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Newspaper Hungry Horse News (Columbia Falls, Mont.; Columbia Falls, Mont) 1948-Current

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About Hungry Horse News (Columbia Falls, Mont.; Columbia Falls, Mont) 1948-Current

Mel Ruder published the first issue of the Hungry Horse News in Columbia Falls, Montana, on August 8, 1946 as the Hungry Horse News and Columbian. After about two years, the “… and Columbian” disappeared from the title, and the paper kept its current name.

Ruder earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism and minored in European history at the University of North Dakota in 1937. He received his master’s degree in sociology from Northwestern University in 1942. After serving in the Navy, Mel toured the western United States, visiting California, Washington, Colorado, Utah, and Montana. While camping in Glacier National Park, Mel heard about the upcoming Hungry Horse Dam project, which was set to attract thousands of workers and bring great economic benefit to Flathead County. Sensing a journalistic opportunity, Ruder went to Whitefish, Montana, to apply for a job at the Whitefish Pilot. Editor of the Pilot, G.M. “Gurnie” Moss, could only offer Ruder a job as a Linotype operator. He suggested that Mel start a newspaper in nearby Columbia Falls, which hadn’t had a newspaper in years. Ruder took Moss’s advice and moved to Columbia Falls. The Hungry Horse News became operational within five weeks.

One of the paper’s distinguishing features was its outstanding photography. In 1946, such a graphics-heavy local newspaper was uncommon. Already an accomplished photographer, Mel provided the paper with numerous pictures to print alongside the words.

The Press carried the usual local stories of fires, new construction, and community events but did so with an unusually strict focus on the surrounding communities. As Ruder wrote in his August 15, 1946 editorial, “It is the hope of the Hungry Horse News that every family who lives in this part of the county will from time to time be mentioned in our columns. This paper is interested in what you do in the hard working normal lives you live.” Glacier National Park, diverse wildlife, the US Forest Service, and the Great Northern Railway received frequent coverage as well.

Between 1946 and 1964, the Hungry Horse News reported on three of the area’s main historic events: The construction of the Hungry Horse Dam, the construction and opening of the Anaconda Aluminum Company plant near Columbia Falls, and the devastating flood of 1964. Reporting on the latter won the paper its only Pulitzer Prize in 1965.

From its first issue, the paper was brimming with boosterism for the region. Much of the enthusiastic promotion appeared in Ruder’s editorials. In the first editorial, entitled “We Have a Great Future,” he wrote about Flathead County’s large amount of land and lumber, tourism industry opportunities, and mining potential.

Politics in the paper were mostly neutral as it was meant to be “An Independent Country Weekly.” However, the editor was a moderate Democrat and occasionally endorsed politicians accordingly.

Ruder officially retired in 1978 after selling the News to Bruce Kennedy. Bruce’s son, Brian, assumed editorship. Brian and his wife, Carol ran the paper for 20 years before selling it to Lee Enterprises.

Provided By: Montana Historical Society; Helena, MT

About this Newspaper

Title

  • Hungry Horse News (Columbia Falls, Mont.; Columbia Falls, Mont) 1948-Current

Dates of Publication

  • 1948-current

Created / Published

  • Columbia Falls, Mont. : M. Ruder, 1948-
  • Columbia Falls, Mont. Hungry Horse News Inc. Hagadone, Montana, LLC

Headings

  • -  Columbia Falls (Mont.)--Newspapers
  • -  Montana--Columbia Falls
  • -  United States--Montana--Flathead--Columbia Falls

Genre

  • Periodicals

Notes

  • -  Weekly
  • -  Vol. 2, no. 35 (Apr. 2, 1948)-
  • -  "The Hungry Horse and Glacier National Park area newspaper."
  • -  "An Independent country weekly."
  • -  Official paper for Flathead County, 1962-1963.
  • -  Archived issues are available in digital format from the Library of Congress Chronicling America online collection.
  • -  77th year, no. 4 (August 17, 2022)(Surrogate).

Medium

  • volumes : illustrations ; 56-60 cm

Call Number/Physical Location

  • Newspaper

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • sn84027524

OCLC Number

  • 11227489

ISSN Number

  • 2766-1830

Preceding Titles

Additional Metadata Formats

Availability

Rights & Access

The Library of Congress believes that the newspapers in Chronicling America are in the public domain or have no known copyright restrictions. Newspapers published in the United States more than 95 years ago are in the public domain in their entirety. Any newspapers in Chronicling America that were published less than 95 years ago are also believed to be in the public domain, but may contain some copyrighted third party materials. Researchers using newspapers published less than 95 years ago should be alert for modern content (for example, registered and renewed for copyright and published with notice) that may be copyrighted. Responsibility for making an independent legal assessment of an item and securing any necessary permissions ultimately rests with persons desiring to use the item.

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Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Hungry Horse News Columbia Falls, Mont.; Columbia Falls, Mont -Current. (Columbia Falls, MT), Jan. 1 1948. https://aj.sunback.homes/item/sn84027524/.

APA citation style:

(1948, January 1) Hungry Horse News Columbia Falls, Mont.; Columbia Falls, Mont -Current. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://aj.sunback.homes/item/sn84027524/.

MLA citation style:

Hungry Horse News Columbia Falls, Mont.; Columbia Falls, Mont -Current. (Columbia Falls, MT) 1 Jan. 1948. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, aj.sunback.homes/item/sn84027524/.