May 9, 2019
The structure of the Menno Public School ag shop was stripped down to its metal recently as part of the renovation of the classroom and workspace. The Menno Board of Education is currently reviewing construction cost figures prior to the start of new construction
on the site.
PHOTO BY ERIK KAUFMAN
Hutchinson Herald to end
publication
Second Century Publishing, Inc.,
which has owned the Hutchinson Herald since 2002, will discontinue publishing
the Menno weekly newspaper this summer and transition coverage of the community
into the Freeman Courier.
The June 27 edition will be last
for the Herald, which has served the Menno and Olivet community since it was
founded in 1882.
Publisher Jeremy Waltner says
plans are to continue serving the Menno and Olivet communities on a weekly
basis through a section in the Freeman Courier. Support from the business
community, as well as the city of Menno and Menno School District, will
determine at what level.
Both the city council and school
board will have to designate a new legal newspaper starting July 1. Waltner is
meeting with elected officials this week and next to invite them to name the
Courier as their official legal paper.
“There are a lot of good things
happening in Menno that deserved to be covered,” Waltner said. “We have every
intent to do so, but in a different format. We are asking the larger Menno
community to support us as we make this transition.”
Waltner said the decision to
absorb the Herald and use the Courier to cover the communities of Menno and
Olivet was a difficult but necessary one. With rising costs, diminishing
advertising support and declining population and readership, it is no longer
financially feasible to publish the Herald as its own newspaper.
“Times are tough for the
newspaper industry and both the Herald and the Courier are certainly not immune
to those realities,” Waltner said. “But we maintain that newspapers play a
vital role in their communities, which is why we want to make every effort to
be the paper of record for Menno and Olivet. We hope to maintain our
relationship with the city council, school board, business community and the
people and events that make life in small towns so rewarding.”
All city and rural residents who
receive the Herald by mail will have their subscriptions automatically
transferred to the Freeman Courier. Those who would rather receive a refund for
the remainder of the year may request one. Those who subscribe to both the
Herald and Courier will receive a credit or refund for the remainder of the
year.
David Bordewyk, executive
director of the South Dakota Newspaper Association, noted the difficulties
facing newspapers across the state.
“Many small weekly newspapers in
South Dakota are facing very significant economic pressures,” Bordewyk said.
“Those pressures are related, not necessarily to the growth of the internet and
social media, but more so to the demographic and economic trends in the rural
communities and rural areas of our state. The loss of population, farms,
businesses and institutions such as schools and health-care facilities are
making it more and more difficult for many of our state's smallest newspapers
to continuing publishing.”
That now includes the Herald,
which follows a growing trend that has seen small weeklies that have either
closed or been absorbed by larger publications.
Among those lost have been the
Belle Fourche Bee and Meade County Times of Sturgis, which were both closed by
the Rapid City Journal three years ago. The Isabel Dakotan was absorbed by the
Timber Lake Topic two years ago, the Beadle County Echo of Wessington/Wolsey
was absorbed by the Miller Press last year and the New Underwood Post was
absorbed by the Wall Pennington County Courant just this year.
“When we've seen the demise of a
small newspaper, the trend has been for a neighboring newspaper or a newspaper
nearby that has the same ownership to incorporate coverage of the
newspaper-less community into its own publication,” Bordewky said. “In other
words, more and more newspapers are covering, not only the community where they
are based, but nearby communities, as well. That seems to be the model for
sustainability of community journalism in South Dakota and elsewhere.”
“We have appreciated the work
that editor Erik Kaufman (who will leave that post July 1) has done for the
Herald and the relationships we’ve made with the people of Menno and Olivet,”
Waltner said. “We hope to continue to work with and for the people of those
communities and deliver them a community newspaper that is highly respected
across the state and beyond.”
Those with questions about the
closing of the Herald should contact the Freeman Courier by calling 925-7033, emailing
courier@gwtc.net or writing to Freeman Courier, PO Box 950, Freeman, SD 57029.