The 154th annual Minnesota Newspaper Association conference and trade show was not quite the same this year due to COVID-19 restrictions. However, that didn’t prevent the big show from coming together in a virtual presentation. Each year, hundreds of newspaper professionals from more than 200 daily and weekly newspapers throughout the state of Minnesota gather in … [Read more...]
Schultz takes on new role with Journal
In January of 2021, Sherry Hines retired as an advertising sales representative with the Fillmore County Journal after serving customers in Southeast Minnesota and Northeast Iowa for 35 years. With Hines retiring from the Journal, Sara Schultz has taken over her territory. Schultz started her career as a graphic designer with the newspaper in October of 2019. With … [Read more...]
One Moment, Please… People do business with people
This past week, I was happy to see how well the “2020 Business Person of the Year” recognition was embraced in the communities we serve. “We need more positive news, after the year we’ve gone through,” said one business owner. “Thank you for doing this.” This was our first time ever coordinating a nomination process like this, and I think it went well. One thing we did, … [Read more...]
2020 Business Person of the Year Jones receives award of excellence from Journal readers
The year 2020 became one that tested everyone in ways never imagined. For business leaders, they contended with circumstances they had never encountered before. There were issues with supply chain, facility capacity limitations, shutdowns, social distancing, mask mandates, COVID exposure protocol, staffing, sanitization, health, and safety – to name a few. Over the past few … [Read more...]
COVID-19 update as of January 21, 2021
Since worldwide tracking of COVID-19 began on January 23, 2020, there have been 96,563,635 total cases (up from 87,588,168 compared to two weeks ago) with 2,067,143 fatalities (up from 1,890,824 compared to two weeks ago) — 2.14% of total cases (down from 2.16% compared to two weeks ago). In the United States, there have been 24,433,486 total cases (up from 21,559,660 … [Read more...]
One Moment, Please… Hitting deadline for 35 years
In the newspaper business, our schedule is dictated by press deadlines. Right when we finish one deadline, the countdown to the next one begins immediately. Over the course of 35 years of working for the Fillmore County Journal, Sherry Hines has successfully hit more than 1,800 deadlines. That’s truly astounding! More than a year ago, she shared with her Journal family that … [Read more...]
USPS mail delivery challenged with COVID
The past couple months have been quite challenging for the United States Postal Service, which is apparent by the delays in mail delivery. On January 2, 2021, my wife and I received a piece of mail from our insurance company that was mailed on December 1, 2020. It took just a little over one month to arrive in our mailbox. This has become more common for many people … [Read more...]
One Moment, Please… The art of distraction
By Jason Sethre Publisher Fillmore County Journal jason@fillmorecountyjournal.com My wife and I pretty much only watch the news on TV when we are getting ready for the day. Depending on what’s considered newsworthy, we may even skip the news altogether. With that said, our evenings are occupied with a family sit-down supper often followed by an aggressive game of … [Read more...]
COVID-19 update as of January 7, 2021
Since worldwide tracking of COVID-19 began on January 23, 2020, there have been 87,588,168 total cases (up from 82,282,392 compared to two weeks ago) with 1,890,824 fatalities (up from 1,796,769 compared to two weeks ago) — 2.16% of total cases (down from 2.00% compared to two weeks ago). In the United States, there have been 21,559,660 total cases (up from 19,745,674 compared … [Read more...]
One Moment, Please… We became even more connected
By Jason Sethre Publisher Fillmore County Journal jason@fillmorecountyjournal.com As we kick open the doors of 2021, it gives us a moment to reflect on what just happened in the year that was. For me, at the newspaper, I think of all of the stories we published, and how the pandemic changed what we covered and how we covered it. What was most interesting to me was how … [Read more...]