Friday is Crazy Day in Henning and I would be remissed if I didn’t put a small plug in for the Crazy Day sale/activity we have at the Citizen’s Advocate. On Friday, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. we will be selling cotton candy, with the assistance of some helpers at the office, as well as having a subscription sale. 

Cotton candy will be sold at the office for just $2 per bag, it’s Crazy Day after all, and we will be having a $25 in county and online subscription special for the Citizen’s Advocate (out of county subscriptions will be just $30 for one year). Those specials will go on from just 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. so make sure to stop by early, or at least at the start of your lunch hour. You must also renew your subscription in person to qualify for the special offer, we will not offer the subscription over the phone or online. 

This year marks the 130th anniversary of the Citizen’s Advocate, previously known as the Alliance Advocate and the Henning Advocate. The newspaper began in 1891 with a goal of providing a weekly newspaper to hold government accountable to its residents. It’s withstood two World Wars, the Great Depression, countless technological innovations that were suppose to cause a demise to newspapers and a changing landscape across the region. Through all of it the Henning newspaper has stood the test of time.

Founded by C.W. Brandborg, A.S. Paulsen, S.H. Ongstad, J.B. Hompe, C.W. Smith, H.J. Collins, Geo. A. Poulson, Henry Plowman and G.S. Saetre the Alliance Advocate published its first newspaper on March 12, 1891. In its first newspaper the Alliance Advocate stated it would “be a full and free discussion of the economic questions for the purpose of abolishing monopolies of natural opportunities and exchange. Its projectors believe the newspaper to be the great educator of this age, and that the solution of economic wrongs will be attained in education of the people in scientific lawmaking.” We believe the importance of newspapers and that ideal of being a tool to help educate the general public on the events in their community still remains true today.

We are proud of our history and thank you for all of your support through the years. We are proud to have remained a family owned business through the past 130 years.

For a number of years the masthead on the front of the Henning Advocate read the “Only Newspaper In The World That Gives Two Whoops About Henning And The Surrounding Community.”

Though it may have changed a bit over the years that message still remains somewhat true. At the Citizen’s Advocate we are the only newspaper strictly dedicated to providing you the news, stories and truth about the people who make up the greater Henning, Ottertail, Vining and Deer Creek area. In a world of disinformation, both online and in the public, we feel our job is as important as ever. 

We thank you for your support over the years and invite you down to the Citizen’s Advocate office on Friday for some cotton candy and to renew or purchase a new subscription during Crazy Days. 

Here’s to celebrating the next 130 years, though none of us will be around when the newspaper turns 260 years old.