Strengthening independent news in North Dakota

Normally, I would save this for next month because it happened in July, but I’m pretty proud of our coverage of President Trump’s visit to Medora for the dedication of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library.

It was a major moment for North Dakota, drawing national attention to Medora and to a project that has been years in the making. Our small team managed to keep you updated with photos throughout the day, and our reporter, Michael Standaert, continued reporting from Medora through the opening days. You can read his articles here and here.

Looking back at June, it was a solid month of building for NDNC.

One of the important things we did in June was spend time with other nonprofit newsrooms at INN Days, the annual conference hosted by the Institute for Nonprofit News.

NDNC is a member of INN, and that membership is valuable to us. Unlike other nonprofit news organizations serving North Dakota, we are not part of a larger national system with built-in support, shared staffing, or a long-established playbook. We are building this newsroom here, for North Dakota, from the ground up.

That makes it especially helpful to learn from other independent nonprofit newsrooms that are working through many of the same questions we are: How do we serve communities well? How do we build trust? How do we grow support in a sustainable way? And how do small teams do ambitious work while staying focused on the mission?

The practical support, shared experience and encouragement we get from INN help us keep strengthening NDNC. It is also a good reminder that while our work is local and deeply rooted in North Dakota, we are not doing it in isolation.

June also included a meeting of our board of directors. While I can't walk you through every discussion from that meeting, I can tell you this: NDNC is fortunate to have an engaged board with members from different parts of the state and different points of view.

That is important for a newsroom like ours. We are trying to serve all of North Dakota, not one political party, one region, or one narrow audience. Having board members who bring different experiences and perspectives helps keep that mission in front of us.

June was a good reminder that building a newsroom takes more than publishing stories.

It takes strong relationships, practical support, thoughtful leadership and a clear sense of who we are here to serve. That is the kind of work we focused on in June, and it helps strengthen NDNC for the reporting ahead.

Thank you for being part of that work. Your support helps make it possible for NDNC to keep growing into the kind of newsroom North Dakota needs: independent, statewide and committed to serving the public.

Sabrina Halvorson

CEO, North Dakota News Cooperative