Ziegenhagens, publishers of the Burnsville Current, to speak May 16

How does a small-town girl from the Dakotas end up being the first female editorial writer for the Minneapolis Star newspaper and the publisher of numerous community newspapers in Dakota County?

To find out the answers and more about Mary Ziegenhagen’s challenging experiences come to hear her talk from 6:30 to 9 p.m. Thursday, May 16, at Burnsville  City Hall. The free event is sponsored by the Burnsville Historical Society and the event will also feature an exhibit about the history of the Current newspaper, first published in 1975 in Burnsville

“I read in the Twin Cities daily papers what went on yesterday in Afghanistan or New York, but there was nowhere to look for an explanation of the commotion at the intersection of Cliff Road and Highway 13, said the suburban housewife and mother of two sons, when asked why she started the local newspaper.

When she tried to find answers to what was going on around town, she was met with mostly misinformation. Her answer was to publish for Burnsville residents on Oct. 8, 1975, the first edition of The Current, a free weekly newspaper dedicated solely to the news of Burnsville and its school districts. Reports on the school board and city council meetings, stories about local nature trails and library offerings, and school and community sports news were all part of that first edition.

“Without Joanne Shiebler (also a resident of Birnamwood and a partner in the new venture) and the advertisers she delivered, The Current could not have survived," said Ziegenhagen, remembering the challenges facing them in the beginning.

History was made.

"Every publication was a chapter in a history book of Burnsville at that time,” said Burnsville Historical Society President Len Nachman.

“The Historical Society will be digitizing the bound volumes of the newspapers that Mary had originally donated to the Burnsville library and all that information will be made available to the public for further study. We hope to have this material posted on our web page in the future.”

Mary and her future husband, David, met in the Philippines in the Peace Corps. Moving to Burnsville in 1970, they continued their civic involvement with David the CEO for an organization working for improved quality of medical care and Mary starting the local newspaper in Burnsville. Shortly after that Mary took a leave of absence as publisher and worked at the Minneapolis daily
newspaper as its first female editorial board writer. She later returned to her
position at the local papers when David traveled with the American Refugee
Committee to Thailand to work with Cambodian refugees

After selling the local papers, which included papers distributed in Burnsville, Apple Valley, Eagan, Lakeville, Savage, Inver Grove Heights, South St. Paul, West St. Paul, Mendota Heights, and Rosemount, in the early 1980s, Mary worked for the Minnesota Historical Society, the state Department of Human Services and the McKnight Foundation before they decided to move to the West Coast.

Now living in Cloverdale, California, Mary became president of the local historical society and helped raise funds for a history center and has served on the board of a community clinic. David has served on the city Planning Commission, helped establish an Alliance for the Arts and art gallery, summer music program and farmers’ market.

This will be the last meeting for the Burnsville Historical Society before the summer exhibition schedule begins, including the International Festival in July, the Art & All that Jazz Festival in August, and the Fire Muster in September. Regular monthly meetings resume in October.

All meetings are open to the public and all people interested in history are welcome. For more information, call 952-890-5089 (Bonnie).

Written by Bonnie Boberg

Secretary of the Burnsville
Historical Society