New year brings new faces -- Seven new staffers join DL Newspapers in 2007

As 2007 draws to a close, DL Newspapers would like to introduce seven recent advertising, editorial and business office hires.

DL Newspapers is comprised of the Becker County Record, Detroit Lakes Tribune and Lake Area Press. Its advertising department has four new staffers: Michelle Beck, Katie Kotte, Kelly Rardon and Justin Wegleitner.

Beck brings seven years of sales experience with her and is a native of Frazee.

“My husband Matt and I owned an excavating company for seven years, we sold it last spring,” she explained. “I helped with sales and marketing for the company before we sold it.”

Katie Kotte, a graduate of Minnesota State University Moorhead, started her career at DL Newspapers as a special projects sales person. Graduating with a dual major in advertising and public relations, Kotte recently became an advertising representative for the Detroit Lakes Newspapers.

“I worked for DL Newspapers for about six months doing special sections sales before starting as an advertising representative,” explained Kotte, “and I am looking forward to my new position.”

Rardon filled an open position in the telemarketing arm of the advertising department. Hailing from Mahnomen, Rardon most recently sold cars in Mesa, Ariz., for a Honda dealership there.

Also new to the advertising department is Justin Wegleitner. Wegleitner brings over eight years of management and sales experience to his new advertising position. He served seven years as manager for a local hotel and more than a year in sales for a marine dealership.

“I worked at the Detroit Lakes Holiday Inn for seven years as their guest services manager and spent a year and a half selling docks, lifts and boats for Link Recreational before joining the DL Newspapers advertising department,” said Wegleitner.

Originally from the St. Cloud area, Wegleitner also attended St. Cloud State University and Minnesota State Community and Technical College.

Cathy Holland rejoins the DL Newspapers family, a place she worked seven years prior.

“I worked as a receptionist for four years from 1996 to 2000 and came back to work in the business office in May of this year and now work in accounts receivable,” explained Holland.

In 2007, the editorial department also added a new reporter to its staff. Amber Nohrenberg joined the newsroom in the spring and has been doing various features as well as covering education and outdoors assignments.

Nohrenberg is a native of Appleton, Minn. and is a graduate of St. Cloud State University.

Before joining the DL Newspapers staff, Nohrenberg spent two and a half years as a news and sports assistant for the West Central Tribune of Willmar.

“I am a reporter and photographer and cover the outdoors and education beats for DL Newspapers,” commented Nohrenberg.

Nohrenberg is also lending her technical expertise to the newspaper’s Internet entity, www.dl-online.com, helping to add a variety of new video, photo and sound components to the Web site.

“We are now able to do things like add photo galleries and audio slide shows,” she explained. “We also have been learning how to use a new camcorder to add video to the Web.”

Some of the video images available on DL-Online the past few months, she added, include messages from the returning National Guard troops, a holiday hello from the newspaper staff and a clip of the recent Detroit Lakes High School production of “Beauty and the Beast.”

With the advent of Internet technologies, a new regional Internet sales coordinator was added in 2007. Dave Hammes of Detroit Lakes is manning the new regional sales position for Lake Country Newspapers, which includes DL Newspapers, the New York Mills Herald, the Park Rapids Enterprise, the Perham Enterprise-Bulletin and the Wadena Pioneer Journal.

Working out of his DL Newspapers office, Hammes is helping to harness the power of the Web, drawing on his wealth of sales, restaurant and retail management expertise to do so.

“The Internet gives us an opportunity to reach a wider audience, a new way to reach our readers and clients,” he explained. “My job is to assist the ad staff with Internet sales and the development of new products related to the net.”

A native of North Dakota, Hammes was born in Bismarck and lived in Fargo for a number of years before moving to the lakes area last spring.

DL Newspapers is located at 511 North Washington Ave. in Detroit Lakes.

Michelle Beck

Cathy Holland

Katie Kotte

Amber Nohrenberg

Justin Wegleitner

Kelly Rardon

Dave Hammes

Ed’s back
Listening to Ed Schultz today reminded me how much journalism is missing on the radio. I think we often confuse radio host with journalist, they are not. They are bloggers that have airwaves. Ed is the exception to the local rule. Ed occasionally will hit a story from a journalistic point of view and it is good stuff.

Today he went after the WSI scandal, interviewing some players in the case. I will admit I don’t know much about the details, but thanks to Ed I have a little more information on the subject. He asked good, tough questions.

Some argue the show was slanted towards the democrats, I disagree. There are some issues that transcend political parties. This is a scandal of back alley meeting, kick backs and cronism. You need to send an email to your local elected official and let them know your opinion if you ever think you may be injured at work. If you don’t worry about it, then don’t worry about it.