North Dakota
Blueprint points path forward for North Dakota’s strained local newspapers
Shrinking profit margins, aging ownerships and headaches from factors beyond their control like postal delays continue to strain local newspapers across North Dakota.
While some of the 73 local newspapers in the state are in critical condition, the bigger picture is not one of dying out, but of hope for the future anchored by their importance to local communities.
A two-year effort to gather data called the Future of Local News Initiative, led by the North Dakota Newspaper Association and the Rural Development Finance Corporation, finds some reasons for optimism and several paths forward for journalism prosperity.
The effort, supported by a grant from the Bush Foundation, brought together journalists and publishers from across the state to gather a rare data set through surveying newspaper owners, journalists and consumers.
The group released a final report of their key findings on Jan. 29, with the data paving the way for pilot programs to address challenges going forward.
“This has been the most focused effort that the North Dakota Newspaper Association has ever done to quantify where we are at as an industry,” said Cecile Wehrman, NDNA’s executive director.
The data gathered includes finding that nine out of 10 news consumers believe having a local newspaper is important, with a similar amount saying that losing a paper harms local communities.
Newspapers are also the most trusted local news source, according to the data gathered by research partner Coda Ventures.
Chris Gessele, a development specialist with the North Dakota Association of Rural Electric Cooperatives who was involved with the effort, said that struck him most about what the research found.
“People trust newspapers,” Gessele said. “They view them as one of the more accurate media outlets or media forms out there.”
Residents of the three counties where papers no longer exist — Sioux, Dunn and Slope — value papers even more, showing how those losses impact communities.
In those counties, 96% said having a newspaper is important, 87% said they would subscribe to a paper if it existed, and 21% said they would be willing to donate to help fund a newspaper beyond subscribing.
“The absence of papers is really noticed in those communities,” Gessele said.
Joy Schoch, publisher of the Dickinson Press, a Forum Communications newspaper, said having data to back up the vital importance of newspapers has been an important outcome from the project.
“It’s essential,” she said. “It’s essential to keep people informed. It makes a healthy community.”
The next step in the effort is to pilot several solutions that tap into the deep reservoirs of trust, demand and opportunity while acknowledging the current structural risks many newspapers face.
“This is a vital, trusted, necessary industry that people want and need, and we need to find a way collectively forward that benefits society,” Wehrman said.
Currently, 24% of households across the state are reached by a newspaper, but looking deeper at county-level data shows much deeper penetration.
Out of 53 counties, 20 have over 75% of households receiving a local newspaper and 15 more show figures of between 50-75%.
Wehrman said those numbers more accurately reflect the impact newspapers have locally, and losing them means communities lose out.
With the $199 million in federal Rural Health Transformation funding being
rolled out in the coming year,
the importance of local newspapers in communicating what programs are available and how the funding can be used in those communities is crucial, Wehrman said.
People need to understand newspapers are “not a public utility,” she said. “These are individual businesses that need the support of their local communities in order to continue doing the work people value so highly.”
That disconnect between valuing newspapers and being willing to support them through subscriptions or donations is something both newspapers themselves and the communities they serve need to tackle if their survival is to continue.
“People aren’t seeing newspapers as a business like they see their hardware store as a business, and they may not be aware of their struggles,” said Ellen Huber, rural development director for NDAREC.
“We talk a lot about retaining and growing other kinds of businesses in the state, but I don’t think anyone has thrown newspapers in that bucket of important, vital businesses, and ones that are worthy of focusing on, retaining and strengthening and growing,” Huber said.
The real value of local newspapers needs to be better communicated to the wider public, participants in the initiative said.
“People think it should be free,” Schoch said. “I think people forget about us. People forget about it until they really need us.”
The next step for the initiative is taking forward several pilot projects centered on succession planning, exploring new revenue models, providing print and digital samples for the next generation of news consumers, and developing ready-made promotions and content that can be adopted statewide.
Whether those have a deep impact or not depends on securing grant funding to take them forward, Wehrman said.
The hope is that these don’t become moonshots, but practical, replicable interventions.
One of the most immediate concerns is the
succession planning component,
since so many independent publishers are close to retirement age.
