Has it really been 20? We’re celebrating two decades of South Dakota War College today!

The countdown is over and I’m sitting here at my desk in what I call “the corner of cold,” where I work by day on insurance claims and over lunch and during the night. And today my 8th child, South Dakota War College, a.k.a. dakotawarcollege.com – shockingly – celebrates the 20th anniversary of my first post, on February 5th, 2005.

20 years ago I might have predicted (with hope) that I’d still be around in twenty years, but I never would have predicted that the little website I set up via blogspot would not just still be going, but would be actively thriving and remaining at the center of the South Dakota political discussion.

I tell the story that way back in 2005, I read the blogs that changed how politics were discussed and considered in South Dakota – South Dakota Politics, Daschle V. Thune, Sibby online were writing the insider details, they’d have the scoops that you didn’t see in the mainstream media on KELO or reading in the Argus, and they helped provide a lot of the background that you didn’t get otherwise.

Months after the election, South Dakota Politics was still active, and other blogs and websites – mainly on the left – joined them. SD Watch with Todd Epp. Clean Cut Kid with Chad Schuldt, Ben Hanten at South Dakota 123,  and there were a number of others. But I really wasn’t getting what I craved, because I cut my teeth at the state level, in particular in the state legislative races. After having been involved in South Dakota politics for 17 years at that time, my focus had been less about national level, and more what’s happening locally.

Since I wasn’t finding what I wanted to read, I decided to write about it myself.  And when I sat down and got serious about updating it regularly, I was pleasantly surprised to find that others found it enjoyable. And they started commenting. Now, 20 years later you’re still commenting.

I have to laugh as I’ve had kids who have grown up alongside SDWC, and I know at least one of them rolls her eyes when she has new friends and colleagues realize that it’s her dad who writes this, so she gets to hear how much they enjoy the website, and they pump her for insider info. Which I think elicits an eyeroll from her more than anything.  And that’s a good segue into insider information  about Dakotawarcollege.com itself.

Why South Dakota War College?  Well, in a way you can blame State Representative Tim Reisch.

At the time I created it in 2005, I was trying to come up for a name for the blog and I had caught a press release that went out from State Government for Tim, who at the time was going to be attending the Army War College to become a better officer in the National Guard. And since I wanted to write about South Dakota politics and how to make campaigns better, I went with it.

It was distinct and nobody else was using it, and 5 or ten years after the fact was not the time to be changing the name of the website to something that might work better in search engines. And here we are 20 years later.

Thank you for your patronage over the last two decades.

Who knows. Maybe both the website and I will still be kicking around in 20 more!