''Decorah-Posten'' was a notable

Norwegian language Norwegian ( no, norsk, links=no ) is a North Germanic language spoken mainly in Norway, where it is an official language. Along with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a dialect continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and r ...

newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, spor ...

published in

Decorah, Iowa Decorah is a city in and the county seat of Winneshiek County, Iowa, United States. The population was 7,587 at the time of the 2020 census. Decorah is located at the intersection of State Highway 9 and U.S. Route 52, and is the largest commun ...

. It was founded in 1874 by Brynild Anundsen, a native of Skien, Norway, and widely read by

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and S ...

n immigrants in several states.

History

Its origin may be traced to the appearance at

La Crosse, Wisconsin La Crosse is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of La Crosse County. Positioned alongside the Mississippi River, La Crosse is the largest city on Wisconsin's western border. La Crosse's population as of the 2020 census wa ...

, in 1866, of the first

Norwegian-American Norwegian Americans ( nb, Norskamerikanere, nn, Norskamerikanarar) are Americans with ancestral roots in Norway. Norwegian immigrants went to the United States primarily in the latter half of the 19th century and the first few decades of the ...

literary magazine, ''Ved Arnen'' ("By the Fireside"), which would later become a ''

feuilleton A ''feuilleton'' (; a diminutive of french: feuillet, the leaf of a book) was originally a kind of supplement attached to the political portion of French newspapers, consisting chiefly of non-political news and gossip, literature and art critici ...

'' supplement to ''Decorah-Posten''. Amundsen relocated his printing operation to Decorah, Iowa the following year. On September 18, 1874, Amundsen launched ''Decorah-Posten''. It was a well-edited newspaper, its size and familiar format developed gradually. The publisher avoided areas of political and religious controversy, which had destroyed so many earlier papers. Considerable credit has been given to Anundsen for his sound judgment and business sense. He kept abreast of the times in printing and distribution, and expanded the physical plant to meet growing needs. 1-WP 20160811 001 1

A popular feature of the ''Decorah-Posten'' was news contributed by Norwegian immigrants and their descendants from many localities in the

upper Midwest The Upper Midwest is a region in the northern portion of the U.S. Census Bureau's Midwestern United States. It is largely a sub-region of the Midwest. Although the exact boundaries are not uniformly agreed-upon, the region is defined as referring ...

. The newspaper frequently featured, usually in the ''Ved Arnen'' section, Norwegian language stories and books in serial form, most notably the work of

Hans Andersen Foss Hans Andersen Foss (November 25, 1851 – July 9, 1929) was a Norwegian-American author, newspaper editor and temperance leader. Foss is most noted for his Norwegian language novel, ''Husmands-gutte'' (1885) which was translated into English as ' ...

. The popularity of ''The Cotter's Son'' serial in 1899, has been credited with saving the ''Decorah-Posten'' from bankruptcy. The comic strip ''Han Ola og han Per'' was introduced in the ''Decorah-Posten'' during 1918. ''Han Ola og han Per'' was an exclusive feature of the ''Decorah-Posten''. The comic strip was drawn by Peter Julius Rosendahl (1878-1942) from 1918 until 1935. The comic strip was reprinted almost continually until the newspaper ceased publication. Author and journalist Johannes B. Wist was the editor of ''Decorah-Posten'' from 1901 until his death in 1923. During much of this period, he also served as editor of ''

Symra ''Symra'' was a Norwegian language periodical published between 1905 and 1914. ''Symra; En Aarbog for Norske Paa Begge Sider Af Havet'' (Symra; an Annual for Norwegians on Both Sides of the Sea) was established to publish the literary works of N ...

'', a

literary magazine which was also published in Decorah, Iowa.

Kristian Prestgard Kristian Prestgard (29 April 1866 – 25 January 1946) was a Norwegian-born, American journalist and author. He served as the editor of the Norwegian language newspaper '' Decorah-Posten'' in Iowa from 1923 until 1946. Background Kristian Prestgard ...

served as editor-in-chief of ''Decorah-Posten'' from 1923 until his death in 1946. Simon Johnson served as co-editor from 1929 until his retirement in 1945. To the ''Posten'' were incorporated the ''Minneapolis Tidende'' in 1935, and the ''Skandinaven'' in 1941. By 1948 the ''Posten'' claimed to have a larger circulation than all other

newspapers combined. The ''Decorah-Posten'' ceased publication in 1972 when it was purchased by ''Western Viking''. Now known as ''

The Norwegian American The ''Norwegian American'' (NA) is a newspaper that publishes material contributed by writers from Norway and the Norwegian American community. The ''Norwegian American'' is distributed on a biweekly basis by mail to thousands of subscribers in t ...

'', this bilingual publication is the continuation of several former Norwegian language newspapers, including ''Decorah-Posten'', ''Ved Arnen'', ''Minneapolis-Tidende'', ''Minnesota Posten'', ''Washington Posten'', ''Norrøna'' and ''Skandiaben''. It is not known if there is an index to the articles of this newspaper, and, if so, for what time period and where such an index can be found.

References

Other source

* Lovoll, Odd S.br>''Decorah-Posten: The Story of an Immigrant Newspaper''
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303235610/http://www.naha.stolaf.edu/pubs/nas/volume27/vol27_5.htm , date=2016-03-03 (Norwegian-American Historical Association. Volume 27: Page 77) *Bailey, Edwin C. ''Past and Present of Winneshiek County, Iowa. Volume II'' (S.J. Clarke Publishing Co. Chicago. 1913)

External links

Brynild Anundsen Hans Andersen Foss
Norwegian-language newspapers published in the United States Defunct newspapers published in Iowa Norwegian migration to North America Norwegian-American culture in Iowa Publications established in 1874 1874 establishments in Iowa Publications disestablished in 1972 1972 disestablishments in Iowa Non-English-language newspapers published in Iowa