There Ya Go
Ihave no problem if anyone out there is under the impression that the Headlight is struggling financially.
First it’s no secret that newspapers large and small are hurting — some more than others. Second, the Minnesota Newspaper Association has lobbied in both houses of the Minnesota State Legislature for monies to back a new internship program.
And finally, if you read Tara’s April 23 column, you know about the Minnesota Local News Giving Day, which is today (April 30).
The Minnesota News Institute partnered with Give Media MN to create a unique opportunity — with GiveMN are the ones behind the popular Give to the Max Day. Through this new partnership, “Local News Giving Day” kicked off on April 23. The new partnership allows readers and supporters to give a tax deductible donation to their local newspaper through the link on our website www.headlightherald.com. The funds are tracked, and donations to our specific paper will come back to us in the form of a grant.
We don’t expect to raise millions, or even thousands for that matter. It would be nice, of course, but this is the first time newspapers have done this, so who knows what we’ll get out of it.
If anything, we can gauge the public’s desire to keep their local papers alive. I hear time and time again how important the Headlight is to residents in Tracy and Balaton, and all of our surrounding hamlets.
Having people thank us for our work is very gratifying, believe me, but it doesn’t pay the bills. And bills are there. Costs are there. We’re facing ever-rising postal costs, just like you. We’re facing high gas prices, just like you.
Think about the latter for a sec. Every time I travel to cover something — whether it’s to Balaton or Marshall, or St. Paul for a state tournament — it comes with a price. I don’t want to get to a point where I have the say no to a request for coverage because we can’t afford it. That would be antithetical to what we’re trying to do here: keeping newspapers around.
However, reaching out for money like this, almost hat in hand if you will, is the most humbling thing I have ever been a part of in this industry. This is already a humbling lifestyle, but this kind of solicitation makes it even more so.
The tough part about this initiative is, it’s not charity. We’re a business, a for-profit, and that changes things. When I went from business to business during the last holiday season, I did so to raise money for our local Kiwanis Club, a non-profit effort. I saw during the last couple of months of 2025 the generosity of the Tracy community and was blown away by how easy it was to raise a couple thousands dollars.
And here I am again on the receiving end. It’s kind of weird when I think about it. Tara and I know full well we’re not laughing much on our way to the bank. It is a tough time for small-town newspapers. We’re asking for money to help keep the lights on, to help fuel up my Jeep so I can continue to cover our communities, our organizations and our wonderful student-athletes.
This column isn’t intended to inspire you to give us money; we’re not begging. We just want everyone to know that a little philanthropy can go a long way.
• Rest in peace, Alice Maas, who died earlier this month at age 104. I had to include this because Alice was such a devoted Headlight reader — and the oldest — before her death.
