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A day in the life of a journalist: While many are doing their best to stay away from others and not catch COVID-19, journalists don't always have that option, nor should they, in my opinion. To do our jobs right, we need to be where the story is, not watching it online.
So, despite a pandemic continuing to plague the globe, I've been embedded at the capitol covering the South Dakota Legislative session where about 500 different bills all seek to adjust the world around the people who live and frequent here. What happens in Pierre matters.
Every day, regular citizens interested in specific bills also come to the capitol to lobby their legislators. But when those lawmakers get sick with COVID-19, there's no guarantee the people they were in close contact with (aside from other lawmakers) are informed of the exposure
That's why I spent time this week trying to track down how many new COVID cases among legislators there have been and the identity of those receiving a diagnosis. It's pretty much my least favorite thing to cover during session.
But it matters because people deserve to know if they were exposed. And that's why despite drawing the ire of public officials and state employees, I continue to ask questions seeking that information.
And at times, I've felt like asking these questions has put me in more harms way than COVID-19 ever could. It's not a great feeling when a public official gets the same look in their eye as someone who's about to start swinging.
But even without willing public officials, I almost always find the answers through gumshoe reporting. And when I do, I share them with our readers.
Because, like Gov. Noem has said a lot lately, South Dakotans deserve all the information they need to make the right decisions to protect themselves and their families during the pandemic. But me and my colleagues wouldn't be able to do this work without your support.
This is why you should subscribe to the Argus Leader. Subscribe today for $1 for six months: https://cm.argusleader.com/specialoffer .
