DCI names associate publisher

Rick Bussler, owner and publisher of the Dodge County Independent (DCI) has named a native Minnesotan to head up the operations.
Keith Hansen assumed the duties of associate publisher on Dec. 2.
“Hansen’s first and main priority will be to stabilize sales and find ways to generate more revenue for our company,” said Bussler. “Keith will be in charge of the day-to-day operations, which includes all areas, of the DCI,” Bussler added.
“After owning and publishing 11 weekly newspapers and Wildlife Art magazine, I have been able to come back to small town America to publish the DCI,” said Hansen. 
“Many folks think weekly community newspapers are a thing of the past. I can site statistics that paint a startlingly different picture.
“According to the National Newspaper Association, there are over 7,000 community newspapers. Readership of those small town newspapers is about 2.3 persons per issue of those papers. If their math is correct, that’s roughly 150 million folks each week reading local news,” said Hansen.
“Many have argued, including our banker when reviewing our loan documents, that newspapers are no longer viable. They say the Internet has taken over. Not to be argumentative, I disagree. “This was my argument about taking this job with the Dodge County Independent, when asked to defend it to the bank's underwriters: ‘I view the Dodge County Independent, the only remaining newspaper in Dodge County.’
"What's the future of DCI and other community weekly newspapers? I don't know. But I do know that over the past 44 years I have owned/managed failing newspapers and they were profitable after only one year of making significant changes....
“Further, I told the banker, ‘I am willing to invest in the future of the Dodge County Independent knowing that the future is strong with strong leadership.”
“The following is the response I received from the banker when I submitted my thoughts about the future of newspapers: ‘I have to confess...I still have the newspaper delivered to my home every day. I also receive our local weekly newspaper and I truly read all of them.’ She went on to say, ‘I grew up in what was a rural area...and looked forward to reading the Tri-County Journal every week. As you mention, this was the source of our community to be championed and recognized by bringing updates on what our residents were doing to make a difference. It also kept us up to date on local sports, kids in the military, families in need and provided us with details of opportunities available to help support those needs.’
“Her comments were and are accurate and support why Dodge County Independent has and will survive.
As associate publisher, I am going to build on the following the DCI has had. I will encourage members of the community to speak out and let us know what they want and need from the pages of this newspaper. In keeping with that openness philosophy, I am going to enlist a cross-section of community citizens to join a DCI advisory group. That group will afford members of the community to speak freely about the direction of this newspaper, pointing to its strengths and weaknesses,” Hansen stated. 
Contact Hansen at 507-634-1486 or email him at keithhdci@kmtel.com.