In the past, I’ve written about how interesting and often surprising it is when we at Minot Daily News see a particular story or initiative gain steam, spread around the world on the internet or otherwise attract a healthier response then we might have imagined.

Here I will let you in on a little secret. We aren’t the only newspaper whose staff is often surprised with what “works” and what doesn’t, in terms of generating excitement.

So, imagine my joyous surprise this week, sorting through my email. Just a week ago in this column, I rolled out (or re-rolled out) several interactive initiatives we are working on, including a call for local artists to get in touch and let us introduce them and their work to our readers.

Well, color me… shocked; thrilled; excited? I am at a rare loss for words here – and in a good way! The response has been incredible. A diverse array of artists have been in touch and so far, each has been scheduled on my calendar for a feature on their work – now stretching into October! Artist Arvin K. Davis kicked this new feature off, with a very interesting interview and glimpse at his work in this past Thursday’s Arts section. Next week, we will meet another local artist, and so on. All of this in just one week, before we have even had time to sit down with the good folks from MSU and local high schools to discuss introducing student artists.

Thank you, Arvin, and all of the other artists who have zealously embraced this opportunity. We are thrilled to be able to profile you, and I appreciate the tremendous social media effort by so many in the arts community to help us get the message out. Those who have not yet been in touch, please do drop me a line. We hope to be able to continue our artists’ profiles as a regular feature – it’s just a matter of finding enough interested individuals.

Also this past week, contributions to our summer scenes photo essay picked up quite a bit. Thank you to all of the photographers who have sent their pictures representative of summer. We are still hoping for more and still planning on publishing the essay at the end of the month or so, in time to bid summer farewell.

I’m not much of a pitch man type, but I did want to point out that I am still hoping for local home cooks to send me recipes of their favorite family dishes or recipes representing your cultural traditions.

The new artist feature, hopefully a re-visioned Food section, and some snazzier graphics are just a few of the changes being made at Minot Daily News this summer/fall.

In the weeks ahead, we are going to continue tweaking the look of the front page and some section fronts, introducing some new features and columnists and some other changes here and there. I will share more about them as they develop.

Also in the next few weeks, I will have the pleasure of introducing a pair of new staff members. Change is eternal in newspaper and the call of home took two of our folks away from the newsroom. Fortunately, we have found two energetic and engaging local writers eager to join the team this month. I will introduce them in this column space in a few weeks, and I am sure many of you will get to know them over the course of the rest of the year.

Folks think of spring as the time for renewal, but around Minot Daily News, it is an ongoing thing. This summer is seeing change, just as last summer did.

Thanks for all of you who have embraced our changes and engaged with us in our interactive efforts to inform and reflect Minot and the region.