Lutgens prepares for post-journalism life
A LONG TIME — Since June of 1981, Jim Lutgens has worked in community journalism. Here, he’s caught with his camera during a homecoming parade. (Photo by Rodney Hatle)
By MELANIE PILTINGSRUD
Staff Writer
Jim Lutgens was a seasoned newspaper writer when he bought the New Richland Star in 2005.
At the age of 20, the Waseca native landed his first job as the sports editor at the Waseca Weekly, which later became the Waseca County News.
Lutgens took a few journalism classes, but mostly learned on the job. His boss at the Waseca newspaper, Mike Johnson, showed him how to lay out pages during his first week of employment, and Lutgens' education continued from that point on.
Subsequently, Lutgens worked as a reporter for the Albert Lea Tribune from April – Dec. 1987, and was awarded a Certificate of Appreciation from the Albert Lea Superintendent for his “thoroughness and accuracy” in covering school board meetings.
Then, Lutgens was hired to be the sports editor for Minnesota Suburban Newspapers in the northern suburbs of the Twin Cities, where, from 1988 – '90, he covered sports for seven high schools: Columbia Heights, Concordia Academy, Fridley, Irondale, Mounds View, Roseville Area, and Totino-Grace. “It was kind of fun and it wasn't that tough,” said Lutgens.
Just previous to buying the New Richland Star, Lutgens was the sports editor at the Albert Lea Tribune. The position had been open for a while by the time Lutgens heard of it. In 1990, Geri McShane, lifestyles editor, whom Lutgens had worked with at the Waseca County News, approached the managing editor at the Tribune one day with Lutgens' name written down on a piece of paper, and said, “Here's your new sports editor.”
The editor called Lutgens. “It wasn't much of an interview,” said Lutgens. “Just basically, 'When can you start?' They were hoping I'd stay at least a year.”
Lutgens worked at the Albert Lea Tribune, again covering seven high schools, for 15 years.
Some of what Lutgens learned on the job earned him the knowledge he would need later when it came time to run his own newspaper. “At the Tribune, I learned that it's much easier to control your costs than it is your income,” said Lutgens, “so I really watched that, especially at first.” One way Lutgens observed that process in action was when Boone Newspapers, Inc. bought the Albert Lea Tribune from Thomson Newspapers. “Each department had to write down who was most important in their department. Then they went down the list, and they [laid] off the bottom two people or so.” Lutgens retained his position. Indeed, he was told he did more than anyone else on the job.
Lutgens was a hard worker, but it had never been one of his dreams to own a newspaper. What made him decide to buy the New Richland Star? “This awful, terrible boss in Albert Lea, who didn't know what she was doing,” said Lutgens. “At our first meeting, she was, like, 'Okay, I'm going to tell you every which way to do your job, plus, you can do as much of mine as possible.'”
Lutgens already lived in New Richland; he'd moved the family there in 1994 when the two oldest children, Nate and Jessica were just two and not-yet-one year old, because he wanted to give his kids access to a good school district. “We were living in Clarks Grove, and the kids would have to ride the school bus with seniors into Albert Lea, and we weren't fond of that idea,” said Lutgens of the family's decision to move. Lutgens noticed as a sports editor that, whenever he photographed a girl from New Richland for the sports pages, she had a big smile on her face. “I wanted Jessica to grow up smiling,” said Lutgens.
When Lutgens was faced with a micromanaging new boss in Albert Lea, he called LaVonne Meyer, who had owned the New Richland Star since 2003, and asked if she'd be willing to sell the newspaper.
Lutgens bought the newspaper in June 2005 for $125,000, readily agreeing to Meyer's stipulation to employ Reed Waller for “at least a year.”
“Basically, I built a machine around Jim,” said Waller, “a make-shift billing system, and a home-grown advertising management system, which I wrote from scratch.” Waller seamlessly managed the transition to new ownership without a blip in people's subscriptions, and still works at the newspaper today. “I was just the last guy here.”