Currently, while group-owned newspapers show stronger margins and sustainability, independent, family-owned papers are under pressure from owners nearing retirement, the high cost of printing and distribution, and the heavy reliance on revenue from public notices.
Younger journalists are interested in taking over the reins of these papers, but are constrained by a lack of training and the need for financing to sustain operations, the research found.
“Succession planning is something that we need to offer newspapers, because there is an urgent need for newspapers to change hands,” Wehrman said.
Another aspect those involved in the initiative hope can gain traction is to meet demands of news consumers, particularly younger Gen Z and Millennial ones, for both digital and print versions of a newspaper.
Offering samples of those to non-subscribers may be one way to boost circulation.
“I think there’s a lot of optimism coming out of this about all of the different ways the data gathered for this can be used, and a lot of excitement about the positive momentum going forward,” Huber said.
This story was originally published on NewsCoopND.org.
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This story was written by one of our partner news agencies. Forum Communications Company uses content from agencies such as Reuters, Kaiser Health News, Tribune News Service and others to provide a wider range of news to our readers. Learn more about the news services FCC uses here.
(Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor)
(North Dakota Monitor) – Two North Dakotans are semifinalists for the Bismarck State College president’s job as North Dakota State University narrows its presidential candidate list.
Valley City State University also is searching for a new president, with an application period closing this month..
Kevin Black, chair of the State Board of Higher Education and co-chair of the North Dakota State University Presidential Search Committee, said the committee reviewed over 60 applications. The committee is planning off-site interviews with candidates March 9-10 and campus visits with semifinal candidates March 23-27.
“We’re really excited about taking the next step and there’s some very quality people in there,” Black said.
FARGO — One season ago, a Cinderella run for the West Fargo United girls hockey team came up just short in the state championship game.
United, the No. 7 seed, fell to Legacy/Bismarck in the 2025 final.
This time around, the team had momentum swaying in its favor, riding nine consecutive wins into Saturday’s title game against Grand Forks at Scheels Arena.
Led by goals from a pair of senior captains, United capped its redemption season with a 10th straight victory, fending off the KnightRiders 2-1 to claim the North Dakota girls hockey state tournament championship.
“It just means everything,” said United’s Payton Stocker, whose goal at the 12:31 mark of the second period gave her team a 1-0 lead. “We’ve worked so hard and throughout the season, it’s just been such a battle. Winning and coming out on top is just such a great feeling.”
Eric Hylden / Grand Forks Herald
Stocker was followed up in scoring by United captain Rachel Spanier. The defenseman fired a slap shot from the left point that beat Grand Forks goaltender Kylie Schmaltz to make it 2-0 with 35 seconds remaining in the middle frame.
Reagan Wilson locked things down in net for United, finishing with 23 saves and picking up an all-tournament team nod.
“This is my first year of high school hockey,” the sophomore goaltender said. “I can’t believe coming in here and winning a state title with all of these girls. I just love them so much.”
While it was the senior duo of Stocker and Spanier finding the net for United on Saturday, contributions were seen across the board.
Sophomore Emma Hassler also put forth an all-tournament campaign with five goals and an assist for six points over the three-day stretch.
Eric Hylden / Grand Forks Herald
Freshman Kaylee Augdahl finished the tournament with four points — including
a double-overtime winner
over Fargo North/South in Friday’s semifinals — and junior Liana Williamson added three assists.
“It wasn’t just us (seniors),” said Stocker, who joined Hassler and Wilson on the all-tourney team. “It was everyone collectively. Being seniors, it feels a lot better. It was a great feeling.”
United, the No. 5 seed this year, capped its season with a record of 17-9-0.
“These girls are awesome,” first-year United head coach Kennedy Blair said. “They’ve worked super, super hard since last April. Wake up early in the mornings, go into off-ice training, on-ice training and all that.
“This group of girls is really special. They’re a really close-knit group, and they trusted our coaching staff coming in as a first-year group.”
Eric Hylden / Grand Forks Herald
Blair knows a thing or two about winning championships. She was a North Dakota state champion goaltender with the former Bismarck Blizzard co-op and also won an NCAA Division I national title with the Wisconsin women’s program in 2021.
Yet, she never imagined ending her first year as a high school varsity coach with a state championship.
