Publisher’s Perspective

By Tim Douglass, Publisher of the Pope County Tribune

Before coming to Glenwood in 2005, readers may remember that I was the publisher of the Granite Falls-Clarkfield Advocate Tribune.  An event happened last week that prompts me to write about my time there.

The event:

“Granite Falls lost a mayor and a passionate community advocate when long-time mayor David Smiglewski died in Washington, D.C., of an asphyxiation event.  He had been diagnosed about three years earlier with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS.”

Granite Falls lost a great mayor and advocate, and I lost a great friend.

I’m sure there are countless others (friends) like me, because Smig was an engaging person with an upbeat attitude and was easy to like.  But for me, he was one of a kind.

How I met David Smiglewski

When I first arrived in Granite Falls in 1992, there was some community trepidation about a young publisher taking over the newspaper.  The paper had been mismanaged and was struggling.  I saw it as both an opportunity and a huge challenge.

Confident in my abilities, I rolled up my sleeves and went to work doing what I loved to do–editing and publishing a weekly newspaper.

One of the first Granite Falls residents to darken my doorway at the newspaper office in the first days on the job was Dave Smiglewski.  I learned quickly that everyone just called him “Smig.”

He was a member of the city council at the time. Smig visited me that evening because he saw the light on in the newspaper office.  He took the time to stop in because he wanted to meet me, but also because he cared.  He cared about the community and the viability of a good hometown weekly newspaper.  He wanted me to know that.   He filled me in on the recent history of the city, the newspaper and anything else local I wanted to know about.   We talked for hours.  When he left, he knew that I cared about the viability of “his hometown” newspaper.  And I knew he would be available to help with background and local history or anything I wanted to know about the community and its people.  I also knew he would be an ally and friend in a daunting new job in a strange community.

Over the next couple of years, we many had long talks.  Between Smig and I, there was no such thing as a short conversation.  Just ask my wife and my boys.   “We usually cut it off with one of us saying: “Well, I have to go, but we’ve got to get together soon” and continue the conversation.

As I said, he became my first friend in Granite Falls and one of my best friends.  Since coming to Glenwood, I missed our almost daily conversations, but we’d catch up when we could, talking politics, newspapers, and of course, his hometown.  He’d fill me in on state politics and his work for Minnesota cities.  He served on the board of directors for the League of Minnesota Cities, and, until his death, was serving as a board member for the Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities. The League of Minnesota Cities awarded its C.C. Ludwig award to him in 2020 in recognition of his civic involvement.

Smig started his position on the city council when he was 26 years old.  He took over as mayor in 1996 and served in that role until his recent death.  That means he had 44 years of continuous service on the city council.  And he worked hard at it.  He approached it like a full-time job.

He was the front man when any politician or dignitary visited Granite Falls and he was so thoroughly immersed in local issues and history that he could talk about his city in glowing terms for as long as needed.

After 30 years working for Burlington Northern Railroad, at my request, he took over at the newspaper when I left.  The job fit him and he fit the job. He worked there until he retired for good in 2016.

It was just a few years later that he was diagnosed with ALS, which robbed him first of his speaking abilities.  It was difficult for me to see someone of his oratory abilities partially silenced by that insidious disease.  It broke my heart.

But it really didn’t stop Smig.  He kept on speaking and people continued to listen. He was less talkative, but just as effective.  And when he died he was in the nation’s capital attending events as part of the Southwest Corridor Coalition seeking highway funding for his community and region.  He never stopped advocating for his hometown.

After he was diagnosed with ALS, he always ended his texts to me with a gentle reminder that said, “Remember: Don’t wait.  Everyday is a gift!”  Words of wisdom. It was indicative of the way he lived life.

Thanks Smig. You will be missed.