The Crookston Times was Founded in 1885 and continues to this day.

In the midst of expanding the railroad, the construction of lumber mills, and maintaining order in a newly established city, a newspaper was born.

Crookston, with a population of roughly 300 had around 75 buildings—including 3 dry goods stores, 1 drug store, a butcher shop, a barber shop, 3 lawyers, 2 physicians, a union church, graded streets, a jail, plank sidewalks…and a newspaper, The Crookston Times.

The details of exact dates, exact ownership, the changing of names almost as much as it did hands, got a little lost over the years, but one thing remains to be true, a newspaper was a part of Crookston from the very start. A pillar of this community that has stood the test of time, albeit by a thread.

From the very beginning, Crookston has not only relied on the power of local journalism but has had the means to sustain it.

In 2009, then known as The Crookston Daily Times, it was the smallest daily published newspaper in Minnesota, being one of very few in the entire United States at the time.

With print news becoming old news and local journalism continuing its fade across small-town America, it begs me to ask the question, how does a newspaper stand a chance? Perhaps the bigger question being, are we as a community willing to give up such a valuable resource?

As newspapers weaken and continue to face challenges, the preservation of “local” has become a topic of conversation.

A community without a local source of news risks losing pieces of itself that tie members together. A local newspaper gives communities a voice, brings attention to issues needing resolution, accountability to local officials, support to both businesses and citizens alike, praise and recognition where there would otherwise be none.

Local journalism is a vast category of news, its value is not easily defined, but to me, it’s the news that ends up carefully snipped out and put on the fridge. A piece of news you cannot find anywhere else.

It’s personal. It’s you, it’s our neighbors, it’s home.

With a community’s loss of local journalism, many things may follow. A community once brought together by local stories could fade. Issues once presented that engaged its citizens may fall along the wayside, no longer making way for minds to combine in creating positive change. Civic engagement is sure to decline, and accountability among public officials will go unchecked. Community connections become weak, events go unnoticed, and opportunities to support growth and change are overlooked.

Print journalism has suffered over the years, that’s no secret—an elephant in the room perhaps, but when it comes to local community journalism, believe it or not, we do have some control.

It is safe to say what we have lost over the years has been noticed. The effect a strong local newspaper had on business, community, our youth, and our level of information and transparency of what exactly is going on at City Hall was second to none.

Maybe we took it for granted or maybe we did not realize the reach.

Maybe we stopped supporting it.

Maybe it failed us too.

The effect local news has on a community makes it one of its top resources. A resource irreplaceable. A resource to be valued.

When a community has a voice, it can begin conversations.

Local news matters.

Our community matters.

This journey matters.

The Crookston Times is beginning a new chapter.

Gathering the Community Voice

The conversation surrounding the restructuring of the Crookston Times, while a major undertaking, has been mostly positive—although not entirely.

With the delicate future of print news in general, some would say any efforts toward a newspaper’s revival would be wasted energy, but stubborn is a virtue, and here I am.

You see, Crookston Times was a brave little toaster back in the day. Surviving on the hard work and dedication of all those behind the pencil and the keyboard, the creators of a go-to source of news, thoughts, and ideas.

A paper that once informed its readers of all things from the railroad and the lumber mill to the student and the city council.

Clippings hung up at the hockey arena telling tales of legends that came before us—a newspaper.

A piece of history that holds the power to inspire, to remind, to preserve memory and achievement in the most tangible of forms—a newspaper.

Our proof in literal black and white that the Good ‘Ol Days once belonged to us—living out their existence hung up on the wall or in a shoe box—a newspaper.

I, if not believing for any other reason than sentiment, have faith that the Crookston Times can bounce back.

They say some things take a village.

So, what’s my point? My goal?

Getting the Crookston Times to work for us again. Big, talented, years of experience shoes to fill, relationships to make, and big names to follow—the Mikes and Jesses, the Lauries, the Carls, and the Dons.

My goals and my vision only reflect my love for this community, and its people, watching in anticipation as I see Crookston evolve.

I want Crookston Times to be a part of that.

I want you to be a part of that.

So, greetings Crookston, my name is Anna.

I know the specials and the shortcuts. I know where the asparagus grows, and when to go to Hugo’s to avoid the rush. I know who to call to hem your prom dress. I know your grandpa, your mom’s maiden name, and whose truck is too loud.

I know the haunts, the places, the things.

But what I really want to know is you.

We have been working on a little something and I have been waiting to share this little something.

The thing with ‘little somethings’, is that they can turn into ‘big somethings’ one day.

So please, keep on following.

New content, new format, new ideas, new voices, and some of the same as well.

We appreciate your continued support as we reshape the idea of what local news can do for you.

We are so glad you are here.

All My Best,

Anna