Gnemi joins Report Local campaign as coordinator
After leading a successful appraisal business with her husband, Rick, in Owatonna for nearly 50 years, Debra Gnemi has joined the Steele County Times in a volunteer role focusing on the Report Local nonprofit campaign.
The Times rolled out the Report Local project, “Keeping Local News Alive,” last November as a concentrated, long-term effort to strengthen local community news reporting in Steele County and the surrounding area.
“Specifically, the campaign allows citizens to make tax-deductible donations to support the local newspaper,” said Publisher Rick Bussler. “Every dollar will support local reporters and keep them equipped to cover the stories that matter here at home.”
Bussler said Gnemi will be assisting the Times as community outreach coordinator where she will be meeting with local businesses, organizations and clubs to make them understand the importance of financial support for local news efforts.
While Gnemi wasn’t born in Owatonna, she has lived in the community most of her life. She is active in the community in various capacities.
“We are thrilled to have Debra take on the torch with this important effort of maintaining local news for area residents,” Bussler said. “Together, with Debra’s expertise and the help of readers, we can protect the future of local news. Supporting this campaign means keeping our communities informed, connected and proud. When you invest in local news, you invest in Steele County’s future.”
The Times sat down with Gnemi to gain some insight into her interest in taking on this important role.
What attracted you to this role of community outreach coordinator?
I have been aware of the increase in local newspapers closing in Minnesota (basically across the country) for quite some time. When I saw the write-up in the SCT about the non-profit organization known as Report Local and how it can assist local newspapers to remain viable and sustainable through community involvement in a tangible way with tax-deductible donations, I was very interested in learning more about volunteering in this outreach program.
What background, if any, do you have with newspapers?
From elementary school age, I have been an avid reader of newspapers and news publications. I have continued that practice well into my adult life. On a weekly basis, I read our local newspapers as well as national publications to keep informed. In the age of the internet, I have learned to appreciate both the printed version and the digital version of news reporting. However, after spending much of my time reading emails, performing a variety of tasks online, social media, and streaming, I find I need a break from the digital world. The printed word brings that respite. A printed newspaper does not require electricity or a charged-up battery to be accessed which is another plus.
What particularly excites you about the Steele County Times and what it provides to the community?
The Steele County Times provides a plethora of information specific to Steele Countians. Parents, grandparents, and family are provided in the SCT with in-color photos of their children in a variety of sports across the county. The coverage in the SCT is wide-spread, thorough and specific to the events the people in Steele County are genuinely interested in and desire to know about not only in their neighborhood but across the county.
What goals do you have in this role?
My main goal is to further expand the awareness within Steele County of the treasure we have in the Steele County Times which continues to keep our people up-to-date and informed on those topics and issues that our people want in their local newspaper in addition to carrying articles about our history, our current happenings and what we can perhaps expect in the future. It’s all about local news reported by our local journalists.
Providing a local newspaper is a costly business enterprise and it faces the continual escalation of operating expenses just as any company does. Subscriptions modestly cover a small portion of the cost of printing and mailing, and advertising is also crucial to keep any newspaper afloat. Many local newspapers across the state and in the country have been absorbed by corporations and sadly many have simply closed entirely after having provided local newspaper coverage to their communities for decades and some for more than a century. While some would propose to go entirely digital, there are expensive costs involved for that medium as well and it eliminates readership of those who desire the printed word. There continues to be a healthy segment of the population (not necessarily age specific) who wishes to read a printed version of the newspaper. Businesses that not only advertise in a local newspaper such as the SCT but get involved in the community support of it will also have a direct influence on their employees to also become readers and subscribers. It is a win-win deal for both the local newspaper and the people in Steele County.
From your perspective, why is saving journalism important?
The existence of the press has been a part of America from its earliest beginning and pre-dates us as a sovereign nation. It is so important that it is part of our Bill of Rights in the Constitution. Journalism is in our DNA as Americans, and to lose it at the local level as we have been seeing it occur not only in Minnesota but across the nation will deprive us of an integral part of our way of life.
What do you like to do in your spare time?
I love to scrapbook, especially for my grandchildren. I am a lifelong student of all things involving American history with an emphasis on Civil War and WWII. I’m also a fan of golden age of cinema and trivia.
My bucket list includes visiting Tuscany, Greece, and riding in a hot air balloon, but not necessarily in that order.
Tell us about Debra
I was born into a U.S. Air Force family in Wiesbaden, Germany, a long, long time ago, actually 1955, which is a long, long, time ago. My mother’s side of the family came from the Fairmont region and my father was from San Antonio, Texas. Eventually, my mother, sister and I moved to Owatonna after having lived in several locations stateside. I attended the former Washington Elementary School, junior high at the old high school location and graduated from OHS in 1973.
During my high school years, I worked for a blind married student attending Pillsbury College and recorded all his book studies into a tape recorder and learned how to organize, research, and write college term papers for his courses of study. Indirectly, I attended four years of college and then helped put my husband through Mankato University for another four years. I have owned and operated our real estate appraisal business since 1977 with my husband.
Now that I have retired from residential appraisal processing, I have been volunteering in a variety of capacities in Steele County. I have three grandchildren (all teenagers, one turning 20 this year who is also in the U.S. Air Force.) I am active in my church as a deaconess and have become quite adept in purchasing cookies from one of our local grocery stores for church functions. I am an avid scrapbooker of the grandchildren (of course!) and enjoy all things related to American history with an emphasis on the Civil War and World War II. My other passions are reading (without falling asleep), classic movies and trivia, and going to live play performances, particularly musicals.