The Faces of the Press & Dakotan – Randy Dockendorf
vJeremy Hoeck
When Randy Dockendorf was
in fifth grade, he and his classmates
were asked to write the ‘class news’
for two weeks in the local weekly
newspaper.
It was tidbits about people and
what they were doing, as well as
local sports or band results.
It provided Dockendorf an
opportunity to break the mold.
He chose to use more of a
storytelling approach than a
straightforward news approach.
“But people seemed to like it and
I enjoyed it, so I kept on writing
the column through eighth grade,”
Dockendorf said.
And ever since, he’s maintained
that passion for storytelling.
Dockendorf, who grew up in
Corsica (40 miles southwest of Mitchell) and graduated from Corsica
High School, has served as Regional Editor of the Yankton Daily Press
& Dakotan since 1993.
It was that elementary school experience — and additional writing
while in high school — that catapulted Dockendorf into a career
as a reporter, but as he pointed out, he very nearly went a different
direction while in college.
“I took an unusual route into journalism, but I think it served me
well,” Dockendorf said.
He attended Augustana College (now Augustana University) in
Sioux Falls for its health care administration and journalism programs,
but in time, those plans changed.
“I decided not to enter health administration, so I shifted gears
during my final two years,”
Dockendorf said.
He eventually graduated
from Augustana with a business
administration degree and a minor
in communications, but very nearly
earned a minor in journalism,
history and religion.
While a student at Augustana,
Dockendorf served three years
as a staff writer for the campus
newspaper, the Mirror, and also
worked for the campus yearbook
and campus radio station. Early
in his career, he freelanced as a
reporter for the Sioux Falls Argus
Leader, the Mitchell Daily Republic
and the Hansen-Anderson
basketball magazine.
It was all valuable experience for
an aspiring professional reporter,
but Dockendorf said his religion
courses at Augustana were especially crucial for him.
During one January interim period, he took a course in Judaism
which included a week in the Twin Cities, complete with a Sabbath
dinner and a bar mitzvah. His other January interim courses included
a month in England and two other courses with a week each in the
Twin Cities.
“Those experiences really broadened my horizons and helped me
understand others,” Dockendorf said, “particularly for me coming
from a small rural South Dakota community.”
After college graduation, Dockendorf was offered the opportunity
to work on a special anniversary edition for his hometown newspaper,
vDOCKENDORF continued on page 20
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