In a time of the world where newspapers are facing dire straights to keeping their doors open, the New York Mills Dispatch continues to provide weekly news, sports and community coverage to the greater northeast portion of Otter Tail County. 

The publication began in 2013 when a group of community members approached Henning Publications, LLC, owners Chad and Dani Koenen about starting a newspaper in NY Mills. At the time the Koenens also owned the Citizen’s Advocate in Henning and lived just outside of Deer Creek. 

The first issue of the NY Mills Dispatch came out in January 2013 and has been published every week since.  

In addition to the Dispatch, Henning Publications, LLC, also publishes the Citizen’s Advocate in Henning and the Frazee-Vergas Forum. In 2024 the Koenens also purchased the Sebeka Menahga Review Messenger just north of NY Mills.

“We are a small staff, but we do our best to be in as many places as we can be at once to cover what is going on in our own backyard. We understand we can’t be everywhere all the time with a limited staff, but we definitely do the best we can,” said Chad. “While the world continues to evolve into digital platforms, we still feel there is a need and desire for a print newspaper in small town communities. There is something to be said about holding a newspaper in your hands and being able to cut out pictures for scrapbooks each week. You don’t get to do that with Facebook or other social media websites.”

In addition to Chad and Dani, the staff at the Dispatch includes receptionist/reporter Tucker Henderson and advertising salesperson Kristy Helmbrecht. Robert Williams, who is the editor of the Frazee-Vergas Forum and Rachel Poser, who is a graphic artist, also contribute to the newspaper in NY Mills. 

Even though the local newspaper has been going strong since 2013, the Dispatch is not exempt from many of the challenges facing the newspaper industry across the country. Increased competition from the likes of social media and large media companies, along with increasing prices from tariffs and staffing/product shortages has resulted in a number of newspapers across the state of Minnesota and the country to close in recent months. Dramatic increases in postage has also led to increased costs in shipping newspapers to subscribers across the country. 

“Newspapers are facing a lot of the same challenges many small town businesses are facing today with rising costs and less discretionary income people have to spend on items in their own community,” said Chad. “We heard from one business owner just last week who said the cost for many of their parts has went up almost 40 percent in the past year. We got burgers and fries to go for our family of four the other day and it was over $65. It’s just crazy how expensive things are today.”

Facing deep financial troubles, News Media Corp shut down 23 news operations in Wyoming, Illinois, Arizona, South Dakota and Nebraska a few weeks ago. In Minnesota alone the Fulda Free Press, Murray County News, Nobles County Review, and Murray County Advantage all closed in July, and the Leader Record, Grygla Eagle, Red Lake County Herald, and McIntosh Times closed in May. The American in Blackduck will publish its final edition on September 27. 

“Like other newspapers and small businesses, we need community support to keep our doors open. A vast majority of our income comes from advertising of community events and from businesses promoting themselves and events in the newspaper. Without the support of things like advertising and subscriptions it becomes awfully hard for a newspaper to stay in operation,” said Chad. “It’s definitely a challenging time for newspapers that’s for sure, but I’m hopeful for the future as well.”

In addition to publishing a newspaper and operating a website, the Dispatch also offers colored copies, custom print design work, plat book sales and custom logo designs. The Dispatch has the ability to print and design just about everything a person can imagine, including event posters and signs. 

“We offer a little bit of everything for people and really try to be a one-stop shop for everyone in the community. We do print and design a number of posters and banners, as well as have a custom print shop for everything from envelopes to letterhead,” said Chad. 

A one-year subscription to the Dispatch is just $42 for Otter Tail County residents, which is less-than the cost of a tank of gas. The cost for a one year subscription is also a fraction of the cost of several local weekly newspapers in the area. However, every subscription is an important way to keep this locally-owned publication going for another year. 

The NY Mills Dispatch office is open five days a week, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Monday through Thursday and from 9 a.m. to  3 p.m. on Friday. The Dispatch can be viewed online at www.nymdispatch.com.

The main office for the Dispatch is located at 17 E. Centennial 84 Dr. in downtown NY Mills (the former Hardware Hank building across the street from Lakeland Auto Repair and next to Vaughn Auto).