HEART OF STEELE

It’s never easy for newspaper people to take time off, especially with a small staff like ours.

But as with any profession, it’s important to do something author Stephen Covey calls “sharpen the saw.” If you’ve read Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, you know the seventh habit has to do with taking time for physical, social/emotional, mental, and spiritual renewal.

Last week’s Editors & Publishers Community Leadership Program at Madden’s resort on Gull Lake did all that and more. Offered through the Minnesota News Media Institute and funded in part by the Blandin Foundation, the program brings the leaders of small newspapers together to talk about what makes a healthy community and how to develop their own leadership skills.

Against the backdrop of the frozen–yet still beautiful–Gull Lake, we talked about building social capital, framing issues, and inspiring action to better our communities. Publisher Rick Bussler and I represented the Steele County Times; others in attendance came from Northfield, Winsted, Two Harbors, Mankato, Baudette, Cambridge, Moose Lake, and Pine City.

Some in the group manage larger organizations with multiple mastheads, others were sole proprietors, acting in multiple roles. Still, we found common ground in the similar issues our communities face.

The one that rose to the top during one exercise was affordable housing. Ironically, I worked during the week on a story about a proposed Local Housing Trust that would chip away on the problem in Steele County.

I learned that Northfield has launched a rebranding initiative. The city is taking a close look at its identity–as is Owatonna.

We saw a graphic representation of local issues and our newspapers’ coverage in sticky notes that we placed under the Blandin Foundation’s “Nine Dimensions of Healthy Community,” the interrelated areas that are important to communities were people feel their needs are met, where they can work together for the common good and participate in building their future. (You can find more information at blandinfoundation.org.)

It was reassuring to see that Owatonna and Steele County have a lot going for them in each of these areas: Spirituality & Wellness, Lifelong Learning, Inclusion, Economic Opportunity, Recreational & Artistic Opportunity, Environmental Stewardship, Infrastructure, Safety & Security, and Community Leadership.

But of course, we can always do better.

That’s why part of the program involves making deeper connections within the community and coming up with an initiative designed to impact a specific issue. We’ll be deciding on that in the coming weeks and rolling out the details as we begin the work.

Now returned and refreshed from time in nature and with new friends, you can rest assured we will be putting our whole hearts into it.