Current:Home > Finance8 North Dakota newspapers cease with family business’s closure-LoTradeCoin
8 North Dakota newspapers cease with family business’s closure
View Date:2024-12-23 23:25:53
Eight weekly newspapers in northeastern North Dakota have ceased publication with the closure of a century-old family business.
Fordville-based Ness Press closed in early August. Ken Ness, who volunteered at the business his Norwegian immigrant father established in 1922, said “there was nobody to take it over.”
“And the same reason other newspapers have closed: The town had no advertising. There wasn’t any businesses, so there’s no advertising,” he told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
Ness’ 88-year-old brother, Truman Ness, was editor, publisher and owner. He and his wife, Carol, wrote a thank-you note to readers and business patrons that said, “It is with both sadness and happiness that I tell you that this week’s newspaper is the last one I will send to you. After 60 years and more operating the newspaper plus being a ‘printer’s devil’ during my growing years this will be different, but I expect to join the crowd of retired people.”
Ness Press had two employees and three or four volunteers, Ken Ness said. The eight papers printed about 1,400 to 1,500 copies, he said. Ness Press also provided printing services.
Other North Dakota newspapers have closed or nearly closed in recent years, some of them the only paper in their county.
Newspaper advocates have warned of “news deserts,” or areas without local newspaper coverage, as a detriment to communities.
veryGood! (32)
Related
- Republican Rep. Juan Ciscomani wins reelection to Arizona US House seat
- Mark Consuelos Reveals Why Daughter Lola Doesn't Love His Riverdale Fame
- Bebe Rexha Addresses Upsetting Interest in Her Weight Gain
- Taylor Swift Just Subtly Shared How She's Doing After Joe Alwyn Breakup
- Biden funded new factories and infrastructure projects, but Trump might get to cut the ribbons
- The activist who threw soup on a van Gogh says it's the planet that's being destroyed
- The carbon coin: A novel idea
- Negotiators at a U.N. biodiversity conference reach a historic deal to protect nature
- Does your dog have arthritis? A lot of them do. But treatment can be tricky
- Glaciers from Yosemite to Kilimanjaro are predicted to disappear by 2050
Ranking
- GM recalling big pickups and SUVs because the rear wheels can lock up, increasing risk of a crash
- Vanderpump Rules' Latest Episode Shows First Hint at Tom Sandoval and Raquel Leviss' Affair
- The 2022 hurricane season shows why climate change is so dangerous
- Biden says U.S. will rise to the global challenge of climate change
- Cruel Intentions' Brooke Lena Johnson Teases the Biggest Differences Between the Show and the 1999 Film
- Climate change likely helped cause deadly Pakistan floods, scientists find
- Mystery American Idol Contestant Who Dropped Out of 2023 Competition Revealed
- Real Housewives Star Alexia Nepola Shares Beauty Hacks, Travel Must-Haves, and Style Regrets
Recommendation
-
1 dead, 2 children injured in wrong-way crash; driver suspected of DWI: Reports
-
5 numbers that show Hurricane Fiona's devastating impact on Puerto Rico
-
Singer Moonbin, Member of K-Pop Band ASTRO, Dead at 25
-
Sophia Culpo Shares Her Worst Breakup Story One Month After Braxton Berrios Split
-
College Football Playoff ranking release: Army, Georgia lead winners and losers
-
Kate Spade 24-Hour Flash Deal: Get This $360 Tote Bag for Just $79
-
Here's what happened on Day 5 of the U.N.'s COP27 climate talks
-
Yellen says development banks need overhauling to deal with global challenges