REFLECTIONS

A small miracle occurs each week when the Steele County Times rolls off the press, signifying over 100 years of journalism.
Rick Bussler, owner and publisher of this newspaper, brought his ink-stained hands to a regular monthly meeting of the Cargill Citizens Advisory Panel (CAP). Twenty CAP members met in the Blooming Prairie City Center.
Bussler no longer shows off inky hands due to many advancements in the world of newspaper printing. He does truthfully have an ongoing newspaper career that spans nearly 45 years.
Small-town newspapers are in trouble, Bussler admits, but he brought along statistics claiming that The Times has more subscribers than the People’s Press, making it the largest subscription newspaper in Steele County. Bussler also owns the Dodge County Independent in Kasson.
I can relate to the revelation that it is “a small miracle” to getting a community weekly newspaper off the press. I have logged over 60 years in the newspaper business.
The newspaper industry has been very rewarding to Bussler and to me. It is sad, however, when 10 newspapers, including the award-winning Hutchinson Leader, closed their doors almost a year ago.
Bussler was in eighth grade when he was introduced to the newspaper business at Brownton, a small farming community in central Minnesota. As time went on, Bussler could truthfully say that he knew every job at the Brownton newspaper.
Bussler has owned The Times for 16 years. When looking to purchase a community newspaper, Bussler said he looked at Blooming Prairie as a “vibrant community.”
Every day is a challenging day for those few newspapers remaining in business. “It’s pretty iffy,” Bussler said. There are two hateful words that describe weekly newspapers, “news desert.”
The Times has defied the recent community newspaper demise. “We are expanding and that is because we pride ourselves in producing local news,” Bussler remarked.
Bussler thanked those readers who are supporting community weekly newspapers.
He admitted that if The Times had to rely on just Blooming Prairie advertising, it might not survive. “I’ve just been blown away with the community togetherness shown by our local communities,” Bussler said. “You don’t see the community support that Blooming Prairie shows in many other towns of similar size.”
Bussler pointed to his hometown of 800 people which long ago lost its school, newspaper and most of the businesses.
In addition to producing The Times on a weekly basis, The Times puts out a digital copy and also sends out an E-Blast newsletter highlighting breaking news alerts.
“We bring value with our newspaper with the fact that we produce local news,” Bussler reiterated. He said he does not want to see Blooming Prairie or Steele County become a news desert.
He said the best thing people can do to prevent a news desert is support the newspaper through subscriptions and advertising. Without the two, there is no paper.
I am very thankful that I have been able to contribute to Bussler’s newspaper.
Bussler takes pride in the many state and national awards that The Times has won over the years. More awards are expected to be announced in the coming weeks.