By Edward Lynn
Editor
For nearly 140 years, the Eagle Grove Eagle has been here.
It has been here since the earliest days of this town, chronicling its birth, its growth, its hardships, its triumphs, and its ordinary moments that only later revealed themselves to be history. It documented the arrival of railroads and electricity, the founding of schools and churches, world wars and farm crises, parades, graduations, championships, funerals, scandals, celebrations, and quiet acts of community kindness that never made national headlines but mattered deeply here.
As the Eagle prepares to turn 140 years old in a matter of weeks, it should be a moment of pride. Instead, it is a moment of real danger.
Because as this paper nears that milestone, it also risks not making it to the next one.
This newspaper has outlived generations. It has survived economic depressions, technological revolutions, pandemics, and every reinvention of media thrown at it. It has never missed its role as the public record of Eagle Grove. And yet today, for the first time in its long life, its future depends almost entirely on a single question: Does this community still want a newspaper?
About four years ago, that question became intensely personal for me. I had left the national news business behind, and taken a job in sales here. It was supposed to be a way to learn how local papers operate, and a way for me to take some pressure off myself. But, through a combination of circumstances I was thrust into a position I never expected when I took the job: keeping the Eagle Grove Eagle alive almost entirely on my own. I had corporate support from afar—but locally, the responsibility fell squarely on my shoulders. Shortly thereafter, the same thing happened with the Wright County Monitor, and I had to keep it going too, at the same time.
For more than a year, I covered news and sports in multiple communities simultaneously. City councils, school boards, county meetings, Friday night lights, playoff runs, breaking news, deadlines—there was no safety net. And I did it because the alternative was losing these newspapers entirely. Something I was determined not to allow to happen on my watch.
I stepped up because someone had to. And because I believed—deeply—that Eagle Grove deserved to keep its voice. As did Clarion.
We survived that crisis. Barely. And for a time, it felt like we might actually turn a corner. We hired staff. We added a B section. But then there was inflation. Then there were tariffs. We lost staff. We had to stop printing the B section.
Now we are here again.
Today, the Eagle Grove Eagle has around 200 subscribers in a city of more than 3,700 people. That number is not sustainable. Subscriber count is the foundation on which everything else rests—staffing, coverage, advertising, stability. Without subscribers, advertisers don’t come. Without advertisers, revenue collapses. Without revenue, the paper cannot stand.
That is the stark, unforgiving reality.
And the consequences are no longer abstract. As part of a last-ditch effort to keep this paper going, our parent company, Mid-America Publishing & Printing, has sold our office building. We must be out by December 31. What comes next—whether there will be another office in town, whether we’ll be forced to work remotely, whether the Eagle can remain a truly local institution—is uncertain.
What is certain is this: there is very little room left to retract.
If the Eagle Grove Eagle cannot strengthen its subscriber base soon, the most likely outcome is not a dramatic shutdown, but something quieter and almost as devastating—being folded into the Wright County Monitor. And if that happens, Eagle Grove will have to compete with Clarion for coverage, for the time and efforts of our reporters. For pages in the paper.
Elsewhere in this issue, we explore in depth what happens to towns that lose their newspapers—how they become “news deserts,” how costs rise, accountability fades, misinformation fills the vacuum, and civic life withers, neighbors turning against neighbors. We also examine the affordability of subscriptions and what local journalism actually costs compared to what it saves taxpayers over time. I won’t repeat all of that here, but spoiler alert: subscribing is the best value in town.
I want to talk about what would be lost, if the Eagle closes.
Think about the Santa Letters you see in this paper this week, and every December—children’s yuletide hopes preserved forever, clipped and saved by parents and grandparents, rediscovered years later as priceless family history. Think about the Veterans’ Day specials, where service members’ names, faces, and stories are recorded in print so they are never forgotten. These are heirlooms. They are archives. They are pieces of local and family history that do not exist with permanence anywhere else.
That is what a local newspaper does. It creates a permanent record of who we were. And as long as we keep printing papers, we’ll keep adding to those indelible archives that stand the test of time.
But we can only do that if we stay in business.
Here is the part I need to be very clear about: this is still fixable! But it is fixable only if people act—NOW!
If even one-third of Eagle Grove’s recorded population subscribed to this paper, the situation would change immediately. Advertising confidence would return. Revenue would stabilize. Staffing could grow. Coverage could expand. Even in the face of inflation, rising costs, and economic pressure—including tariffs that affect printing and distribution—we could build a better paper than the one you hold today. It is what we want to do. And even though we struggle to cover everything with reduced staff, and reporters doubling as salespeople, and book keepers, I believe we’ve proven that. We’ve improved the website, increased our coverage, struck strategic alliances, and more.
More sports coverage. More student features. Deeper reporting. Stronger community pages. Broader coverage. And new digital tools, too. A newspaper worthy of its 140-year legacy.
But it all starts with subscribers. And it could all end without them.
That is why I am asking you—directly, urgently—to subscribe now. Not later. Don’t wait for us to fix things we need subscribers to fix. DO IT NOW!
Subscribing is how things improve. Go online. Your order can be processed instantly. You get immediate access to articles the moment you subscribe. And after all, it’s very affordable. A buck fifty a week is cheap! And it’s a real value. After all, subscribing to your local news is one of the few actions you can take that both keeps you informed and helps hold down the long-term costs of local government by ensuring accountability. In fact, I strongly believe even the $10 a month premium supporter level we recently launched is a great deal. And if you can afford it, we’d appreciate it.
If you own a business, or a non-profit, help us get more subscribers, so we can help you reach consumers and donors. A stronger subscriber base makes every ad more effective. Even now, back on our heels, ads in the Eagle prove effective. But help us get more subscribers, and they get more effective.
I have to stress this: as the Eagle Grove Eagle approaches its 140th year, it stands at a crossroads it has never faced before. Either this community steps forward and claims its newspaper—or it quietly lets it go.
I do not believe Eagle Grove wants to be the town that gave up on its own story! And I have put my money, and my effort behind that.
But belief alone won’t save this paper. And neither can I.
Only the collective action of our community can. In the weeks to come we’ll be hosting some events to shore the Eagle up. Rest assured Eagle Grove, I will NOT let this paper go down without one heck of a fight! I hope you’ll stand with me.
SAVE THIS NEWSPAPER. SUBSCRIBE NOW!
