As we approach the end of another year, it?Äôs natural to look back with a combination of nostalgia and a desire to do things differently.
The Tri-County News will soon enter its 69th year. (There were a few numbering glitches along the way, so Volume 70 which starts in a matter of weeks should really be Volume 69, but there?Äôs nothing we can do about that now.) In nearly 70 years, there have been four publishers of the Tri-County News, and the two with the longest tenure are women: Phyllis Greely for 47 years, and me for 16.
I?Äôm happy and proud to be continuing the newspaper started by Phyllis and Clayton Greely back in 1948.
Just as our communities and society have changed, so has the Tri-County News. The newspaper used to be typeset (in lead type) and printed on-premises in a small building near where the drive-in theater used to be in Kimball. It could literally take a full week to physically set up the paper, print it, and get it labelled and delivered.
Back then, the most read columns were the ?ÄúKimball Chatter:?Äù whose grandkids came to visit, who played cards at whose house, and who was in the hospital or on vacation. Today, it?Äôs the ?ÄúCrime Blotter.?Äù
Every bit of technology has changed since 1948. Everything that is needed to create a newspaper, pretty much, can be done on my MacBook. We lay out everything digitally (inside the computer) instead of on giant page boards spread all over a room full of tall counter space. We send the finished pages electronically.
The printing presses used where we print the paper are almost 70 years old, most likely at last 60. The guy who prints them, the pressman, is not quite that old, but he can work magic on those old machines and reproduce the beautiful pages you see here this week.
The Minnesota Newspaper Association is gearing up for its annual convention the end of next month. We will celebrate the 150th anniversary of this organization that includes nearly 400 newspapers in our state. Their purpose is to promote and protect a free and independent press. The Tri-County News has been here for nearly half of the MNA?Äôs existence.
For many years now, the Tri-County News has received awards in many categories at the MNA convention. This year will be no exception; two of this year?Äôs awards are particularly gratifying. (But more on that after the convention.)
The Tri-County News has evolved over these nearly 70 years. The means by which we produce and deliver the paper to you each week has changed dramatically.
What has not changed is our commitment to bringing you local news that is timely and relevant, to you.
We had planned a readership survey for this big issue, but thought better of it. We will do one soon, as we look toward shifting resources and priorities. If you?Äôd like to help us, be on a reader?Äôs panel for instance, let us know!
Meanwhile, I thought I?Äôd share two recent notes we received from readers. These encourage us more than awards and acolades.
?ÄúYes, by all means renew my subscription. I really enjoy your paper. Having lived in Kimball for a number of years, I keep up on some of them. Many thanks for EV-W news too. Eden Valley is my hometown and I have family in that area and Watkins. Gratitude from E.V.H.S. family there too. I love your pictures, too. Sorry I didn?Äôt get this going sooner.?Äù
R.H., Litchfield
?ÄúOnce again, I am thoroughly impressed by ?ÄòFrom the Heart.?Äô The column on fake news was timely and very well written. I?Äôm making a copy and sending it off to my brother. Hopefully, he will benefit from your words as well as your tips. Thank you.?Äù
S.S., (via email)