Chances are that if you are reading this, you subscribe to a local newspaper. Publications like this play an instrumental role in keeping communities strong and informed. Sadly, many are disappearing from our rural communities, making it increasingly difficult to stay connected with what’s happening within the local school system, around town, and around the state.

The ever-increasing cost of production is one of the most common concerns South Dakota’s newspapers raise with me. In recent years, new tariffs on Canadian newsprint have increased paper prices by 20 to 30 percent. That’s...