Last week’s blizzard threw Minot a curve ball, that was certainly the case at Minot Daily News and specifically when it came to delivery of the newspaper. So, it seems like a good occasion to discuss a little about how delivery of the newspaper happens.

As I have written about before, all the departments in a newspaper are coordinated in terms of deadlines. The Sales Department has until the end of their workday to have all advertisements in and placed on digital pages. In Editorial, we have until a very specific time to produce, edit, design and send to press completed pages ready for print. The paper must then be printed and the various inserts placed inside the newspaper. At that point, some printed newspapers must be readied for posting to subscribers well out of town, while most are bundled and organized so that each paper carrier has the appropriate number of copies for his specific route. All of this has to be timed so that carriers can pick up and make their deliveries in the time frame people expect – in the wee hours of the morning.

Our newspaper carriers are independent contractors who are organized and coordinated by district managers in our Circulation Department. It takes a good degree of organization to coordinate this entire process. Many if not most of our carriers have other jobs. Yet, there they are, showing up in the pre-dawn hours every day to pick up bundles of newspapers and get out on the road to bring the to your door, yard, tube or place of business.

These aren’t the days of kids on bikes tossing newspapers in yards anymore. Minot is too big for things to function like that. Our delivery people are incredibly hard-working and committed, and they face numerous obstacles to get their jobs done. Furthermore, they work under cover of darkness, so many people don’t even know who their carrier is.

Last week’s storm was a challenge to everyone at Minot Daily News, which does not shut down because of weather (and my long-time staff members assert that it has always printed). But, realistically, the greatest challenge was to the Circulation Department and the individual delivery people. Carriers had to first make their way through the weather to the MDN building after midnight, load up in the storm, and then traverse their routes getting papers to the right locations. That’s a lot of driving at a time when local police were advising people to stay off the roads.

Still, even with the weather, most people received their newspapers. Some people didn’t get a paper one day, but then got it the next day with the regularly scheduled one. But most did eventually get every edition of the newspaper. There were two or three days when it was particularly treacherous and at least one day, carriers were told by police to knock it off and get out of the weather, I am told, but these dedicated folks did a great job given the conditions. Inclement weather is hardly the exception to the rule here, but we also take the safety of our carriers very seriously.

Many people opted to call and check on the status of their newspaper on those rough couple of days. It really isn’t necessary, as we closely monitor what routes are cut off by bad weather or impassable roads and we will get your newspaper to you as soon as possible. Remember, it’s not just your street that has to be passable – it’s the whole route the carrier has to travel from the time he leaves home.

If you think about the logistics of circulation even on an average day, it is quite a feat. Toss in blizzard conditions, snow drifts and precipitation, and it is impressive that only a day or two might have been delayed.

Personally, my carrier, Tammy, in the southwest part of town near the mall, is pretty amazing. I missed one paper, which was then delivered with the next day’s edition. Given some residents weren’t able to get their cars out of the parking lot for two days, it was pretty impressive.

In sharing this behind-the-scenes look, I hope to impress upon you the logistical complexity of what looks like, from the outside, a simple delivery process. I also hope to turn some light on your individual carriers, how hard they work and what a good job they do – even when the elements conspire against them.

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Editors Note: I wrote last week about what a good job I believe city street crews did through the heavy snow and then the blizzard, keeping major roads clear and keeping the city moving. It’s also important to point out what a good job the Minot Police Department did keeping the public updated on street conditions, as well as assisting motorists, keeping people safe and out of the way of clean-up efforts. Great job by the Minot PD.