Introductions: Welcome to the Watertown Current Newspaper!

Read an introduction to The Watertown Current Newspaper, which went live Sept. 9, and meet the inaugral staff.


During the spring of 2023, McQuillen Creative Group, of Aberdeen, launched the Aberdeen Insider newspaper. Within a year, paid subscriptions topped 4,000 and continue to grow each week. In an era of declining local newspaper coverage, opportunities exist for a different model of news publishing than what folks are used to. We took our inspiration from the Dakota Scout in Sioux Falls, but made some tweaks to how they operate. Things are going so well in Aberdeen with the Insider, that we began exploring the idea of replicating the model in Watertown, another community starved of local newspaper reporting. An office was established in downtown Watertown, right off Kemp Avenue.

The Watertown Current website features daily news articles with a hyperlocal emphasis but will also include statewide stories appropriate to our readers. We anticipate 1-4 stories of varying length to be added each day. We will cover city, county, and school system meetings, obituaries, events, arts, culture, and eventually sports. Then, starting in October, every Thursday we will produce a printed newspaper to mail to subscribers through the post office. The remaining newspapers from the print run will be made available on Friday for free pick-up at designated businesses around Watertown (and at the Current office). These are just free samples provided for promotional purposes in hopes of encouraging subscribers.

We are offering several subscription options, which you can find under the “Subscribe” button at the top right of the website. You can read online daily digital news and the weekly e-edition (looks like the printed newspaper), per month for $10 with recurring payments. Or, to save a little money, you can subscribe to the digital content, and the e-edition for an annual cost of $95. We will be happy to mail you a printed newspaper once a week for $95, but includes no online access. For $125, you can have full online access, the e-edition, and the printed copy mailed to your home or business. All of these options will have sales tax applied. You can read the online content on as many different devices as you have and even share the subscription with others in your family.

We want this to be your newspaper so please follow us on Facebook and Instagram and send us news tips at the email addresses on the website. The best one is news@watertowncurrent.com. Obituaries can be handled through funeral homes and there is a charge to include them in the printed newspaper. Otherwise, obituaries are posted on the website for no charge, however, a subscription is required to see the full obituary. We also include death notices in the printed paper at no charge.

You might recognize all the members of our Watertown staff. Many have experience with the Public Opinion and are excited to be concentrating on local news once again. We have Roger Whittle as editor, Brandon Heim is our ad sales manager, and Jen Pendley is our customer engagement specialist. We feel it’s important to have a dedicated person on staff to answer calls, help with subscriptions, and answer questions. The phone number for the Watertown Current is (605) 657-1797. We welcome call-in or walk-in subscriptions, and you can pay via cash, check, or credit card (or through our website). You can also multi-copy subscriptions for your business or gift a copy to a close friend or loved one. Our address is 13 2nd ST SE, right behind the Gather Coffee House.

We ask that you please bear with us as we launch our new brand of news coverage. This was started literally from scratch. It will take a few days for the website to grow with more and more stories. It is our intent to start publishing the printed newspaper in October. We would also like to acknowledge our startup sponsors who are supporting our venture. This includes Office Peeps, Watertown Area Community Foundation, Turbak Law, Watertown Area Chamber of Commerce, Goss Opera House, Professional Hearing Services, Lake Area Technical College, and the Prairie Lakes Healthcare System.

Thank you all for your interest and support in restoring local newspaper journalism to the Watertown area. We invite you to subscribe and watch us grow.

-Troy McQuillen, Publisher

 

The Watertown Current Inaugral Staff

 

Roger Whittle

Roger Whittle, Editor Watertown Current

Roger Whittle has over 40 years of daily newspaper experience at a dozen papers across the country including the Omaha World Herald. He returned to his hometown of Watertown in 2012 as editor of the local paper. He has been recognized with dozens of journalism awards for writing, photography and page design.

 

Brandon Heim

Brandon Heim, Sales Manager, the Watertown Current

Brandon Heim, Sales Manager and Reporter, Watertown Current

Brandon is the Advertising Sales Manager for the Watertown Current. A native of Watertown, with deep roots in Deuel County, Brandon has a passion for helping local businesses tell their story. He also enjoys seeing them grow and the community thrive.

 

Jen Pendley

Jen Pendley, Customer Engagement Specialist, Watertown Current

Jen Pendley, Customer Engagement Specialist, Watertown Current

Jen Pendley is the Customer Engagement Specialist for the Watertown Current. A lifelong Watertown resident, she previously has worked at the Watertown Chamber of Commerce and KXLG radio. She has many years of customer experience dealing with all things Watertown. Also a former Public Opinion employee, she lives in city limits with husband, Craig, and their two children.