The Messenger has an office in Kenyon and asked for the legal-notice contract. The council gave it to the Leader without a word.
In November 2025 the publisher of the Kenyon-Wanamingo Messenger asked the council to make his paper the city's legal newspaper for 2026. The statute the city attorney attached to the January packet gives priority to a qualified paper with its office in town. The council appointed the Kenyon Leader. The minutes record no discussion.
Every January a Minnesota city names the newspaper that will print its ordinances, hearing notices and financial statements for the year. The designation is worth a few thousand dollars in publication fees and something more than that in standing, because the paper that carries the city's legal notices is the paper the city has said it reads. For 2026 Kenyon had two candidates and a statute that ranks them. It picked one without saying why.
The request
On November 12, 2025, under presentations, the minutes list "Kenyon/Wanamingo Messenger Bid to Publish Legal Notices for 2026 - Terry Campbell." Campbell "stated that he would like to be considered for appointment as the legal newspaper of the City of Kenyon starting in 2026. This designation is one of the first items the Council approves in 2026." He was in the room, listed among those present, and his presentation was later attached to the January packet as Messenger.pdf. The council took no action that night, which was correct; the designation belongs to the new year.
He would like to be considered for appointment as the legal newspaper of the City of Kenyon starting in 2026. This designation is one of the first items the Council approves in 2026.Minutes of November 12, 2025, on Terry Campbell's request, source
What the attorney attached
The January 13, 2026 packet listed the appointments with one line left open: "Legal Newspaper – TBD." The staff note beneath the list said: "The legal newspaper needs to be decided - The Kenyon Leader or the Kenyon Messenger. Documentation from Attorney Riggs on State Statutes concerning Legal newspapers is attached. The Messenger presentation from the November meeting is also attached." The statute City Attorney Scott Riggs supplied is Minnesota Statute 331A.04, "Designation of a newspaper for official publications." It is short and it is ranked.
Known office in locality. If there are one or more qualified newspapers, the known office of issue of which are located within the political subdivision, one of them shall be designated.Minnesota Statute 331A.04, subdivision 2, as attached to the January 13, 2026 packet.
Subdivision 3 covers the case where no qualified paper has its office in town but one keeps a secondary office there. Subdivision 4 covers general circulation. Subdivision 6 lets a council go around the ranking only if the chosen paper's publisher supplies a sworn, independently audited statement that its circulation reaches at least 75 percent of the households in the city. The word in subdivision 2 is "shall."
What the council did
All five members were present on January 13. The minutes list the appointments as approved, and the line now reads "Legal Newspaper – Kenyon Leader." Lee Sjolander moved and Elana Brunner seconded "to approve the 2026 committee appointments and designations," carried 5-0-0. The minutes record no discussion of the newspaper, no reference to the statute the attorney had attached, and no finding under subdivision 6. Whether the Messenger's office qualifies under subdivision 2, and whether the Leader's circulation would qualify under subdivision 6, are questions the packet raised and the meeting did not answer. The Kenyon Leader is published by APG Media of Southern Minnesota, whose checks appear in the city's registers for legal notices.
This is not an article about which paper is better. It is about a council that received a request in November, a statute in January, and a blank to fill, and filled it inside a single appointments motion with the acting mayor, the depository, the weed inspector and the personnel committee. A resident who wanted to know why the city chose as it did has the packet, the statute, and a motion that carried 5-0. Nothing in between.
The same appointments list, it is worth noting, no longer had an audit committee on it. That body had been eliminated the previous January, also inside an appointments motion, also without recorded discussion. Kenyon's council decides some things in the open and some things by default. The January list is where the defaults live.
Before and after
- Nov. 12, 2025Terry Campbell of the Kenyon/Wanamingo Messenger asks in person to be considered as the city's legal newspaper for 2026.
- Jan. 13, 2026The packet lists "Legal Newspaper – TBD" and attaches Minnesota Statute 331A.04 from the city attorney and the Messenger's presentation.
- Jan. 13, 2026One motion approves all 2026 appointments 5-0-0; the line now reads "Legal Newspaper – Kenyon Leader." The minutes record no discussion.
- Feb. 10, 2026The January minutes appear in the packet for approval; the regular meeting is cancelled for lack of a quorum.
What the statute says
The governing body of a political subdivision, when authorized or required by statute or charter to designate a newspaper for publication of its public notices, shall designate a qualified newspaper in the following priority.
The choice is ranked by statute, not left to preference.
If there are one or more qualified newspapers, the known office of issue of which are located within the political subdivision, one of them shall be designated.
A qualified paper with its office in town comes first.
the publisher of the newspaper furnishes a sworn statement, verified by a recognized independent circulation auditing agency, covering a period of at least one year ending no earlier than 60 days before designation of the newspaper, stating that the newspaper's circulation reaches not fewer than 75 percent of the households within the political subdivision
The exception that lets a council pick a different paper requires this statement, regular coverage of the council, and a unanimous vote. The minutes record none of those findings.
People in this story
- Terry CampbellKenyon/Wanamingo Messenger; made the request November 12, 2025
- Scott RiggsCity attorney; supplied the statute
- Lee SjolanderCouncil member; moved the appointments
- Elana BrunnerCouncil member; seconded
- Holli GudknechtDeputy clerk; prepared the packet note
- Scott LehnerCity administrator, on the payroll since December 14, 2024
Sources
- Minutes of November 12, 2025, "Kenyon/Wanamingo Messenger Bid to Publish Legal Notices for 2026," meeting page.
- January 13, 2026 packet: appointments list, staff note, and Minnesota Statute 331A.04 as attached, packet page; the meeting page is filed at /government/meetings/2025-01-13/.
- Minutes of January 13, 2026, appointments approved 5-0-0, "Legal Newspaper – Kenyon Leader," in the February 10, 2026 packet.
- Minnesota Statute 331A.04.
- Audit committee eliminated January 14, 2025, minutes in the February 11, 2025 packet.
More from the record
Somebody forgot to levy $57,000 in bond payments. Kenyon found out eight months late, from the vendor.
Lehner noticed a closed meeting. The city attorney opened it back up: there was nothing to close.
Two weeks after the Leader printed his quote, Lehner "clarified" it. The levy still opened at 27 percent.
All 27, in order · The open letter · Every packet and recording