OGDEN REPORTER VOWS CONTINUATION

       Here's the best news we've been able to report early this month........"the Ogden Reporter isn't going anywhere."

       Those were the latest words spoken, via facebook, by someone representing the Reporter.

        As indicated in the Korner earlier this month, Mid America of Hampton, owner of the Reporter and the Madrid Register News, plus papers in 14 other Iowa counties, were finally succumbing to the pressures all of print media seem to face these days, "dwindling readership and advertising revenue" They announced they were closing all the counties doors April first. 

         That decision, many miles away, seemed to "wrap up" the long history of the two Boone County newspapers who have kept their communities and area informed, connected and heard since early this century and beyond.

          HOWEVER, one important caveat has still breathed life into this devastating story. Their seem to be fighters in those communities who refuse this acceptance.

          Regarding the Reporter, facebook said, "plans are in place for the Reporter to continue publication" and similar whispers have been heard regarding the Register News.

          So, nothing official to report yet........other than some individuals or groups are fighting to "stay alive and continue serving." 

          Let's remain hopeful.

K-----K

            I, the Kornerman served as a Boone Little League/Babe Ruth baseball coach for 25 years. Many stories, large and small, from those experiences, seem to pop up quite often. Everything from guiding a group of young Boone men, 13-15 years of age, to participation in the 1962 Babe Ruth World Series in New Jersey to simple interactions with players that produced a laugh or, perhaps, even a tear or two.

            Freddy Hagaman passed the other day at 76 years of age....how can it be. A Boone High graduate with the class of 1968, Fred was one of those hundreds of young men who I had the pleasure of working with. But there's more.

            In all honesty, Fred was not a gifted baseball player. But, perhaps, just his presence and attitude were even more important to our team than singles or putouts. He, without doubt, was one of the most enthusiastic young men I ever coached......always willing, always able........just the type of teammate always desired.

            Jeff Courter, BHS-80, remembered Fred as an assistant coach on a Dodger youth team he was a member of. 

             I'll never forget......Fred came to practice one day with a different pair of baseball shoes and wasn't he proud. The smile still remains as he showed me his shoes with the promise......"now, I'll really be able to run fast."

              Just one of those moments that remain in the mind of a 91 year old after all these years.

K-----K

              The Korner's Chief Eastern Iowa correspondent Andy Anderson has a story to tell.

              He says, "In 1963, while attending Boone Junior College, I met a young man who was a "boarder" at the Boone Biblical college. His name was Ken Kamau and he was from Nairobi, Kenya. In 1997, I was checking in at a hotel in Milwaukee. The hotel receptionist was an African American with a British accent and in our discussion, I learned she was from Kenya Nairobi AND SHE KNEW KEN."

               Andy had no connection with Ken in more than 30 years and was told that he was teaching African history in Milwaukee. After a few telephone calls, he was talking to Ken, they eventually got together, and he gave Andy a wonderful gift from Africa. 

               Several years later, Andy felt compelled to try to contact his friend. However, it was discovered that Ken had died in 2014.

K-----K

            Worldwide Korner headquarters are still located at 928 South Jackson, Boone, Iowa 50036-4932. Phone number is 515-432-1530. Leave a message. To email your stories/memories/comments/death notices.......https://kelleyskorner1@blogspot.com. 

                 

             

           

          

          

         

BOONE/AREA CONNECTED DEATHS

       Kenneth Lee Shafer, 84. Raised in Boone. BHS-60. ITT Technical Institute in Des Moines, 1962. Was a computer operator for Ruan Transport before a 44 years career as an IT Administrator for the D.O.T., retiring in 2007. Married Debra Zanker in 1987. Completed flying lessons in 1985. Enjoyed photography, sports, organizing class reunions and weekly coffee meetings with classmates. Ken found joy in service to others. Survivors include his wife, Debra, sister Elaine Nelson, sons Scott, Steven and Brent and daughters Sara and Emily. Twin sister Karen is deceased. An intimate family gathering is planned.

       Ross Williams, 76, Boone.  

BOONE/AREA CONNECTED DEATHS

        Christine Rosemary Cromwell, 70, Boone. Born in New York. Settled in Boone in 2020 after retirement. Was an avid reader and a member of Boone Sacred Heart Church. Survivors include a son, Christopher Cromwell, of Boone and three sisters. A memorial service will be held in Boone.     

