Ad Libbing: Building community is a group project

It’s not often I contribute editorial content. My primary responsibility is to make sure we can pay the bills. In short, sell advertising.

But I was reminded again of the importance of a local newspaper while listening to Weekend Edition Sunday on Minnesota Public Radio this past weekend. Ayesha Rascoe interviewed Amy Duncan of Indianola, Iowa. She and her husband recently bought the local newspaper from Gannett, a media juggernaut that owns hundreds of news outlets across the country. Gannett has been selling off local newspapers recently. In recent years our local media Goliath, Forum Communications, has been cutting costs and closing publications. It’s no secret that the newspaper industry is struggling.

Amy said something that resonated with me. She said, “A town is where people live and they kind of share a ZIP code. But a community is a place where you talk about the same things, you think about some of the same things and, in a lot of ways, you want the same things. You want a place that you can live in and that you’re safe and that your kids are safe and you get services. So, you know, we want people to know what’s happening in their town and be able to make decisions about what they like and what they don’t like.”

During last Thursday’s Roundabout art tour, I was able to visit six of the seven participating locations. While at the Oldenburg House, Emily Fuerste remarked, “I’m so glad we’ve got you. The Pine Knot contributes so much to the community. I don’t think Carlton County would be nearly as vibrant without you.”

I think the “secret sauce” here at the Pine Knot News is that we strive to be involved and relevant to the communities we serve with local news, information and yes, even advertisements, that aren’t available elsewhere. It’s nice to know when the Magnolia Café is having a pop-up sale of their ever-popular beignets, what’s on sale at B&B Market, when Gordy’s Hi-Hat is opening, what’s happening at the many local community festivals, when the DAV burger and brat sale is, and so much more that is happening in our local communities.

We give back to the community by offering discounted advertising rates to nonprofits, contributing to fundraisers. Twice now we’ve celebrated our recognition as the best weekly newspaper in the Land of 10,000 Lakes by partnering with Sappi and local advertisers to give away 10,000 tree seedlings. We’ve featured numerous local artists in the Pine Knot Gallery and in the pages of the paper. This year we took on the task of coordinating the Cloquet Fourth of July Celebration (and are happy to have that behind us). Following last year’s successful event, plans are underway to coordinate the second West End Flourish September Celebration in Cloquet’s Historic West End Sept. 24. It’s a Saturday afternoon of fun in our neighborhood featuring local musicians, artists, crafters, vendors, businesses, kids’ activities, demonstrations and food trucks. We hope you’ll join us.

While the newspaper industry nationally is in decline, we’ve been blessed to be supported by the local communities we serve: subscribers and advertisers alike. I hope you’ll make a concerted effort to support the advertisers who support us so we can continue to pay our bills and provide you with all the things that help to make your town a community.

Writer Ivan Hohnstadt is the advertising director at the Pine Knot News, but he wears many other hats, including marketing director, event organizer and BWCA adventure advisor.