Celebrate America’s 250th Independence Day with The Dakota Scout's commemorative USA flag, special edition print

Removable Stars and Stripes display featured in this week's newspaper alongside stories of nation's founding and profiles on all 56 Declaration of Independence signers

Jun 25, 2026

The Dakota Scout is celebrating America’s 250th birthday with a special edition newspaper. And the Sioux Falls patriots behind it are printing thousands of commemorative American flags to honor the nation’s founding and the ideals that sparked a revolution 250 years ago.

Beginning Thursday evening, copies of The Scout’s America250 edition will arrive at newsstands and distribution locations across eastern South Dakota. At the heart of the special edition is a removable centerfold flag on newsprint that readers can display in their homes, offices, garages, workshops or anywhere they choose to celebrate the nation’s semiquincentennial.

The special edition explores the people, principles and events that gave rise to the United States, featuring profiles of all 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence and pledged their lives, fortunes and sacred honor to the cause of liberty.

Readers will also find stories detailing the growing divide between the American colonies and the British Crown, key moments of the Revolutionary War and the influential Americans whose leadership and sacrifice helped shape the nation that followed.

The commemorative edition reflects principles The Scout continues to embrace 250 years after the Declaration’s adoption: that all people are created equal, that life, liberty and property are unalienable rights and that self-government remains one of humanity’s greatest achievements.

“America’s story is imperfect, complicated and unfinished. But no nation has done more to advance the ideals of liberty, individual rights and representative government, and we’re damn proud of that,” said Joe Sneve, who co-founded the newspaper in 2022 with fellow veteran South Dakota journalist Jonathan Ellis. “This special edition is our way of celebrating those achievements with a nod to the men — and women — who made them possible. We’re lucky to live here, and we don’t want any South Dakotan to forget that.”

The centerfold of the publication is the America250 commemorative flag, printed for readers to display as a symbol of patriotism and appreciation for the freedoms Americans enjoy today.

Copies of the special edition will be available free of charge at The Scout’s regular distribution locations beginning Thursday evening and throughout the week leading up to July 4 while copies last.

Find a complete list of locations where readers can pick up a copy of the America250 edition and commemorative flag here.

Additional copies may be available at The Scout’s downtown Sioux Falls newsroom while they last.

The Scout’s America250 special edition is uniquely supported by The Center For Western Studies, Royal Coatings, Experience Sioux Falls and Sunshine Foods.