The art of bringing people in

At the Foster County Independent, we are 90 days into this national experiment to revive local news. As I look at what we’ve accomplished so far and the work ahead, I am encouraged.

This month also marks a milestone for me in business. As of October 1, I have been the publisher of this newspaper for three whole years, and I am approaching the 10-year mark of my career in the newspaper industry (which will happen in February). A lot has changed since. I’m starting to see how we can both continue to provide local news to this community for years to come and thrive as a local business.

We are looking toward the future. We are building models that can be replicated at small community newspapers across the state. We are creating a playbook of actionable strategies that can be immediately deployed across the country.

One of those strategies is planning and hosting community events. And our first big event went off without a hitch.

Thursday, Oct. 17 was the inaugural 8th Avenue & Main Pasta Fest, and after 60 days of planning and marketing, it couldn’t have gone better. We even had good weather!

I will admit that when Teri Finneman, our national researcher, first told me that organizing events was a key part of the strategy, I wasn’t entirely sold on the idea. Relatively new to the community, I was interested to know what Carrington folks thought of the idea. We were surprised (and encouraged) at the response, and we couldn’t wait to go to work.

As we were putting all the pieces together, I got a major sign that we were doing the right thing at the right time. When Leasa Lura interviewed Dennis Freeman, owner of Headlocks Bar, he said something that cut straight to the heart.

“To make small town America work is to bring people in,” he said. Readers, Dennis Freeman is a smart businessman and a great community leader. I am so grateful for his support, and for everything he does to promote this community in business and in life.

In the past, I’ve heard people say several times that there isn’t enough to do here in rural North Dakota, that we need to do more and plan more so people show up. I’ve also been involved in community development, and I’ve been part of the survey process, writing and distributing surveys to find out what events the community wants to see.

This time it came together. We invited people to downtown Carrington, and they came. It was a wonderful sght to see. I hope Allen V. Stock looked down on the streets of Carrington on Pasta Fest day and smiled from his easy chair in heaven.

This is what it means to be a part of a community. This community showed up for us, and we put on a great event for you.

I greatly appreciate the businesses who embraced this idea, asked great questions and helped us pull together a successful evening of food, fun and fellowship.

Lioness featured Dakota Growers pasta in their display window for a week. All those boxes of pasta were purchased from Leevers Foods in Carrington and are headed straight to Carrington’s Daily Bread, along with a $600 cash donation. My only request is that all the funds are used to purchase groceries and supplies from local businesses, so that all the money stays right here in our community.

The front page of both newspapers list several events happening right here in our local communities for Halloween. Every one of these events takes time, effort and money to coordinate, plan and pull off for the benefit of the community.

I challenge you all to take the time to attend local events when you can, and also help whenever possible so we can bring more events to town.

We at the local newspaper will do our part. 8th Avenue & Main Pasta Fest will be back next October, and hopefully every fall for years to come. In New Rockford, the Transcript will continue to host the Freedom 5K Run/Walk as part of the annual Fourth of July Celebration.

We also plan to organize at least one more large community event to do annually in Carrington, as well as work on some smaller, more intimate gatherings.

While I greeted many of you at Pasta Fest and made small talk, I didn’t get to engage in meaningful conversation. I would love to do more of that.

Another newspaper participating in the national experiment, the Harvey County Now in Newton, Kansas, is two years ahead of the Independent. They have also inspired us to “bring people in.”

Harvey County Now co-owners Joey and Lindsay Young started a similar program there known as Press Club. For a small fee, they invite community members to monthly gatherings where they have space and time to engage in meaningful conversations and get to know each other better.

The Youngs had this to say about Press Club: “After several months of holding mingles and hanging out with our readers, we discovered that it was far more than just an additional revenue stream. We were getting to know our community in a new way, and we were meeting readers we would have never had an opportunity to meet in any other way.”

In that vein, we are considering a monthly morning meet up, which would rotate among local coffee spots. I personally think Mondays would be a good day for this, when we are all dragging a bit and need some motivation to start the week off right.

If you are interested in something like this, or have an idea of a better time to gather, please let me know.

You can reach me at amywobbema@gmail.com.