HOT PURSUIT

Three years after her death, Deb Flemming is still leaving a mark on community journalism.

Last week I had the pleasure of presenting a $1,500 scholarship on behalf of the Deb Flemming Memorial Scholarship to Makenzie Oltmans, a graduating senior at Owatonna High School. Retired newspaper publishers Jan Mittelstadt Tippett and Pixie Allen joined me in the presentation.

Flemming served as the editor of the Steele County Times from 2020 until a fast-moving bout of lung cancer took her life in March 2022. She was 67. Flemming worked at newspapers in Waseca, Owatonna, Mankato and Traverse City, Mich. She ended her career with the Times.

During her career, Flemming worked as a reporter, copy editor and editor. She was a passionate believer in the First Amendment, the public’s right to know and open meetings and records. She relished mentoring young journalists.

To this day, the Times continues to benefit greatly from Flemming’s contributions. Flemming groomed a couple of our journalists for their careers. She hired Kay Fate in 1989 at the Owatonna People’s Press and again 32 years later in 2021 at the Times. “Every bit of good that I’ve done as a journalist is a direct result of my relationship with Deb,” Fate has said.

Another product of Flemming is Johnnie Phillips, who currently serves as the sports editor for the Times. She recruited, trained and mentored Phillips for the short seven months they were able to work together before she died. It was Deb’s happy place to know that she was training the next generation of journalists.

Flemming had a strong desire for excellence. One of the highlights of her career came just two months prior to her death when the Times won the coveted General Excellence award at the Minnesota Newspaper Association. At the time, she also had her eyes on the Mills Trophy, which is the top newspaper award given out. Though it didn’t happen while she was still alive, the Times captured the honor this past year. I know Deb is looking down with great pride at all of us and what we have achieved. It’s a direct result of her drive and passion for community journalism.

The Flemming scholarship was earmarked for a female who plans to major in a field of study related to journalism. In addition, the individual should strongly exemplify Flemming’s beliefs.

Oltmans plans to major in communications at the University of North Dakota. During high school, she was involved in a whole host of activities, including band, orchestra, track and field, National Honor Society, DECA, SHOC, Big Brothers Big Sisters, religious education, Link Crew and many more.

In her application for the scholarship, Oltmans was asked, “Are newspapers still important? Why?” She replied, “I believe that newspapers will always be important because they reach a target market that still needs to be informed on what is going on in today’s world. I believe that newspapers serve a strong purpose in today’s society.”

This was the second scholarship given out in Deb’s honor. The first one was awarded in 2023.

Flemming helped many people understand that community newspapers are the heart and soul of any community. And for that, we are forever grateful as we go in hot pursuit of continuing a strong legacy of serving our readers.