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We've all heard that we should not take things for granted, but it never hurts to give a reminder about this piece of wisdom.
I was at a meeting with some local business owners recently and one of them pointed out how when we visit other cities, especially, say, up north, we often go to their parks, their local coffee shops and eateries and check out their museums and such, yet many people haven't even done that in their own town. So many people who live in Fairmont haven't visited a local coffee shop or many of the local parks.
Yet I sit in government meetings and hear people say, and then sift through comments on social media and read people say that there's nothing to do here. That Fairmont doesn't have enough to offer. That's it's a dying town. This last comment the most frustrating to hear because when you actually stop and look around, there are people actively working to bring more to the community.
A few weeks ago, we had a guest pastor at church who kept us on our toes during much of the service. He was kind and had a good message to share, but there were obvious differences throughout the service. At the end of it, he told those of us present to appreciate the pastor that we had, which I'm sure we were all thinking about a little bit more throughout the service.
The house two down from ours is an Airbnb and nearly every weekend it's filled with guests, many of whom I assume come from out of town. During the summer they're often down by the lake. This past weekend there was a group of young women who spent a few hours in the lake on flotation devices. I was reminded again just how fortunate we are to have not one but five lakes in our community. The lakes are something we all probably see daily yet often give little more than a second thought to because they're always just there. But something we have daily access to is something others travel to see and enjoy.
Similarly, I've talked to colleagues in my industry who say that newspapers don't do enough to "brag" about themselves. Sure, we cover other businesses and individual successes and highlight what groups in the community are doing, but rarely give ourselves credit or point out our contributions to the community that we're part of, too.
It's still not something I'm comfortable with, as in my personal life and for that of the Sentinel's I'd prefer to observe and record, but I will say, a few weeks ago, after the Vault the Plaza event, a young man, a participant, had first emailed me saying he lived out of state but had been interviewed by a Sentinel reporter and wondered if I could email him a digital copy of the story when it came out. A few days later when the story went live, I sent him PDF pages of the story. He emailed me back, asking if I could possibly mail a physical copy of the paper to him in Missouri because "his mom wanted one for the fridge." I gladly mailed him two copies.
This last fall, during football season, we got a call from a woman who lived in Belle Plaine but was wondering if we could mail her a copy of the Sentinel because her grandson, who played for Belle Plaine, had been mentioned in the Sentinel article. She said they did not have a local paper that covered their team so she wanted our article for some documentation for a scrapbook of her grandson.
I don't go out of my way to say it enough, but if you get me in close conversation I will go on and on about the importance of a local newspaper, especially the physical copies that many come to hold close as a keepsake. Not only are we covering what's happening today in order to keep people informed, but we're keeping record of our history for future generations.
I think people forget that. I also think people forget that we're a business like any other and need to be treated and supported as such because we're not immune to the realities of what could happen if we're not.
According to the Minnesota Newspaper Association, in 2020, there were just 24 daily newspapers in Minnesota and the Sentinel is proudly one of those. Not many other communities can say that they have a daily newspaper so I do wish the fact that Fairmont has one was appreciated more because I think we're one of those little things that is taken for granted.