From the EDITOR: Why not read it in the newspaper?
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Following the Cloquet City Council meeting Tuesday, a few of us were standing around talking about the Highway 33 public meeting last week.
And one of the complaints — among many — was the lack of public notice about the meeting. How are we supposed to know, one person asked.
“We had it in the newspaper,” I told her.
She doesn’t get the paper.
Granted, we didn’t run a giant story, but the notice was there on Page 3 of the Jan. 26 issue, with all the details a person would need to attend the meeting or look online.
The same thing happened years ago at a meeting on the proposed industrial landfill. Why didn’t anyone tell me, an older woman asked the large crowd.
I didn’t have to tell her that I’d been covering the issue in the paper for weeks, maybe months, in that case. The crowd did it for me.
With all of the different ways to consume news in today’s world, people probably do know more than their grandparents’ generation: who Taylor Swift is dating, what the score of last night’s game was, how the presidential primaries are going, etc. Information is there for the asking. Don’t know how many cups are in quart? Just ask Siri.
But local newspaper readers know more about what’s going on in their own communities.
Newspapers are the original aggregator. We bring you photos, stories and advertisements about local government, crime, sports, people, business, environment, weather, events, wildlife, protests, anniversaries, opinion, milestones, agriculture, history, and yes, upcoming events. And we verify information, versus offering our best guess on a Facebook page. We attend meetings, so you don’t always have to.
All for less than a cup of coffee each week, delivered to your mailbox.
Democracy isn’t for the lazy. Being a good citizen means making an effort, but people can work smart by reading their local newspaper and then attending the meetings they think are most important, while reading stories about the others, reported by people who cover them regularly.
There’s lots going on in Carlton County. Don’t miss something fun or important because you didn’t know.
