This week, co-editors Annie Bennett and Kylie Blanchard notified in a letter addressed to the magazine’s “loyal subscribers” that the decision had been made to cease publication of the magazine at the end of 2023

Bennett said the decision was made in a meeting with the management just before Christmas. Clearwater Communication, based in Bismarck, is the owner of North Dakota Horizons.

In the letter, the co-editors cited the rising costs of production and printing, along with falling subscription numbers, for the decision to discontinue the publication after this year. However, they will continue to publish the yearly North Dakota Horizons scenic calendar.

“We still have four more issues to come out: spring, summer, fall and winter of 2023. Winter 2023 will be the last issue,” said Bennett. She said the last issue will be released in early December.

his is the cover of the first North Dakota Horizons magazine in 1970-1971, launched by the Greater North Dakota Association, now the Greater North Dakota Chamber

Making the decision to discontinue the magazine was a very difficult one, according to the co-editors.

“It was really sad. It was heartbreaking for us. We loved the magazine and everything it stands for. It was the cost of everything going up. It’s just difficult to keep going,” said Bennett.

North Dakota Horizons also has an online presence.

“We have online digital copies available but we don’t have a large user base for it so we didn’t see that as an option to continue the magazine just online with our readership,” said Blanchard.

North Dakota Horizons, a glossy magazine, was founded by the Greater North Dakota Association, now the Greater North Dakota Chamber, and the first edition of the magazine was published in the winter of 1970-1971 with Ron P. Abrahamson as its editor. Abrahamson had been the public affairs and public relations director for GNDA before becoming the magazine’s editor. The magazine has had a number of other editors throughout the years.

Over the more than 50 years of publication, more than 200 issues of North Dakota Horizons have been published. In 2003, Clearwater Communications in Bismarck began coordinating the magazine’s writing, editing, design and production and, in 2013, the company purchased the publication.

Bennett and Blanchard are in their sixth year as co-editors of the magazine. Both had previously worked with the magazine as writers and staff support before they became its co-editors.

“The magazine has been really fun to work with. It’s great to highlight things wonderful about North Dakota and finding all those hidden gems around the state. We’ve had a lot of great people write for us over the years,” Bennett said.

“It’s been really great just to learn so much about our state. People were born here and grew up here but there’s so many hidden gems to North Dakota and it’s been fun to share that with our readership,” Blanchard said. She said they celebrated the 50th anniversary of the magazine in 2020-2021.

Andrea Winkjer Collin, Bismarck, was editor of North Dakota Horizons for 11 years from 2003-2014. She said she really enjoyed being editor.

“It was only the good stuff about North Dakota. There was a good story in every corner, to meet people and good things going on. It was just so fun,” she said.

Collin said those involved in its start wanted to have a publication that would show pride in North Dakota.

At the time GNDA was working on getting rid of existing negativism about the state, some of it being the “chill factor” that came into existence when the U.S. Air Force located bases at Minot and Grand Forks. That was one example given to GNDA by Les Maupin, a well-known radio broadcaster in Minot, and included in GNDA’s minutes.

Collin said those who were involved in launching a state magazine included newspaper editors and public relations people who worked 50 years ago on how to get that message across in an economical way.

Collin said Don Gackle was chairman of the GNDA Publicity Committee at the time. Gackle was a longtime newspaper publisher in Garrison.

“He was one of the most instrumental people in getting it going at the time without a doubt,” Collin said.

When the magazine first came out, she said, it was really “a big deal” to have a magazine with stories and fabulous pictures.

The cover photo of the first issue featured the snowcapped North Dakota Badlands. The magazine contained feature stories about Anne Carlsen and the then-named Crippled Children’s Home in Jamestown, wild horses by Gary Leppart of the state Tourism Division and archaeological digs by James E. Sperry of the State Historical Society of North Dakota.`

“It was very well received and it was very successful over the years in telling the story about North Dakota and all the good about it,” Collin said.

As for what’s next for co-editors Bennett and Blanchard, they have a number of roles at Clearwater Communications but will continue to publish the North Dakota Horizons scenic calendar.

On Wednesday, Bennett said they were picking out the images for the 2024 calendar, which will be out around Memorial Day.

“We will continue to publish that,” she said.