        Raymond Leslie "Ray"  LeMaster, 89, Ames. Born in Ogden. The family moved to Boone in 1950. BHS-54. Married Shirley Munsen Mestdaugh in 1956. He became an immediate father, via Shirley's three-year old who he eventually adopted. Shirley and Ray also became the parents of son Jeff Jay and daughter Koreen Kay. As an Iowa Air Guard veteran, he served from 1956-64 and was activated during the Berlin crisis, serving a year in France. In 1959, he began a career with the John Deere Des Moines Works in Ankeny. He became a union rep, supervisor and finally, night shift supervisor until retirement in 1999 after 40 years. In 1994, his marraige to Shirley was disolved and in 1996, he married Anita Marie Laisure Wirtz. The couple made their home in Ames. Ray enjoyed golf, was a Hawkeye fan and loved his miniature schnauzers. Ray served as a volunteer firefighter, worked at a gas station and a salesman at J.C. Peterson Clothing store in his early years, He also served as a Sunday School teacher and Deacon at Boone's Central Christian church and religion was an important part of his life. Survivors include his wife, Anita, her children, Joshua, Courtney and Justin Wirtz and spouses and his children, Robin Gogerty of Madrid, Jeff and Koreen and their spouses. Services in Ames.    

       Dave Keithley, 82, Boone. Born in Oklahoma. Navy vet. Married Carol Kaufman Portkonak in Oklahoma in 1987. Dave worked and traveled 50 countries repairing electrical equipment and computers. He worked thirty days and then took thirty days off. He said he enjoyed getting paid yearly but only working six months a year. A VFW member, he enjoyed watching Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune. Survivors include his wife, Carol, a step-son, Dan (Mary Jo)  Potkonak, a daughter, Erin Keithley, and two sisters. A private service will be held.     

        David Lee Tesdahl, 78, Marion. Born in Boone. Parents were David and Virginia (Clark) Tesdahl. Iowa City HS. Associate degree from Orange Coast College in California. Marine vet. Married Catherine Marie Madden in 1997. Retired from Nordstrom Direct A man of deep faith and unwavering pride in his Norwegian heritage. Very active religiously. Enjoyed sports and was an avid fisherman. Honor Flight member. Survivors include his wife, Catherine, and a sister, Suzetta Miller, of Hawkeye, IA. Was cremated. 

NEWS VETERANS RESPOND TO NEWSPAPER CLOSURES

        Occasionally, we say......"no news is".......but golly, I don't know anymore......it seems there's more bad than good news.

        Haven't got any more particulars to report on the recent Ogden Reporter/Madrid Register News story.  The proposed closure date has silently passed and there have been small rumbles of some one or groups as potential buyers. But no dramatic conclusions have been aired.

        Of course, the Korner does have access to a pair of local, long time communication experts who serve as our go-toos when it comes to such matters. So, let's lean to some of their thinking in this regard.

         I'm proud to call Richard Longworth, BHS-53, a classmate of mine. Dick has reached the pinnacle of journalistic success in many ways, including Pulitzer Prize nominations, during his long career, primarily with the Chicago Tribune and United Press International and now, the Chicago Council on Global Affairs. For 20 years, he served as the Tribune's Chief European Correspondent with work in 80 countries over five continents.

          We've been in contact and I gladly lean on his perspective on this issue. In fact, he informs me that he has forwarded our story to the Local News Initiative at the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University, Dick's alma mater.

           Richard wrote, "that group is doing the best scholarly work on the decline of local newspapers. They tell me, no fewer than 3,500 American Newspapers, mostly small town papers, have vanished in the past 20 years. The result is "news deserts," which they define as "counties with no locally based source of original news at grass-roots levels that meets community needs." Sounds like Boone County right now."

           He continued, "So what? What do we need newspapers for anyway? The usual answer is the keeping of an eye on local government and our tax dollars at work. But, I think there's an even more important reason. Local newspapers are a public diary, printing the every-day stuff that adds up to life in a real community. Good journalism is a conversation between reporters and readers and between the readers themselves, sort of a corner table in a cafe with the entire town listening. A newspaper chronicles a town's past and present. If you don't know where you've been or where you are, how can you decide, as a community, where you want to go?"

           In a nice conclusion to his remarks, Richard said, "there's no real replacement for dead newspapers. Kelley's Korner, or the like, is one that comes closest, a real conversation between you and your readers. You do such valuable work. Keep it up."

           Your editor replies, "the blood still flows and oxygen is fairly consistent BUT at 91, I wonder how much of my time remains and is there someone out there to "fill the gap" when needed?"

