In the more than a century since that first edition hit newsstands on Aug. 1, 1899, the paper has changed its name to The Alpena News, established itself as a mainstay in local media, proved a vital source of employment, and proved itself a dependable supporter of events and charitable causes around Northeast Michigan. The paper tells thousands of stories a year and provides local businesses an avenue to bring in more customers through advertising.

Countless people have put their blood, sweat, and tears into making sure The News found its way to people’s homes and onto newsstands. For some, working at the paper was their first job after high school or college, while others became employed when they were older and eventually retired from the paper.

Nicole Grulke accepted a job at The News as a reporter after graduating college in 2013. She said becoming a reporter helped her learn more about the communities in Northeast Michigan, as well as how the community came together during times of celebration and sorrow.

Grulke said it wasn’t always easy or pleasant to write stories that could be controversial or hard to accept, but those were the ones she believed were the most important to the public.

News File Photo This scan shows the front page of the first edition of The Alpena Evening News, published Aug. 1, 1899.

She said the area is lucky to have a daily paper because, without it, the public would not be as informed as it is today.

“Working for the paper gave me a better perspective on the community and all of its working parts, and writing the tough stories, trying to give emphasis on what was happening around the community and raising awareness of current issues, was a challenge I enjoyed meeting head-on,” she said. “The paper is essential. Community members need to have a source for events, votes, issues, concerns, and a place to voice their own concerns. The paper is important to the history of the community. Every paper published and archived features people, places, and events that will be researched by future family members, leaders, and historians. It is a snapshot of the community it covers at exactly that place and time in history, and is an irreplaceable resource as a picture of the past for those in the future.”

Connie Stafford was a reporter at the paper for 12 years several decades ago. She said she enjoyed serving as a conduit between residents and local government officials and holding elected officials accountable.

Stafford said the reporting on air quality issues at the former Lafarge plant helped ensure changes at the plant, which made the quality of life better for those who live in and visit Alpena.

Stafford said having a source of news, like the newspaper, is important now — maybe more than ever — because there are many issues people may not know about that could directly impact their lives.

News File Photo Two pressmen hoist a roll of paper onto the press in this undated News archive photo.

“The paper has always been important, but, now, you just have to stay abreast on everything that is going on, because, ultimately, it affects your life in one way or another,” she said. “In our area, in our times, having an active and vibrant newspaper is very important.”

News Publisher/Editor Justin Hinkey said that, despite challenges finding employees and having to adjust to rising costs and high interest rates, the paper’s finances and subscribership are healthy. He said that, today, more people read The News — whether in print or online — than at any time since the paper’s inception.

“We’re healthy and adding new readers all of the time,” he said. “The paper is still relevant, needed, and wanted in this community. I won’t say there aren’t challenges, but we’re healthy and excited for the future.”

Hinkley said he is also excited about how the paper intends to use technology to provide more content for readers. He said the paper’s website will be refreshed more frequently and include more interactive features such as videos, graphics, and embedded documents for people to better understand the stories reporters write.

“We are constantly looking for better ways to do what we do, so we’ll provide more videos, interactive timelines, graphs, spreadsheets, charts, and embedded documents,” Hinkley said. “Anything we can do to better tell stories and bring in advertising.”

News File Photo A young Bill Speer reads the newspaper in his office shortly after being named publisher of The News in 1991.

Many of the stories the news shares have a direct impact on people’s health and financial livelihoods.

Check out the interactive timeline of the history of The Alpena News below. Story continues below timeline.

News File Photo Cameraman Don LeMay places a picture negative into the proper place on a front page negative in this June 1972 photo.

Jordan Travis was a reporter for The News from 2011 until the spring of 2016. He said the stories he wrote about bovine tuberculosis in Northeast Michigan and the impact the disease could have on residents’ health and on local farmers who depended on the sale of the cattle were important.

“Working at The News helped teach me to look beyond the obvious places to find people to talk to about issues that impact their lives,” Travis said. “You don’t understand the story about TB fully until you talk to a farmer who has to test their entire herd and how that impacts them.”

Travis, who moved on from The News to accept a job as a reporter for the Traverse City Record-Eagle, said he still utilizes The News’ website to keep current on events on the sunrise side of the state. He said he liked living in Alpena and becoming part of the community that he described as strong and full of residents who have the ability to come together when needed.

“The people care about one another, and it really showed,” he said.

The next generation of employees who will navigate the paper’s operations are already establishing themselves now. They are not only working on the paper for today but also helping set a course for the future of the paper and its readers.

Leading the charge is The News’ new managing editor, Torianna Marasco. She has only been at the paper since mid-November, but she is already sharing her ideas and setting ambitious goals for the paper to help it thrive moving forward.

Marasco said increasing the paper’s online presence on its website and on social media is vital to getting news stories out more quickly. She said The News needs to continue to connect with new and younger readers who could support the paper for many years.

“I know many people want to be able to hold a physical paper in their hands and read it — I love that, too — but we also have to prepare for a day where everything may have to be online,” she said. “It is an increasingly digital era. That is just what is going on in the world today. The internet helps us better track what people are reading and it guides us toward what people care about and what they want to read about their community. The fact is, though, not as many people are reading a physical paper anymore, and we have to be ready for that.”

The News will hold a public open house today featuring tours of the plant at 1, 2:30, and 4 p.m. Call 989-354-3111 for more information.

Steve Schulwitz can be reached at 989-358-5689 or sschulwitz@thealpenanews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ss_alpenanews.com.