After publishing more than 100 stories about regional South Australia since January 2022, InDaily and its publisher Solstice Media have launched the voting for the most popular community news stories of the year.

The public has the chance to vote for one of 20 community news stories chosen as representative of the different regions of the state as well as the different ways people help each other and their communities.

Voting is now open for the 2022 Regional Showcase People’s Choice Award, which gives South Australians the chance to choose their favourite story about the state beyond the city limits.

Jim Plouffe, the editor who manages the news stories for Regional Showcase, said that this year the stories were more varied and many more were found in the far corners of the state, especially the north.

“We try to get an even spread between regions but have no control over where news happens,” Plouffe said.

“I was pleased that there were more stories coming from the Far North and the Flinders this year.”

Plouffe said the stories spanned everything from threatened native species to community groups pitching in to help beautify their towns but they all had a common theme of people in the regions getting things done.

“More than ever, we saw business stories emerging from all corners of the state, which might have had something to do with people finding new businesses during COVID,” Plouffe said.

“It is always good news when we announce a new business or product being developed in South Australia.”

The aim of the Regional Showcase program is to put a spotlight on regional South Australia by uncovering, telling and showcasing stories of success.

The program is run annually to celebrate the achievements of individuals, groups and South Australian businesses that have made significant contributions to regional South Australia.

One of the reasons the program has been successful over the years is because it connects our valued regions to the rest of South Australia and the world.

This year InDaily also increased its overall coverage of areas outside of Adelaide, making a new regional news section on the website from which the Regional Showcase stories were taken.

“Our aim is to ensure our readers understand the importance of regional South Australia,” Plouffe said.

“The state’s economy is reliant on agriculture and the lights literally cannot stay on without the renewable energy projects found dotted throughout the countryside.”

The stories are written by a combination of staff writers from InDaily, CityMag and SALIFE with freelancers contributing stories from their specific areas of the state.

“This year we also had teams of interns from the University of South Australia and the University of Adelaide finding and writing the stories,” Plouffe said.

“This adds to the benefit Regional Showcase has always had for the state, with it now helping train up the journalists of the future.”

Plouffe said that a few of the graduating interns found work at regional media or with firms needing people with knowledge or rural communities.

“The experience these young people got reporting on rural communities not only brought in more stories to our reporting but also opened their eyes to the possibilities outside of Adelaide but within SA,” Plouffe said.

Vote for your favourite story and by casting your vote you will go in the draw to win one of four SALIFE annual subscriptions, valued at $109 each.