HOT PURSUIT

Over the years I have seen numerous occasions where the news media doesn’t get everything right, for any number of reasons. In simple terms, we get duped. While it doesn’t happen often, at least on the local level, the risk is always present.

Good journalism relies on accurate sources. We recently found ourselves in a situation that is unfortunate for all involved. Last week, we published a story about Steele County’s recent approval of a new digital data retention policy. To verify the facts, our veteran reporter, Kay Fate – who brings 35 years of trusted reporting experience – reached out directly to the state organization overseeing these policies. Fate is one of the most experienced journalists of any media organization in southern Minnesota.

She diligently reported on the information she was given by the state, along with comments from local officials. Unfortunately, a state official provided Fate with inaccurate information that fundamentally changed the premise of our story. This error only came to light after our print edition was published.

Our immediate priority is accuracy. We updated the online version as soon as the error was discovered, ahead of any outside notifications. A fully corrected and verified version of the story is published on the front page of this week’s edition.

We take full accountability for the initial error and apologize to our readers. We are actively refining our verification process to ensure this does not happen again. While the response from some county officials has included personal attacks against our staff, our focus remains strictly on ethical, professional and accurate reporting for our community.

For an editorial team like ours, we want nothing more than to present readers with accurate, ethical and timely information. Maintaining public trust is the cornerstone of our mission, and we view every story we publish as a direct commitment to the truth. We hold ourselves to the highest ethical benchmarks, ensuring that our reporting remains a reliable anchor for the community. After all, an informed community makes a better community.   

We hope the silver lining in this latest incident will be a far-reaching reminder to officials and sources that the information they provide must be completely accurate. We love covering this community and want its residents to have the most reliable information possible.

For our part, we will continue to uphold the rigorous standards of verification our community expects and deserves.

As always, we’re in hot pursuit of tracking down the truth, and something like this reinforces the importance of what we do.