Community Connection: The backbone of the local newspaper

Over the past month, we have looked at a variety of ways the People’s Press has stood as a pillar in the Owatonna community for 150 years.

We make the first rough draft of history, we promote and examine the business economy, we play a vital role in voter awareness each and every election.

But the reality is, we do so much more than that, and it would take at least 150 more years to detail it all.

So on the last day of celebrating our sesquicentennial, I want to take a time to talk about one final thing, what I believe is the most important role this local newspaper of ours plays.

For 150 years, the People’s Press has been bringing the community together, connecting us to one another, reminding everyone that we are on the same team.

We don’t typically come out like this and say it, but we show it. And we feel it. We feel it every time someone calls wanting to know more about a nonprofit and how they can donate or volunteer. We feel it every time a reader stops in and purchases an extra copy for a story they think their neighbor would also like. We feel it every time someone writes a letter to the editor, applauding what they have seen in the community.

It is impossible to miss that thing that makes Owatonna truly unique, that we are all in this together.

Every time there is a major storm, we inevitably have a story about strangers helping strangers clean up their yards.

When the holidays roll around, you know there will be a story on Lisa Korbel and her Kindness Crew, the sweetest group of fundraisers who, despite being under the age of 5, spend weeks contributing to local charities and making a difference.

Or when we lose people, due to tragedy or health or old age, and we mourn and grieve as one.

This year perhaps more than any other, I have seen the power of Owatonna going the extra mile for one another. When we lost 18-year-old Olivia Flores (May 19), 79-year-old Jackie Ostlund, 34-year-old Jacob O’Brien (May 30) and 44-year-old Chet Macht (June 9). You could feel it in the air — we were all standing still, holding our breath, not wanting to risk another tragedy.

But that didn’t last, because that’s not who Owatonnans are. We fundraise. We celebrate. We advocate. We live out the legacy of those who have come before us so they may never be forgotten.

And all of that is seen in the pages of the People’s Press. Whether it is a feel-good story about a dog finding the Bold and Cold Medallion, or a heart-wrenching account of a vulnerable older adult being mistreated, each and every time without fail, the community rallies together in unity.

Even in the times where we have to ask the hard questions, time and time again we have seen the community decided that there is opportunity to be better. But it is always to be better together.

We don’t cut people down, even when they are imperfect. We lift people up, because we are connected to one another. And at the People’s Press, we are so proud to tell that story time and time again.

Thank you, readers, for the past month of celebration. For the past 150 years of community service. For the whatever the future brings next.

We are local like you, and we are proud.