Wrenshall District newsletter moves exclusively to online

The upcoming back-to-school issue of a popular Wrenshall publication will be its final print edition.

Images, the monthly Wrenshall school newsletter that's distributed community wide, is moving to an online-only format. Beginning in October, Images will appear only on the school's website, isd100.net.

The school board approved the move at its business meeting Monday. The move will save the district roughly $6,500 a year. Images publishes 10 times a year, with printing, delivery and postage costing $650 per issue, said Erin Riley, the Wrenshall Images editor and a part-time school employee.

"It's always full, which is a good problem to have," Riley said. "It reflects our vibrant community and school well and it's well-utilized."

Images has been published online, in tandem with the print product, for many years, Riley said.

An announcement of the final print edition appears in the upcoming September issue of Images.

Black and white in print, the online version of Images pops with colors. Found under the District tab on the website, Images features an events calendar, minutes of city meetings, notices from throughout the community, and columns and stories from school officials and students. A nonprofit entity, Images lists its sponsors, but does not take advertisements or feature business logos.

One recent announcement in the June issue billed an upcoming Dungeons and Dragons after-school club coming to Wrenshall in 2024-25.

"I'm striving to get more after-school clubs this year," community education director Katie Beck told the board Monday.

The print version of Images has been a staple in mailboxes for decades, sent free to every household in the city and district, and outside those boundaries upon request.

"We're going to get a lot of mixed feedback from the community on it," board member Eric Ankrum said. "There are still a lot of people that look for that."

Still, the board was unanimous and resolute in moving forward with an online-only edition.

"I'm looking forward to the change," Ben Johnson said.

He noted being nervous about senior members of the community missing out.

"We want to keep them involved in the district as much as possible," he said.

The board agreed that some informally printed material could result, but no decisions were made along those lines.

But in terms of student recruitment and for new and current families, the focus for Images will be online, where parents go first when examining schools, board members said.

"I'm going to be honest, I read it online," board member Nicole Krisak said.

"That's what people look at when they're coming into the district," board chair Mary Carlson said.

In moving Images solely online, the board also announced it was looking for a part-time communications coordinator, at a salary of approximately $20,000 annually.

"The proposed position is a combination of webmaster, social media and Images online newspaper editor and other communications tasks as assigned," the board-approved help wanted advertisement said. "The compensation would utilize budget resources currently allocated for standalone communications roles."

A communications coordinator would bring cohesive messaging to the district, board members said, and give everyone else one point of contact for actions such as making district-approved social media posts. District meeting recordings will be posted online sooner under a coordinator, Carlson said, while reflecting on the move of Images online.

"Images has always been amazing," Carlson said. "We won't lose that."