Kai Englisch arrived in Mitchell in early April. A May 2022 graduate of St. John’s College in Santa Fe, New Mexico, he had finished an internship with the Philadelphia Citizen and was ready for his first job as a reporter for the Mitchell Republic.

Kai’s stint in Philadelphia was only two months — an "introduction" to the city and then over.

When asked about his first impression of his new home in the Midwest, he said everything seems so spread out. “I was used to spending 20 minutes on the Beltway to travel two miles, where here, you travel 75 miles on the interstate at 80 miles per hour and arrive at your destination in an hour.”

Originally from Maryland, Kai grew up with one younger brother and hardworking, supportive parents. “My dad is German so he sort of instilled in me an ethic of working hard at whatever you do.”

Kai enjoys working out at Great Life and sticks with a five-days-a-week routine of strength training. He is also a singer and guitar player and claims Jimmy Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan as his favorite guitar players, and John Mayer as his favorite musician.

Kai has enjoyed First Fridays on Main Street, comparing it to a street festival called "Olney Days" in Maryland, “These events give you a feeling of the town’ and a chance to get to know others better.”

He has also noticed how hot a South Dakota spring can be and how much attention is paid to the weather (due to the agriculturally based economy and the fact that there are longer distances between work and home than in a denser city like Philadelphia.)

When asked about his favorite thing about living in Mitchell, Kai shared that the community knows each other and how it feels like a "third place."

Kai explained, “Our homes are considered our ‘first place’ while our workplace is our ‘second place.’ But a ‘third place’ is a setting where people can show up informally and have spontaneous interactions. It could be a coffee shop, bar, park, or sports arena. That is what I liked most about my small college — it was a cohesive place where you can spend time together and enjoy each other. Mitchell feels the same.”

As far as future goals go, Kai wants to become a good reporter and has an interest in regional reporting. He is also working to get his family to visit Mitchell and even the Black Hills. Someday he would like to go to graduate school, to study anthropology or evolutionary biology. In the distant future reporting on both topics.

Summing up his thoughts on being in Mitchell, Kai shared, “I guess I was in search of an adventure, and I’m grateful that Luke (Hagen) gave me this opportunity to gain experience on how to be a journalist.”