DCI’s new business manager learns newspaper lingo

When Wanda Larson first started at the Dodge County Independent in late October of 2022, she said, “I was like a deer in the headlights” coming into the world of newspapers.

“I felt I had walked into a foreign country with everybody speaking a different language,” she said. “I’ve been doing bookkeeping for a long time, but I had no experience with newspapers except to read them. So, catching on to what everybody was talking about has been challenging, but at the end of the first week, when the newspaper came out, it was so exciting to me!”

Owner Rick Bussler remarks that Larson, as business manager, oversees all the day-to-day business-related matters of the newspaper operation. This is a new position for the organization.

“Though she has no newspaper background, Wanda has lots of experience and brings a whole new level of energy and excitement to our operation,” he said. “She is eager to learn and thrilled to provide a quality product and superb customer service to our readers.”

“We are thrilled to have someone of Wanda’s caliber on our staff, which brings an entirely fresh approach to the way we have been operating in recent years. Wanda’s positivity is contagious and will only help us grow in a positive direction.”

Since her hire, the DCI’s new business manager has learned some newspaper lingo, like what a “tab” is — which is a separate publication inserted into the regular newspaper, with an area of focus such as graduation — and what “putting the paper to bed” means. “Putting the paper to bed” is when the paper is sent off to the press after the newsroom staff has approved all the pages.

Larson also said she loves her co-workers and the product they produce each week in Kasson.

Everything from the stories they were working on, the interviews they were doing, to bringing in and designing the advertising, “I couldn’t wait to grab the first one and admire all the work my co-workers had put into the newspaper. What they had done individually and what it turned into collectively. I was so proud of them all,” Larson said.

She compares newspaper production to working on a quilt, finally getting it done, and stepping back to “see how beautiful it is.” Then we start on the next one, she said.

“It’s no small task to get the paper to the customer either,” Larson said. “There’s a lot of involvement with the printers, the Kasson Post Office, and our delivery driver, who are so helpful, and I definitely consider them part of our team.”

“It’s amazing that we can keep pulling this together every week,” she said. “Especially when we only have six people at the office daily. Four on staff, plus two freelancers.”

Larson grew up in Rapid City, South Dakota where her first job in high school was working at World of Fabrics. She began as a clerk but after her high school graduation the owner offered her a management position in one of his other midwestern stores. She was told that she could pick from the one in Mitchell, South Dakota or Austin, Minnesota.

She and her mom took a road trip from South Dakota to check out the two stores and she chose Austin. She loved her time there and, in fact, that’s where she met her future husband, Mark.

Larson said, “Working at the DCI is very similar as both owners gave me free reign to treat it like my own, be creative and try to build it into something great. I want to inspire others to get involved and be the best they can be.”

The first change she made after being hired at the paper was altering how the phone calls were handled. Previously, all incoming DCI callers were routed to an automated answering service.

“When I call a business, I want to talk to a person, not a computer,” Larson said. “That’s the first thing that had to change.”

Now, whether it’s her or a colleague, all incoming calls are answered by a staff member.

She describes the DCI newsroom as “low key but fast paced,” which she loves. When asked if she’s the “face” of the paper, she demurs but says she likes to “represent it.”

“I just… I’m supposed to be here,” she said. “God sent me here and I just know it. And I’m waiting to see what He’s going to do with it. I don’t think it’s about me.”

Larson said Bussler “has my back” and is always available for any questions, as he is only a phone call away and stops in to touch base almost every week. He encourages her to “take the lead,” Larson says. She also credits Carolyn Fey, of Carolyn’s Business Services, who encouraged Bussler to hire her, trained her in, became a close friend, and is available for support.

Larson said she likes that the DCI focuses on the community and on bringing people together instead of creating division and “picking sides.”

“Our customers are precious, our advertisers are valuable,” she said. “Advertisers literally sponsor everything we do. They sponsor the newspaper and events and if it wasn’t for our advertisers, we couldn’t have a paper. And if it weren’t for our subscribers, we wouldn’t need a newspaper. We need everybody involved to make this a success.”

Larson gives her husband credit for her current job.

“He’s the one who saw the ad in the Advantage,” she said.

She and her husband Mark have lived in the Kasson/Mantorville area for 30 years. Their kids, Nick, Lindsay, and Katie, attended K-M Schools, are nearly 27 years old and off on their own. Larson’s favorite thing to do outside of work is to spend time with her family and friends.