Photo courtesy of Above the Fold Publishing Buffalo Ridge Newspapers owners Chuck and Pam Hunt, at left, have sold their assets, including three newspapers in Lincoln County, to Tara Brandl and Per Peterson of Above the Fold Publishing in Tracy.

dgau@marshallindependent.com

TRACY — A change in ownership is coming for three weekly newspapers in Lincoln County starting Jan. 1.

The new publishers say they’re focused on keeping local news coverage alive.

“The biggest thing is, we don’t like to see small-town newspapers close,” said Per Peterson, one of the owners of Above the Fold Publishing of Tracy. “People need their news.”

Last week, the owners of Buffalo Ridge Newspapers, the company that publishes the Tyler Tribute, the Lake Benton Valley Journal and the Hendricks Pioneer, announced they were selling the three papers to Above the Fold Publishing. Above the Fold currently publishes the Tracy Area Headlight Herald newspaper.

In announcing the sale, Above the Fold co-owner Tara Brandl said it was exciting to expand their business to the Tyler, Lake Benton and Hendricks areas.

“Community journalism is at the core of our business,” Brandl said. “We understand the importance a community newspaper brings. From celebrating school championships, to covering community tragedies, to being the watchdog for local taxpayers, the local newspaper is an integral part of the community.”

Buffalo Ridge Newspapers owners Chuck and Pam Hunt have operated the business for the past 40 years, the Tyler Tribute reported.

“We have always tried to produce the best newspapers possible for these great towns of Lincoln County,” Chuck Hunt said in the Tribute. “We are very pleased that Tara and Per are taking over the reins of these three newspapers. They are very experienced newspaper publishers, and we are sure they will continue to give these three towns, and the surrounding area, a great newspaper.”

Brandl and Peterson started Above the Fold Publishing in 2019, and took over operations of Tracy Publishing from longtime owners Jim Keul and Seth Schmidt. Brandl and Peterson are both from southwest Minnesota. Brandl is a 1999 graduate of RTR High School, and Peterson is a 1990 graduate of Tracy Area High School. Both have decades of experience with the newspaper industry.

Before forming Above the Fold, Brandl was advertising manager at the Marshall Independent, and Peterson was the Independent’s managing newsroom editor. Peterson also started covering Tracy area news for the Headlight Herald in 2017.

Peterson said the transfer of ownership for the three Buffalo Ridge newspapers was something that was six years in the making. Chuck Hunt had approached the Above the Fold owners about the idea more than once, he said.

“Tara and I had a number of discussions,” Peterson said.

He said a big part of the reason they decided to buy the business was to help keep the three Buffalo Ridge newspapers viable. All three newspapers were doing a good job of covering their communities, he said.

“They have great staff at each paper,” Peterson said. “They’re good at what they do.” The ownership transition would not be possible without those staff members, he said.

The Tyler Tribute, Lake Benton Valley Journal and Hendricks Pioneer will all continue to publish, and won’t be absorbed into the Headlight Herald, Above the Fold owners said.

“There’s not going to be layoffs. We’re not going to close a paper down,” Peterson said. “It’s going to be as seamless as we can make it.”