“It was kind of tough at first,” said Lutgens. “I didn't know if we'd make it or not.” At the same time, Lutgens was determined to succeed, so much so that locals described him as “a go-getter.”
“People definitely showed their support right from the start,” said Lutgens, who called himself the “caretaker,” rather that the “owner” of the long-standing publication.
Lutgens learned the ropes at the New Richland Star for a few weeks before making any changes. His first change was aesthetic. “I opted for a modular layout. It kept the doglegs to a minimum,” he said, referring to the stray paragraphs appearing at various points in the newspaper to complete articles.
Then Lutgens had a stroke in July, just a month after he'd purchased the business. He didn't realize it. At the office, he struggled just to write a check. When doctors told him he'd had a stroke, Lutgens didn't let it stop him. Though in high school he'd typed 70 words a minute, the stroke slowed his speed to 10 words a minute. Nonetheless, he typed every day at the office until he was exhausted, and then went home. It took many months, but Lutgens' health gradually improved.
Lutgens and Waller kept churning out newspapers week after week. Lutgens began a “Meet Your Neighbor” column that kept going for ten years, and expanded the sports section.
When Lutgens was offered the Ellendale Eagle, he jumped at the opportunity, purchasing it for $20,000 in 2007, and altering the name of the New Richland Star to the NRHEG Star Eagle to reflect the expanded coverage area. With that purchase, Lutgens also gained the production of the school calendars, as well as some of the Ellendale Eagle's advertisers. “That generated thousands in income,” said Lutgens. “It was kind of overwhelming. Reed [Waller] made the comment that just covering Tracy Holland could be a part-time job, 'cause he had so dang many auctions.”
Because of the added workload, Lutgens largely stopped writing a column, but it was also at this point that he began adding color to the newspaper.
The local newspaper saw many staff changes over the years. By 2008, Lutgens employed a couple ad reps, and Dick Herfindahl was helping Waller to design ads. But Lutgens and Waller were the mortar that held the business together, along with Lutgens' three kids, Nate, Jessica, and Eli, whom Lutgens raised alone, and as a result, were as at home at the newspaper as anywhere else.
In the span of a 40-year career, Lutgens can't pinpoint an article or column he thinks was his personal best. “I've written so many stories,” said Lutgens, “so many thousands of stories.” One article that stood out was an article that he wrote for the Albert Lea Tribune about a man from Albert Lea who raced a Harley. “I won an Associated Press award for that,” said Lutgens. His sports sections were judged first place by the Minnesota Newspaper Association on three separate occasions.
Lutgens said the highlight of owning the NRHEG Star Eagle was, “Just keeping it going. We never did a budget or anything like that, or projections. Just keeping it going and making it work.”
If he had it to do over again, Lutgens said he wouldn't worry so much about what people think. “That's part of what's driven me out of it at age 60,” he said. “It's tougher than just writing sports.
“I said years ago I wanted to be a good caretaker for the Star Eagle,” Lutgens continued. “I said I was the current caretaker, not the owner, because the Star Eagle, in reality, depends on the readers and how long they want to keep us going. The Star Eagle belongs to the people, and it’s very important we keep it going, if for nothing else to keep tabs on the city council, school board and area city councils.”
Now that Lutgens is officially retired, he plans to spend more time driving his '76 Corvette, and visiting friends in northern Minnesota.
“It seems weird to have Eli take over,” Lutgens mused. “Since he was one, I’ve raised him myself, and it’s been tough letting go of that. As it is, I've owned [the newspaper] for 16 years, since 2005, and yes, it did burn me out a little owning it and trying to raise three kids at the same time. I still see him as a 4-year-old, running around and seeking attention, and that’s what’s tough to let go of.” But Lutgens maintains, “If not for Eli, the Star Eagle would have already closed.”
Eli Lutgens, is the proud, new owner of the NRHEG Star Eagle, and, like his father, he's a 'go-getter.' “He has a real way with people,” said Lutgens, who still writes sports articles and updates the website for the newspaper. “He's got a wonderful opportunity.”