“No, I didn’t,” said Blair, who also won North Dakota High School Coaches Association Coach of the Year honors. “But I had belief in these girls that we could get to the state championship again.”
It’s the United co-op’s first-ever state title — which consists of West Fargo, West Fargo Sheyenne and West Fargo Horace high schools.
Prior to Saturday, the last time a West Fargo girls program won the state title was in 2014 when it was still a standalone program competing as the Packers.
“It’s amazing considering United hockey has never won a championship game,” Wilson said.
Grand Forks, the tournament’s No. 2 seed, ended its campaign with a 21-5-0 record.
Ella Yahna’s fourth goal of the tournament — which came on a 2-on-1 rush with the assist from teammate Reese Meagher, put the KnightRiders within one shot with 8:17 remaining in the third.
Grand Forks, however, was unable to find the equalizer as its bid for a first state championship came up just short.
“I thought we came out in the first and we had a tough time,” Grand Forks head coach Kelly Kilgore said. “I felt we battled some nerves. I really liked our second period … We carried the play and tilted the ice a little bit back in our favor. The shots kind of started to really turn in our favor.”
Stocker said she wouldn’t have wanted to win a state title as a senior with any other group of teammates.
“(They mean) everything,” Stocker said. “We’re so tight and they’re all my friends. Leaving them is going to be hard. But they mean everything to me. We’re all so close and I love them a lot.”
FIRST PERIOD: No scoring.
SECOND PERIOD: 1, WFU, Stocker (Augdahl, Hassler), 12:31. 2, WFU, Spanier (Augdahl, Stocker), 16:25.
THIRD PERIOD: 3, GF, Yahna (R. Meagher), 8:43.
SAVES: WFU, Wilson 7-13-3—23. GF, Schmaltz 7-3-14—24.
Eric Hylden / Grand Forks Herald
GRAND FORKS — The Grand Forks Children’s Museum has revealed the anonymous donor of the $2 million in matching funds that prompted others to step forward and bring the fundraising campaign closer to its goal of $35 million.
“It is with deep gratitude that the Grand Forks Children’s Museum now shares the name behind that bold vision,” said Katie Mayer, executive director of the museum, in naming Pam Laffen of Grand Forks as the anonymous donor.
With this gift and other major contributions, the fundraising campaign “stands at just $1.75 million remaining, bringing the finish line clearly into view,” Mayer said.
The museum “reflects Pam’s passion for learning and her belief in creating meaningful opportunities for children which have guided her life’s work and are deeply reflected in this gift,” she said.
Laffen said, “I am honored to be part of a community that supports a project dedicated to encouraging growth in education and service for future generations.”
Recognizing the impact of Laffen’s gift, Mayer said, “Pam and her late husband, Lonnie, shared a deep appreciation for this community. Being raised in a rural area in North Dakota taught them to be actively engaged in their immediate and surrounding communities across the state.”
Contributed / Grand Forks Children’s Museum
At the start of the “Unlocking Tomorrow, Together Challenge,” the $2 million would be released, or “unlocked,” with the receipt of each of eight $250,000 donations. The challenge actually resulted in “securing nearly 10 leadership-level commitments and accelerating the campaign even further,” Mayer said.
A leadership gift of $250,000 from the Pancratz Family Foundation, based with the Fargo-Moorhead Area Foundation, has helped to “unlock one of the final keys in the challenge,” according to an announcement from the museum. The gift has added “meaningful momentum at a pivotal time in the campaign.”
The foundation’s commitment to the museum “reflects a strong belief in expanding opportunity for children and families, and helped carry the challenge to completion.”
The final keys to the $2 million matching grant were “propelled by an extraordinary wave of generosity from families and businesses across our community,” Mayer said.
A vertical climber, to be named for Pam Laffen, is designed to physically and symbolically connect the land and sky levels of the museum, Mayer said. It will span two stories and include a slide. Designed to face 42nd Street, it will be visible from the road, serving as a signature feature of the building.
The climber will reflect the guiding phrase “In land, we root. Through sky, we rise. Together, we grow.”
“The words echo both the spirit of the community and the belief that learning, curiosity, exploration and opportunity are built step-by-step, grounded in place and lifted by possibility,” Mayer said.
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