In 1954, H.J. Day died. His sister Mrs. Dorothy Day Davenport then took over the Argus Leader and in 1955 sold it to John A. Kennedy Under the name Kraco Enterprises he expanded his media holdings in 1961, acquiring KRGV-TV. In 1963, Speidel Newspapers bought the Argus Leader, and in 1976 the company agreed to merge with Gannett.

In 2021, the paper's print production plant in Sioux Falls printing plant ceased and production operations were consolidated with other Gannett-owned newspapers in Des Moines, Iowa. In March 2022, the Argus Leader moved to a six day printing schedule, eliminating its printed Saturday edition. That same year, the Argus Leader sold its office building to local investors.

In November 2023, the newspaper announced it was moving its newsroom at 200 S. Minnesota Avenue in downtown Sioux Falls after nearly 70 years occupying the same space. The team of seven to 10 reporters will join the rest of its distribution team at 710 N. Western Avenue. In November 2026, Gannett was renamed to USA Today Co. In September 2026, the Argus Leader was acquired by Lee Enterprises.

Readership

The Argus Leader is South Dakota's largest newspaper in total circulation as of 2023. The weekday circulation for the newspaper was 23,721 as of October 2017. The Sunday edition has a circulation of 32,981 as of October 2017.

Its website boasts the most traffic and unique visitors in its market, according to Comscore data. The company claimed to have over 786,000 unique users visit the site every month in 2018.

The company estimates that it informs and engages 75% of adults in Sioux Falls MSA in a typical week and 84% over a month across its print and digital brands.

Notable Reporting

In 2011, the newspaper sought information about the federal food stamps program through a Freedom of Information Act request. The request was denied, and eight years later, the United States Supreme Court ruled in favor of the government by a 6–3 decision.