            Another good friend, Vern Modeland, BHS-50, adds, "here's another example of a way of life fading away. Or is it pushed away? Things fade from age, weakness or a lack of interest, but fade when there is no one left who cares or can push'em along. You've done that for the News Republican. You keep alive a twinkle of the good "old" Boone that had a vibrant downtown, a bustling community with a twinkle in its eye when we all, young and old alike, used to see Saturday nights downtown to be a humming place to park, walk and talk to each other. But, today's media for the lazy has taken over or is being steered to put face-to-face communications on the chopping block. More and more someone else is doing the thinking and pushing. Big entities with lots of money and lots of one mission, to do our thinking for us and making big seem better. Do the homework and it appears the only "Big" in history took something away to get there. However, it's the ants that keep the colony humming, not whatever you call the one at the top."

             Vern, of course, is another hero of mine, who took his great BHS education further than many with broadcasting work at KWBG, KFJB of Marshalltown, KJFJ of Webster City and then 10 years as an assignment news journalist for WHO radio and television in Des Moines. He added later work in marketing communications and photography for  Beech Aircraft and Gates Lear Jet in Wichita, communications for Silver Dollar City in Branson, Cox Medical Centers in Missouri and finally, at the Food and Drug Administration in Washington D.C..

K-----K

            Worldwide Korner headquarters are still located at 928 South Jackson, Boone, Iowa 50036-4932. Phone number is 515-432-1530. Leave a message. To email your stories/memories/comments/ death notices.......https://kelleyskorner1@blogspot.com. 

 

            

            

BOONE/AREA CONNECED DEATHS

       Fred Hagaman, 76, Ames. Born in Boone. BHS-68 where he participated in cross country. Fred married Kathy James in 1992 in Minnesota. He started work as a semi-truck driver, became a custodian at Iowa State and Mary Greeley and then a stocker at HyVee. He was an active member of the Moose Lodge and a lifetime sports fan, playing for and managing various youth teams. The couple also enjoyed fishing at Don Williams. Survivors include his wife, Kathy, a daughter, Amy (Mike) Deaton, three step-children, Chris (Laura) Goodwin, Ben (Heather) Goodwin and Laura Sauceda, and a sister, Jan Price. Service in Boone.

BOONE/AREA CONNECTED DEATHS

       Brenda Lee Steuerwald McMahon, 67, Boone. Born in Fort Dodge. Stratford HS-77. Married Steve McMahon in Boone in 1980. Started work at the Stratford Nursing Home but in 1979, she joined Fareway as a secretary and was, later, promoted to Assistant Buyer. She retired from Fareway in 2021 after 42 years of service there. Brenda was a loyal Hawkeye fan, a bowling team member and when the couple purchased a speed boat, she loved water activities such as skiing and fishing. With a positive attitude and kind heart, Brenda found the best in everyone. Survivors include her husband, Steve, daughters Erin (Brad) Kleinwolterink and Tory (Lane) McKay as well as sisters, Carol, Donna and Lynn. Services in Boone.

     Dietrich (Deke) Becker, 74, Moore, OK. Born in Oelwein. Former Ogden resident. Married to Dianna McCoy. He enjoyed fishing, car shows and was known for a strong work ethic and sense of humor. Deke worked as an engineer for the BAFS railroad. Survivors include his wife and three children. Services in Ogden with burial in Beaver.

     Timothy Joseph (Tim) McCoy, 75, Jefferson. Big St. Louis Cardinal fan. Attended DMACC, Boone Campus. Services in Jefferson. 

FACING THE FINAL CURTAIN

     Perhaps we knew it was coming.........but didn't know when.

     And now, it appears, the time HAS come. 

     Two longtime Boone County newspapers will apparently shut down their operations for good in very short order. In fact, the end of publication of both the Ogden Reporter and Madrid Register News will be this coming Wednesday, April 1, 2026.

      The Ogden and Madrid newspapers are not alone. Small town newspapers in 15 Iowa counties are affected. All of the affected newspapers have been guided by an Iowa based publishing company, Mid America Publishing of Hampton, which has announced its permanent closure.

      The Ogden/Madrid editor for those two publications has indicated that no one has expressed interest in buying them, thus, the difficult decision to conclude operations.

       Madrid editor Craig Schultz was quoted as saying, "there's still a chance if someone wants to come in on the 11th hour to buy the publications, it's possible. But, as it stands, this is the end." A few other newspapers are still hopeful of survival also, due to pending discussions of possible purchase.

       Many of these newspapers have been in operation for many years, some since before 1900.

       A Mid-America Regional Editor said that dwindling readership and advertising revenue have taken their toll on newspapers across the country. He said it was " a sad time for both our company and the communities we have served."

K-----K

       Worldwide Korner headquarters are located at 928 South Jackson, Boone Iowa, 50036-4892. Phone number is 515-432-1530. Leave a message. To email stories/memories/comments/death notices........https:/kelleyskorner1@blogspot.com.