MILAN, Minn. - The Milan Standard published its final edition this week after a 103-year run, ending the community's claim to be the smallest Minnesota town with its own weekly newspaper.
"We lost a piece of our identity," said Ron Anderson, mayor of the western Chippewa County town of 326 people.
Publisher Leslie Ehrenberg of the Appleton Press, which has owned and published the Milan Standard since 1983, said it was no longer economically feasible to publish the small weekly paper.
But Ehrenberg said the decision was very difficult.
"It's the emotional ties. It's very hard to let it go," Ehrenberg said.
But Milan residents won't be without printed news. Ehrenberg said she plans to devote at least two pages in the Appleton Press each week to Milan. The works of all the local contributors to the Standard will continue to be published, she said.
Andrea Johnson, editor of the Milan Standard, will continue to provide regular news coverage as well, Ehrenberg said, and Milan Standard subscribers will receive the Appleton Press in its place at no additional cost.
The mayor said Kurt Dahl, publisher of the Montevideo American-News, told him that his paper also will devote a page each week to Milan.
The Milan Standard was one of Minnesota's smallest weekly newspapers with a circulation that ranged between 420 and 450.
Nearly all of the town's postal patrons subscribed, said Joy Olson, postmaster relief for Milan. Most of those living in town timed their Tuesday visits to the Post Office to arrive just after 1:30 p.m., when they knew the newspaper would be in their boxes, she said.
"Everybody is disappointed that it can't keep going," said Olson. "They understand why, but it is sad to see it go."
Advertising revenue hasn't covered the costs of producing the newspaper, Ehrenberg said.
The Milan Standard began publication on Aug. 14, 1903. It acquired the Watson Journal in 1960 and became the Milan Standard/Watson Journal. Johnson Publishing, owned by Ehrenberg's late father Loren Johnson and her uncle Curtis Johnson, purchased the Milan Standard in 1983.
There are strong family ties between the Appleton and Milan newspapers. Ehrenberg and Standard editor Johnson are sisters-in-law. But both women emphasize that the newspaper has always been the product of a team that goes well beyond their family.
Ehrenberg said including Milan news in the 3,600-circulation Appleton Press will make it a stronger newspaper. The two towns are only eight miles apart and news that was duplicated in the papers can now be published more economically in one newspaper. Advertisers also will reach a larger market, she said.
