Local podcast takes off

Over two years ago Jose Lira began his podcast Vermillion Unplugged with the idea of getting a closer view into, what he considered an oddity. A college town with only 12,000 residents. 

Lira only wanted to focus on a podcast concerned with the people of Vermillion, and although he has kept that spirit, Lira has expanded to local food reviews, looks into South Dakota policy making as well as the broader culture of the small Midwestern town. 

Despite the relatively small population of Vermillion, Lira has amassed an impressive following, with several videos of his receiving thousands of views, as well as gaining over 3,000 followers on Tik Tok. 

“When I first started, I remember I was getting like seven views and I thought, this is amazing! I got seven people watching me, and then it just got higher, and higher and higher,” Lira said when reflecting on his podcast’s early days.

Beyond the increase in views, Lira said the effect his videos have had on the community, has been even more incredible to see. 

“For example when [Stretch Between] opened up with Indian tacos and I covered it, that blew up. Then I went there the next few days and she was saying ‘we sold out, we’re getting slammed, this and that’ and I thought ‘okay this is going somewhere,”Lira said. 

Another big shift for Lira since his platform has grown has been his ability to get guests, which for him has been remarkable.

“When I first started I would ask people to come on and I had a lot of people say no, but now it’s gotten to the point where people are asking me, which is cool,” Lira said. 

One area that Lira has been recently getting into that he says excites him, is looking at the real issues that are affecting the people who live in Vermillion year round, as well as the larger South Dakota and Siouxland area. 

“It’s different when you’re a student, because students will come and go. But if you live here the political stuff, or the city stuff, it will affect you,” Lira said. 

Within the last year Lira has looked at problems ranging from poverty stricken areas of the state to the potential of data centers in local communities.

As of now, Lira has no plans of stopping Vermillion Unplugged, and hopes to continue growing it in new ways.

“Will I keep doing this? Yeah. I think I do it mostly for me because I like talking and listening to people, because everyone’s so interesting. You could be walking around town and not realize all the interesting stories around you,” Lira said. 

One of the ways Lira is looking to expand his creative interests is with a documentary all about Vermillion. “What I want to do is a Vermillion documentary, there is a lot I’d want to talk about there like the University and the housing shortage,” Lira said. 

Lira wants to cover as much of Vermillion as possible and shed light on what he considers “a very unique town.”