Former N.D., Minn., Reporter Richard Blair Dies at 77

Former Grand Forks (N.D.) Herald newsroom staffer Richard E. Blair, 77, was found dead in his Fargo home on June 8.

The Herald, where Blair worked in the 1970s, and The Forum of Fargo reported he ran for mayor of Fargo four times and lost four times, receiving 43 votes after his last campaign. The Forum reported that Blair also had been a superintendent of schools.

Blair also worked for the St. Cloud (Minn.) Times and managed to publish one edition of his own Fargo-Moorhead Sun newspaper in 1991. The Forum's account of his death noted that in the early 1980s he started a television station, which would become Fox affiliate KVRR.

The Forum added this item from Blair's career: "In the late '80s, Blair proposed forming Fargo-Moorhead University. He went as far as assembling and coaching a basketball team, although the school never existed. The FMU Stars lost their only game 128-61 to the University of Manitoba."