For about nine hours, this post was an elaborate analysis of gubernatorial candidate Scott Munsterman's fundraising numbers, how they compared to other candidates and what they meant for his candidacy.

There was only one problem: the financial report I was analyzing was Munsterman's fundraising from 2008, not his fundraisign from 2009.

I found out about the post late Saturday evening from Badlands Blue, which in turn was apparently tipped off by Cory Heidelberger. But I don't blame them — I goofed and didn't verify before posting, which is my job. I remember thinking to check, because these financial reports can be confusing (the 2008 report is filed in 2009, etc.) and because Munsterman's fundraising numbers (under $8,000 for the year) seemed shockingly low. But I was apparently confused, and clicked post.

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It's a hazard of the profession — I write thousands of words every week, trying to convey information to readers, and simple probability suggestions you'll always make at least some mistakes. We do things to try to minimize error, but that doesn't stop me from lying awake most nights thinking about the stories I've submitted for the next day's paper and wondering about possible mistakes I've made. A few days ago I got up around 3 a.m. convinced that I had given the wrong name for the chairman of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe. (I had gotten it right.)

There's not really any harm from this error — a swiftly retracted blog post about fundraising that will be corrected tomorrow with Munsterman's actual numbers.  It's the fact that I made an entirely preventable mistake that eats at me.

(I called Munsterman to apologize, and he told me his fundraising numbers tomorrow will be healthy.)

Anyway, such is the life of a journalist: there are always new stories to write about, and you can't dwell on the ones you've already written. May my future mistakes be minor and rare.