It appears local newspapers in Dryden and Red Lake have ceased operation.
The Dryden Observer hasn’t appeared in local news stands for four consecutive weeks.
The Observer, published for most of the last century by Alex Wilson Publications or other members of the Wilson family, was sold to Norwest Publishing about four years ago.
Norwest Publishing also owned the ‘Northern Sun’ newspaper in Red Lake, Link Signs in Dryden and ‘the Rising Sun.’
The Norwest Publishing Office in Dryden is locked and dark, with a sign on the door that says it will be closed during a period of ‘restructuring and moving’ and will re-open June 10, which was almost three weeks ago. CKDR has learned members of the Observer’s Editorial and Advertising staff have moved on to other jobs in the area.
The Obesrver website hasn’t had a new post in several months. The last post to the Observer’s Facebook page was in mid-May.
Meanwhile in Red Lake, the Northern Sun’s phone line has been disconnected and CKDR was advised by officials in that community that the paper had closed a ‘couple of months’ ago.
The two newspapers had been combined into a single publication in May of 2018.
Messages left on Northwest Publishing’s voice mail have not been answered.
