The article was relatively small, but the significance was huge.
On the front page of what was for the first time "The Daily Republic," showed a headline that read "Announcement" and was written by "THE EDITOR."
It was March 19, 1934. And for the first time, the "The Evening Republican" switched its name to The Daily Republic.
"For many years the ownership has considered a somewhat different heading. Inasmuch as this paper has been strictly independent in politics for two score years, the name The Evening Republican was a misnomer," the article read.
It later continued, "Moreover, subscribers of daily newspapers many years ago definitely repudiated the partisan press. They want a paper which will give them not only impartial news but also opinions uninfluenced by political entanglements."
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Eighty-two years ago, our newspaper switched its name to become what we've been since, The Daily Republic. We've had other names since being established on Oct. 19, 1882: The Daily Republican; Morning Republican; and Evening Republican.
We're proud to have stuck with The Daily Republic title for this long, simply because the name switch was to ensure we did not have a political agenda. Sure, we have our editorials that, to our readers, may seem overly liberal or too conservative, but that's for the Opinion page.
Awhile back, we sought the advice of our readers that sparked debate whether to change the flag of our newspaper. The flag, or "banner," is space on Page A1 dedicated to our title: The Daily Republic.
We considered changing the flag because an important landmark in our community, the Corn Palace, changed its domes, which are pictured every day on the front page of our paper. And, when we opened the question for debate - whether to keep the old, round domes as a momento, or change the photo to the new light-up domes - we heard roughly an even number of responses of both opinions.
Readers told us not to switch to "those ugly looking, light-up domes," and others said they love the look of the new Corn Palace.
Well, as you may or may not have noticed, today - 82 years after switching our name to The Daily Republic" - we've changed our flag to be updated with the photo of the current Corn Palace.
We did it "uninfluenced by political entanglements."
The domes are different, like it or not, so we felt it was right to stay accurate with the times.
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And we waited this long to make our switch, in part, to coincide with today's anniversary of our name change.
While it may seem like a small change, it's a big deal to make this update.
Just like the name "The Daily Republic," our new flag may stick around for 82-plus years.
