Signing off, but not saying goodbye

Written by Kari Sundberg

After more than 12 years as the editor of the Grygla Eagle Newspaper, it’s crazy to think this is my final issue after doing about 625 of them. Like those who came before me, I was the one-person show behind this small-town paper that’s managed to make a big impact around here. Marie (Anderson) Konickson was the very first editor, followed by Joy Nordby, who poured 30 years into this paper and community. Then came Jolene Holthusen, Mike Mickelson, Dan Harris, and me, since 2013. 

Growing up, I always wanted to be a news anchor on TV. I also wanted to be an author. I moved to Grygla, I was busy raising kids, but I guess you could say I bloomed where I was planted (Grygla style) because I became both the editor of the Grygla Eagle and the local librarian. I’d say that’s about as close to my childhood dream as it gets. When I first took this job, I really hoped I’d be lucky enough to keep it while my kids were growing up. Incredibly, it worked out that way. What a gift. 

It’s been a great run, but now it’s time for something new. I’m excited to look ahead to my next chapter: launching The Northern Neighbor, a 100% digital news platform with a strong advertising focus. I want to shine a brighter light on the businesses and organizations that keep this area buzzing. They’re the ones filling up our calendars, pitching in at fundraisers, awarding scholarships to local graduates and showing up for the community in so many big and small ways. But you’ve read a bit about that in recent issues so for now, I want to take a moment to reflect.

Over the years, there have been so many moments that stand out. The consistency of our school is a big one. From sports to concerts, fundraisers to graduations, I loved showing up over the years, capturing the big and small moments that define our community. Kids lit up when they saw their faces in the paper. Adults? Not always. Most dodged the camera while the kids ran toward it. I was known by many as “the newspaper lady” and by a few who called me “Joy Nordby, Jr.” (A title I wore proudly.)

Some readers saw me as a lifeline, like the Blankenfelds, who sent handwritten letters of thanks, reminding me that this job mattered. Others may have felt I poked and prodded too much…some maybe not enough. With any job, you have hard days. Days you wonder if you were cut out to do it. Days you feel like quitting. Days you receive criticism, but also days you receive notes of praise that lift you up. I’m so glad I stuck through it all.

I have had a lot of fun over the years balancing the flow of community news, ads, church notes, DNR reports, school updates, farm tidbits and the stories of the people who live here. There’s no one right way to do a newspaper, but the Grygla Eagle always felt like it was done the right way as a hometown newspaper. Even as social media grew louder, I knew that print still mattered, especially for those not scrolling and swiping through life. Even if some stories were “old” to Facebook users, they were brand new and meaningful to others.

Some of the stories that stuck with me the most were the deeply personal ones. Veterans sharing their service experiences. Many of those interviews happened face-to-face, and I always felt honored to sit with them and listen. Some stories made me laugh, others brought me to tears and a few shared things they never wanted printed. Those were often the moments that meant the most.

I think about the cancer survivors who bravely opened up about their journeys in honor of articles for various cancer awareness months. I think about community members we lost, like Jim and Gloria Holte, who died in a plane crash almost ten years ago to this day. I’ll never forget sitting on their front porch with their sons, trying my best to write the most difficult story I’d ever write for the newspaper. And now, all these years later, I’m writing this letter from that very same front porch because it’s home to me now. So many of these stories are just a part of me. 

Every August, I’d look forward to one renewal in particular: my dad’s. He’d send his subscription back with a little note telling me how proud he was or how much he loved me. He’d draw something funny, throw in a little lunch or coffee money. I looked forward to getting that envelope every August. I saved every one. 

And I couldn’t leave without mentioning Joy Nordby. It was a no-brainer to ask her to write one last “Letter from home” for this issue. Joy WAS the paper to me. She did it in the golden days, the 70s, 80s, 90s, when newspapers were in their prime. No social media. No smartphones. Just the pure joy of seeing your name in print. What a time that must’ve been.

This paper has thrived for over 50 years. Its pages tell the story of this town. Those stories will live on in our memories, yes, but also in the bound archive books that will now be housed by the City of Grygla. Flip through them anytime. Relive the weddings, the wins, new babies, goodbyes, fundraisers, farm highlights, new businesses popping up. Relive the life of a town that’s always had a lot of heart. There’s a few years missing from the collection, but for the most part, they’re all there, quietly holding the moments that made us. 

Thank you to Dick and Corrine Richards for taking a chance on me. Thank you to every single subscriber, story-sharer, critic, encourager and advertiser.

Thank you, Grygla, for letting me bloom right here.

See you soon, 

Kari Sundberg, Eagle Editor