Turning a corner in life

A couple big things happened in my small world last week: I applied for Social Security benefits on the cusp of 64 years, and The Storm Lake Times broke even in March.

It’s queer that you have to apply for what is yours. I received an automated email telling me that I navigated the online obstacle course to the money I have been paying in since age 14. Please wait. We may contact you by phone or mail with questions. You must provide a copy of your marriage license to a Social Security office at an undisclosed location.

My questions are: When do I get what is mine? And where is that Social Security office? I await answers in the mail.

In May, I should lighten the payroll of Buena Vista County’s Hometown Newspaper. Readers will not be rid of me. I will continue as editor and columnist, while shedding some shackles of newspaper production. Forty years editing on deadline while the clock ticks and a pressman taps his toe wears on a fella. Jake Kurtz can have that fun. I will continue to peer over his shoulder, and son Tom’s.

The past couple years proved that our staff can produce the best community newspaper in America without me riding herd. Shut in on Irving Street the last year, the pandemic drove home the need for change. Revenue was abysmal. January and February were catastrophic. It became clear that heaving me overboard while remaining tied to the boat was the way to go. I give up a few hundred bucks a month by not waiting until I turn 67. But who knows if I will hit that marker? Get it back while you can.

The same day I asked for my savings, Fearless Leader John Cullen reported that we broke even in March. It was driven by a subscription increase of about 70%, almost all digital. Print circulation remains strong. Saints be praised! We had seen steady growth in circulation since last May, but it was not enough to cover our steep loss in advertising revenue. We appealed to readers and they responded. The trend held through April, and we pray it will going forward. Thank you. It makes me blow my nose.

We also realized that we will need help beyond reader revenue. In January, the IRS approved non-profit status for the Western Iowa Journalism Foundation. The foundation is accepting tax-deductible contributions for The Storm Lake Times, the Carroll Times Herald, LaPrensa of Denison and other independent, family-owned newspapers in the region. We raised about $50,000 so far, mainly in small donations. I will work more on larger donations. With both Moderna shots logged, it’s about time to hit the road.

As John noted Friday, a documentary about The Times explores the tenuous future of community journalism. Iowa lost six newspapers last year — there are some 300 “news deserts” where no voice exists across the USA. The film provides us an opportunity to make a larger argument for saving journalism that restores civic engagement and comity.

I figure I have one more good act left in me. We have gained some notoriety the past couple years, for better or worse. It’s time to spend that capital stumping for rural communities and the journalism that binds them, before both are lost.

Also, St. Mary’s High School classmate Marty Case and I are at work on a book that our agent, at least, tells us is promising. It has to do with Iowa values.

A core value is building a civic life in your community. That’s what this newspaper is about. We are determined to preserve and strengthen it. It appears we are on our way.

I would have preferred to wait on Social Security. It reminds me that who I see in the mirror is not that boy wishing he could shave like his big brother with the ’stache. This pandemic made many realities unshakeable. One is that journalism is indispensable to an informed electorate. So we do what is necessary. On the same day you bite that bullet, the March numbers indicate we may have hit bottom. We can steer this boat through the shoals. If we can build that foundation, we can provide for more and better reporting that leads to a stronger Storm Lake. We spent the last year hunkering down. It feels like we are ready to break loose. We’re going to make the most of it. You can’t imagine our gratitude for your support. Full steam ahead.