Newspaper

On this date in 1919, North Dakota newspapers were quickly dwindling in number. Almost twenty-nine papers had gone out of business or changed ownership since April 1 of that year. The wave of failing newspapers began as a result of the Brinton Newspaper Law, which was passed in March of 1919 by the State Legislature. The law sought to reduce the number of official newspapers per county to a single publication. Prior to that, each of the fifty-three counties had three official newspapers, each printing notices required by the state, such as foreclosures and bank statements.

The Bismarck Tribune was founded on this date in 1873, but the first issue didn’t come out for another week, on July 14th. It hit the streets with a…

On this date in 1918, many North Dakota soldiers were serving their country in the War, and when they wrote home, it was common for the recipient to give…

Weekly or daily, depending upon the local publisher, North Dakotans counted on newspapers to publish the minutes of county and city meetings, land proofs,…