The newspaper reported that the FBI had 'mined secrets about the past' of 1972 presidential candidate George McGovern in more than 1,400 files requested by a Freedom of Information Act.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Myers, Cory (September 30, 2018). "Myers: Swing toward digital subscriptions brings changes to opinion content". Argus Leader. Retrieved December 6, 2025.
  2. ↑ "2015 South Dakota Newspaper Directory". South Dakota Newspaper Association. December 16, 2014. Archived from the original on March 3, 2023. Retrieved May 20, 2023.
  3. ↑ Olson, Gary D. Wishart, David J. (ed.). "Argus Leader (Sioux Falls)". Encyclopedia of the Great Plains. University of Nebraska–Lincoln.
  4. ↑ Simundson, Daniel (1972). The Yellow Press on the Prairie: South Dakota Daily Newspaper Editorials Prior to the Spanish-American War (PDF). South Dakota State Historical Society.
  5. 1 2 "While the world of agriculture was crumbling, Mikkel Pates found love". Agweek. February 7, 2023. Retrieved October 20, 2023.
  6. ↑ "Argus Leader lands 8 awards in 2022 Better Newspaper Contest". Argus Leader. Retrieved October 20, 2023.
  7. ↑ "Iowa Notes And Opinions". The Daily Nonpareil. Council Bluffs, Iowa. August 5, 1881. p. 2.
  8. ↑ "The Sioux Falls Argus". The Daily Deadwood Pioneer-Times. August 10, 1881. p. 1.
  9. ↑ "Death of the Argus Editor". Sioux Valley News. Canton, South Dakota. November 4, 1881. p. 3.
  10. ↑ "Particulars of the Death of the Editor of the Sioux Falls Argus". Yankton Press and Dakotan. November 4, 1881. p. 2.
  11. ↑ "Dakota Dots". Black Hills Weekly Times. Deadwood, South Dakota. February 18, 1882. p. 1.
  12. ↑ "Notice". Union County Courier. Elk Point, South Dakota. January 10, 1883. p. 2.
  13. 1 2 3 Smith, David H. (March 4, 1970). "Sioux Falls Argus-Leader Had Its Beginnings 85 Years Ago". Argus-Leader. Sioux Falls, South Dakota. p. 1.
  14. ↑ "Notice". Sioux Valley News. Canton, South Dakota. November 6, 1885. p. 1.
  15. ↑ "Local Budget". Daily Argus. Sioux Falls, South Dakota. July 24, 1886. p. 8.
  16. ↑ "Newspaper Consolidation". Black Hills Weekly Times. Deadwood, South Dakota. April 2, 1887. p. 1.
  17. ↑ "Notice". The Black Hills Weekly Journal. Rapid City, South Dakota. September 27, 1889. p. 1.
  18. ↑ "Editor Charles M. Day Dies | Argus-Leader Chief Passes In California". Argus-Leader. Sioux Falls, South Dakota. p. 1.
  19. 1 2 "Dr. Herbert J. Day Stricken Suddenly". Argus-Leader. Sioux Falls, South Dakota. April 10, 1954. p. 1.
  20. ↑ "Paper Publishes Despite Fire". Argus-Leader. Sioux Falls, South Dakota. April 28, 1951. p. 1.
  21. ↑ "Sioux Falls Argus-Leader Plant Damaged by Fire". Omaha World-Herald. April 28, 1951. p. 8.
  22. ↑ "Kennedy Buys Argus-Leader". Argus-Leader. Sioux Falls, South Dakota. June 14, 1955. p. 1.
  23. ↑ "Owners of Argus-Leader Buy Texas Radio-TV Station". Argus-Leader. Sioux Falls, South Dakota. August 17, 1961. p. 17.
  24. ↑ "Kennedy Sells Argus-Leader To Speidel Newspapers Inc". Argus-Leader. Sioux Falls, South Dakota. January 31, 1963. p. 1.
  25. ↑ "Speidel Newspapers Agrees in Principle to Join With Gannett in a $173 Million Deal". The New York Times. United Press International. December 21, 1976. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 20, 2023.
  26. ↑ Jones, William H.; Anderson, Laird (July 30, 1977). "Gannett: 73 Papers and Still Counting". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved October 20, 2023.
  27. ↑ "Argus Leader closing Sioux Falls printing plant". Dakota News Now. KDLT-TV. November 1, 2021. Retrieved October 20, 2023.
  28. ↑ Woster, Kevin (November 9, 2021). "Another hard change comes to the state's largest newspaper". South Dakota Public Broadcasting. Retrieved October 20, 2023.
  29. ↑ Reports, Staff. "Argus Leader will cease Saturday home delivery starting in March". Argus Leader. Retrieved December 1, 2025.
  30. ↑ Schwan, Jodi (May 19, 2022). "Local investor buys Argus Leader building with plans to revitalize it". SiouxFalls.Business. Retrieved October 20, 2023.
  31. ↑ Conlon, Shelly (November 3, 2023). "Argus Leader moving from historic location in downtown Sioux Falls to northwest side". Argus Leader. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
  32. ↑ Robertson, Katie (November 4, 2025). "Gannett Changes Name to USA Today Co". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 28, 2026.
  33. ↑ Schwan, Jodi (September 28, 2026). "Lee Enterprises acquires Argus Leader in 4-newspaper deal". SiouxFalls.Business. Retrieved September 28, 2026.
  34. ↑ "South Dakota Newspapers". South Dakota Newspapers. Retrieved April 10, 2018.
  35. ↑ "comScore helps clients measure what matters to make cross-platform audiences and advertising more valuable". comScore, Inc. Retrieved April 10, 2018.
  36. ↑ Myers, Cory. "Myers: Readership growth, additions to digital news and changes in print". Argus Leader. Retrieved October 20, 2023.
  37. ↑ "About the Argus Leader". Argus Leader Media. Gannett.
  38. ↑ "After 8 years of legal battles, quest for food stamp data lands at Supreme Court". USA Today. April 20, 2019. Retrieved June 24, 2019.
  39. ↑ "Supreme Court limits access to government records in loss for Argus Leader, part of the USA TODAY Network". June 24, 2019. Retrieved June 24, 2019.
  40. ↑ "FBI mined secrets from George McGovern's past". Argus Leader. Retrieved August 10, 2023.