The secret life of Eli Lutgens

It’s Sunday evening, Dec. 25, 2022. 

We’re nearing the end of one of the most memorable years of my life. I feel like I’ve lived this year. And boy have I worked. A lot. 

But it was a good work. 

I just finished watching, “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.” 

I almost turned it off after 5 minutes. I’m really glad I didn’t. The story follows Walter, who develops camera film for the Magazine “Life.” Walter, along with the company, is quickly informed that they will be putting their final “print” edition together. 

I highly recommend this film. 

Walter daydreams a lot. The movie portrays this by showing us what he dreams about, ultimately with him “snapping back” to reality after “zoning off.” 

By the end of the film, he’s no longer dreaming, he’s doing: living. 

I feel like that’s what we did with this newspaper. It was a dream of mine, my father, and before us, even Emmett Engesser. According to Emmett and Margaret’s daughter Cheryl, Emmett wanted to start another paper in addition to the Star, but his family members–his children–were adamantly opposed to the idea, and so he was compelled to let the dream lie.

The job of recording and publishing history…life…is not only rewarding, it’s a lot of fun. Living through a lens, in front of a keyboard, behind a notepad… it’s pretty unbelievable. I’m incredibly blessed. 

So, how was my/our “week off” at the paper? 

Well, I made it one day, and until 9 p.m. Friday when I caved and started working again (Wednesday night, before Christmas, was our print deadline). 

My “end of year” work is not as exciting as the day-to-day life folks read about in this space. Accounting, hundreds of checks to enter into a bookkeeping program, bills to pay, and websites to design. 

That said, if you know anyone good at bookkeeping, send them my way, we could use the help. We are a small town newspaper. At its heart is a small town business, which means, I do everything I have to do. We have a very good team, but wherever we pull up lame, well, that’s where I go. While having worked every job at the newspaper has its perks, it also means I still work every job in the newspaper. Just not all the time. 

It is a very weird thing to hire people to do jobs I personally love to do. My editorial assistants Tristan, and before her (and hopefully again when the college semester is up), Amelia, have performed beautifully. But I enjoyed the work, for years, that they do. Of course, I can’t do everything, but I enjoyed listening to messages. (Even though I tell Tristan I hate it. I hate it, because I have a to-do list a mile long, and messages, although incredibly important, are an immediate thing.) 

I also enjoy doing “tear sheets,” the pages torn from printed newspapers as evidence that advertisers’ ads were actually produced as promised. There’s something so methodical about the task that I find it relaxing. 

Then there are updating the websites, keeping up with mail, writing, typing columns, Looking back, and many more tasks. Really, the job description for my editorial assistant is, “ASSIST,” with literally anything and everything. I am a demanding boss. It’s hard not to be. I believe I’m understanding and those close to me assure me I am, but how can I not be demanding when I’m paying people to do work I love. 

They say in business to hire quickly, promote fast, and fire even faster. We’ve grown very quickly here, and found some really talented people. Deb Bently, Michael Roy, Tristan Jensen, and when they’re not at college or in Spain, Amelia Roessler, and Jonah Stafford. The same is true for Missy Dunn, whose writing I really enjoy. (She is also a teacher when she’s not writing for the Pioneer.) And then there’s our new columnist Dave Zika. I really, really wanted to find a good local columnist. I interviewed half a dozen people, bounced around more than a dozen names, and had all but given up hope when Blair Nelson handed me a piece of paper and said, “This is your guy.” 

He was right. I really hope Dave sticks around. Chatting with him is an experience I highly recommend. 

So when I’m asked what I’m grateful for in 2022, and going forward, I think I answer it with, “who” I am grateful for.

Well, all of those people. I didn’t mention my parents, or my sister, all who work for me, or with me. Honestly, as former Mayor Roy Srp said, there are just too many people to thank.

What are my 2023 New Year’s resolutions? 

Be humble and don’t get a big head. This is something I pray about often. I believe it helps keep me grounded. We receive a lot of praise at the newspaper. I have received hundreds of hand written notes, cards, and letters. Even more emails, and more than that, comments from readers, friends. It’s why I pray not to let it go to my head. With so many people telling me what I’m doing is right, it could be hard to believe I can do anything wrong. Well, to that I say, yes, yes I do things wrong–often. I get a lot wrong in the paper. But as my dad always told me, “A good newspaper is never good enough. But a bad newspaper is a joy for all.” 

He would usually follow this with a funny story about working at the Albert Lea Tribune. I remember the first half of the story and how it made me feel. A northern Iowa newspaper, owned by Boone Newspapers, which owns the Tribune, would print something….

And I’ve zoned off… 

“To see the world, things dangerous to come to, to see behind walls, draw closer, to find each other and to feel. That is the purpose of life,” - Life Magazine. 

“Beautiful things don’t ask for attention.” - Walter Mitty.