Dear Friends,

That’s the way Jim Heltzer’s newsletter began – both the print copies that went out in the mail, and the online version. And now I, his wife, am sending you a final message before this web site becomes history.

Jim loved sending out the newsletter reporting on county goings-on. The process was the same over the years. Jim would sit at our dining room table with a yellow legal pad, and write his report in longhand, consulting the files of papers he had collected since the last newsletter. Then I would take over, entering his work onto my laptop computer and doing some editing. I’d print out a copy and he would read it so carefully and change a few things. Then the newsletter would
zip off through cyberspace to Arrow Printing. Within a day or two, we’d get a call that the newsletter was ready for proof-reading. I’d work on updating the mailing list, which also went to Arrow, and within a week or so, the printed newsletter would land in your mailbox.

Since Jim died last July, I’ve received many comments from people about how they appreciated Jim Heltzer Reports. They came both from citizens of Jim’s own Beltrami County Third District, and others who were on his mailing list. Now, I’ll confess this: I did a fair amount of fussing over the years about what it all cost. As Jim told you in each edition of his newsletter, he paid for the printing and postage himself. While I fussed, he’d remind me that county commissioners earn
a salary, and he felt it was important to report to the people, and the costs all came out of that salary. He was right. It was a good thing to do.

So, dear friends, I want to thank you for all of the kindness and good-will that you have shown to me, and that you showed to Jim over the years. He was a good man. I miss him.

Sincerely,
Marilyn Heltzer