The Messenger is now printing and distributing weekly in Dodge County.
A little history, The Messenger Newspapers started over 25 years ago in the towns of Dennison and Nerstrand, as the Mainstreet Messenger. We were exploring a monthly community news publication for smaller communities in the area, at a time when many of the weekly local papers began to shut down or were purchased and absorbed by larger papers, many times leaving the communities without dedicated local news coverage. With continued support from our hometowns, we grew to include Wanamingo, Goodhue-Bellechester, Mazeppa-ZumbroFalls, Dundas, Randolph-Hampton-Castle Rock and Kenyon.
In 2017 we expanded to West Concord and Claremont when those papers discontinued publication, and then Dodge Center when the Dodge Center Star Record discontinued publication. Our focus in Dodge County has primarily been the Triton area communities, however our coverage and community support have grown. We combined the three communities of Claremont, Dodge Center & West Concord into one paper a few years ago.
About three years ago, the city of Dodge Center asked if we would consider becoming a legal newspaper to serve as the city legal newspaper. The Triton School Board made the request shortly afterward and we began the process of qualifying as a legal newspaper in the state of Minnesota. By Minnesota statute, a publication can be a “legal” newspaper when published twice monthly, and making legal notices available on line and on the state’s Legal Notice website. This allows newspapers to serve their communities when publishing every week becomes financially unfeasible. As many small towns lose businesses there is insufficient advertising income to support a local newspaper, as 90% of a newspaper’s revenue is advertising sales.
After meeting the requirements required by the MN State Statues, we became a legal newspaper in Dodge County. At this time, we have since become the legal newspaper in Dodge County for the City of Claremont, the City of West Concord, the City of Dodge Center, Triton School District, Concord Township and numerous attorneys in southern Minnesota. Most recently , for 2026, Dodge County has selected us to be the legal county newspaper in the county.
Because of the community and county support, voluntary subscriptions and the need for a weekly alternative, we are proud to announce we have begun publishing Weekly in 2026, serving the communities of Dodge County. We bring over twenty-five years of newspaper publishing experience in the county, as well as being raised, living and working here, including owning and operating a number of retail businesses over the years in the county starting with a Kasson business in 1985.
We are excited to start the new year, now publishing The Messenger every week, serving the Dodge County communities of Claremont, Dodge Center, West Concord, Kasson-Mantorville and Hayfield, along with the many townships in the county. We appreciate your continued support and look forward to growing our local coverage of your hometowns. If you have news, story ideas, comments or suggestions, we welcome your input.
