With tomorrow being qualifying day for local elections, the state GOP convention just completed and the bombardment of political advertising, one would have to live with his head in the sand to not recognize that the political season is underway and is going to continue through November.

Ah, political season!

In the past two years, I have shared with readers of this column details about political season around Minot Daily News, including all of our processes and even a glimpse inside the late-night newsroom on Election Day. I’ve shared the energy and excitement that comes with some aspects of election coverage, as well as the sense of responsibility and even intense pressure we place on ourselves in trying to be fair and comprehensive. And, make no mistake, actual election coverage is exciting and fun for the most part.

That said, election season coverage is many things – including exhausting. That’s right. Even though election seasons provide a steady feed of spot news upon which we can report, and usually includes opportunities for important story coverage, it is nonetheless extremely tiring – and that facet starts early. Very early.

Already in recent weeks, we’ve spent considerable time and effort tracking down candidates, collecting basic data, establishing a contact list so we can reach candidates when we need to, planning our 2018 Candidates Forum, starting this year’s candidate questionnaire, and backgrounding declared candidates. All of this before the candidate pool is even official!

On the near horizon is tons of coverage, meetings with local candidates and visits from state and national candidates representing North Dakota. There is also carefully curating our Letters page and op-eds to maintain a level playing field and other mental gymnastics that might not sound like a lot – but it is still a tiring chore.

Meanwhile, the news doesn’t stop. All of these campaign and election chores are in addition to producing the newspaper every day with all the local news, whether it is politically related or not.

So, yes, election season is exciting. Personally, I like the spectacle of it all because it illustrates such an important aspect of our culture and of our history. Yes, there are ugly aspects of politics – parts uglier than even most people imagine, at a certain level and in certain places. But elections are still so quintessential Americana, that it trumps the darker elements.

Yet, for newsrooms, it is also an exhausting time, with periods of calm allowing us to catch our collective breath.

Then again, though, aren’t most important things both exciting and tiring?

Election cycles certainly are.