The end has come for four newspapers in northwest Minnesota, but not for the commercial printing side of the publishing business associated with them.

Dick Richards, who in 1972 founded Richards Publishing alongside his wife, Corrine, said the age of social media is a hard time for newspapers, especially those on the smaller side.

“I think we all realized what’s happening, and that it’s going to social media,” he said. “Everybody’s got their thumbs on their phones and that’s the way it’s going to be.”

The Leader Record (which covers Clearbrook, Gonvick and nearby small communities), Grygla Eagle, Red Lake County Herald and McIntosh Times all will be closing at the end of May, with final issues coming out May 28. The announcement of the closure was written by Kari Sundberg, editor of the Grygla Eagle. It was a decision made after taking a hard look at revenue vs. expenses. Richards said the commercial printing part of his company makes up 80% of the business, and the newspapers 20%. However, the newspapers make up much more than 20% of the costs. Part of the issue has been fewer subscribers and especially fewer advertisers, he said.

“I think the trouble started with Walmart coming into our towns and shutting down our main streets, our grocery stores, our hardware stores,” Richards said. “Then COVID was kind of a nail in the coffin when everything shut down and advertising stopped. … (Advertisers) didn’t come back to newspapers — they stayed with social media and that sort of thing. I think you can look at any newspaper and see that.”

Sundberg wrote, “while we explored all possible avenues, including the idea of going fully digital to cut printing and postage costs, the numbers simply couldn’t support the path forward. In 2024 alone, the combined revenue for all four of our newspapers totaled less than our expenses.”

Lisa Hills, executive director of the Minnesota Newspaper Association, said it’s always a sad day when a community loses its newspaper. People need to subscribe to and support their local newspapers, she said.

“That’s really the way the community gets its accurate information,” she said. “They’re the heart and soul of the community, and so news (of closures) is always heartbreaking and sad.”

It’s tough in this day and age to be a community newspaper, she said, considering how the advertising base has changed — there are fewer locally owned businesses — as well as skyrocketing postage rates.

Richards recalls coming back to the area with his wife in 1972 and founding the company, and the 50-some years since. He has been focused on the production in the printing, marketing and sales side, while Corrine has focused on the production of the newspapers. She also does some of the reporting.

The closure of the four papers feels like “a death in the family,” Richards said. He hates to lose the papers, but there is a bit of relief from lifting the financial burden off the rest of the business. People are understanding of it, he said. He mentioned a recent school board meeting his wife covered.

“They all knew this was going to be the last report that she’d make for that school board, and they had a gift for her and thanked her for her services over the many years,” Richards said. “That’s kind of the way the community feels about it. They hate to lose the newspapers but they understand the situation.”