Spring is in the air … and so are rate increases at the Tri-County News. It has been four years since the last ad rate increase, and much has happened in the economy since then. Energy costs are the biggest factor, and many paper mills throughout the country have closed. The cost of paper has increased more than 20 percent in the last year alone, and similar increases are projected indefinitely. Contemplating a rate increase is a good time to re-evaluate our practices. We want to make sure that we’re doing the best we can before we ask customers to part with a bit more of their hard-earned money. We have enjoyed a steadily growing circulation over the past few years, which tells us that our readers appreciate our hard work. We have won several awards in recent years, which tells us that our peers recognize the quality of our work. The Tri-County News is at the forefront of technological advances in newspaper production. Not because we can, but because we must. With current software, and its prudent use, that we can provide a consistently high-quality product for our customers – both our readers and our advertisers. We made the commitment some years back to stay on top of technology, and we trust that our efforts are visible. Another commitment I made when I became involved with the Tri-County News was our presence on the Internet. KimballArea.com has been running weekly stories, photos, obits and community calendar since 1999. We experimented for awhile updating the web site each week only after the printed newspaper was out. We’re back to updating stories and more throughout the week. An under-used feature of our web site is that readers can opt-in to be notified by e-mail whenever the web site is updated. (From the home page, select “Email Updates” toward the bottom of the menu, fill in the form and select “Breaking News” and/or “Daily Headlines”. You can always change or delete your e-mail, and your information stays private.) You can expect some additions to KimballArea.com in the coming weeks and months. Although we plan to add a one-time registration for visitors to our web site, we don’t plan to ever charge for accessing the site. While some newspapers charge for content beyond “teasers”, and many others are not available at all on-line, the Tri-County News has been, and will continue to be, available on-line at no charge to readers. Subscriptions, too Subscription costs are generally tied to postal rates. With another postal increase coming this month, a rise in the price of subscriptions is inevitable. Actually, we have absorbed the last two postal increases, so the last subscription rate increase was about three years ago. Effective June 1, 2007, subscription rates will be $30 within Minnesota, with a discounted rate of $20 for seniors (age 62 and older); outside of Minnesota it’s $40, with a senior rate of $30. The new rates will apply only to subscriptions ordered or renewed on or after June 1. If you wish, even if your subscription is paid out for awhile, you can renew before June 1 at the “old” rates. Along with the new postal rates come some new postal rules. Our experience has been that every time the rules and procedures change, it can take awhile for delivery to get back to “normal” for some of our subscribers. If you experience any unusual delays in delivery, or any other delivery problems, please call or e-mail us. We will do everything in our power to abide by the new regulations and to make the transition as smooth as possible.
