Forum CEO Says Newspaper Sales Are Completed

By: Forum Communications Co. now officially owns the Grand Forks Herald and Duluth News Tribune, its chairman and chief executive officer says.

Forum Communications bought the newspapers from McClatchy Co. on June 8 for $135 million, CEO and Chairman Bill Marcil said. The Federal Trade Commission and Knight Ridder stockholders have now approved the deal, he said.

In March, McClatchy acquired Knight Ridder and its 32 newspapers and later decided to sell 12 properties, including the Grand Forks-based Herald and the News Tribune of Duluth, Minn.

"We approved the sale last week. We're not going to make any changes with current personnel," Marcil said Tuesday. "We will be in Duluth (today) and Grand Forks later to help with a smooth transition."

The Duluth News Tribune employs about 300 people, and the Grand Forks Herald has 165 employees. "So that puts us over 2,200 employees," Marcil said.

"The growth of the company has been phenomenal the last 10 years," he said. "You either grow a company or you go backwards. These opportunities just fit into our regional strategy for continued growth."

The Grand Forks Herald has a daily newspaper circulation of 31,000, and 34,000 on Sunday. The Duluth News Tribune's daily circulation is 46,000, and 70,000 on Sunday, Marcil said.

With the purchase, Forum Communications also acquired Agweek, a Herald-produced farm newspaper with a 26,000 weekly circulation, and the Daily Telegram, a 6,200-circulation daily newspaper based in Superior, Wis., owned by the News Tribune and several other affiliates.

Forum Communications owns 35 newspapers in North Dakota, Minnesota, South Dakota and Wisconsin as well as four television stations; commercial printing operations in North Dakota and Minnesota; and is an Internet service provider.