Jacobsen Publishing

Their lead publication, the Country Singles newspaper (formerly called Solo RFD), features personal ads targeted at rural residents in the Midwest and truck drivers whose routes take them through the region.

This newspaper and its publisher are particularly notable for their involvement in several precedent-setting First Amendment legal cases defending their right to place newspaper vending machines in airports and in public spaces such as sidewalks in front of post offices and highway rest stops, in Arizona, Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota.

[1] Collectively, these cases have helped define the limits on one of the three types of public fora defined by the Supreme Court [2] – the public forum created by government designation - building on the precedents set by Supreme Court case Cornelius v. NAACP Legal Def.

The essence of this case is found in the Second Circuit Court decision, stating that “Public property ... which is neither a traditional nor a designated public forum, can still serve as a forum for First Amendment expression if the expression is appropriate for the property and is not incompatible with the normal activity of a particular place at a particular time.” [5] However, in a separate case in 1997, Harlan Jacobsen v. City of Rapid City,[6] the U.S. Court of Appeals determined that the same freedom of speech rights were not applicable to airports as they were a “non public forum” and the “city's ban on commercial newsracks was not unconstitutional in light of… a legitimate revenue interest in operating the airport.” [7] In addition to newspapers, Jacobsen Publishing operates several other businesses, including Video Mania, a video store in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and a vacation home rental business in Arizona.

Besides sites for their various businesses, Jacobsen manages dozens of generic websites with editorials, reprinted information and Google ads.