It has been a tumultuous six months for the Polk County News. Our fearless leader, Ingrid Buehler, was diagnosed with 4th stage lung cancer in early March, after having been rushed to the hospital with chest pains on Leap Day. The discovery of pneumonia led to the discovery of a tumor, which led to the discovery that the tumor had spread. Everything changed, but we have done everything we can for it to stay the same.

For a couple of months, Ingrid drove herself to treatments and came to work when she can. Eventually, that was no longer possible. Luckily, when the end came, it came quickly for her and her suffering was brief.

Our staff is small. We’re a community weekly newspaper with one concern: our community. The Polk County community. There was nothing Ingrid would not do to disprove the stereotype that Polk Countians were illiterate or ignorant. She strove to remind all of us that despite the mountain between us, we are all one county. She was a fixture for nearly 30 years. And she will be missed.

During Ingrid’s sudden illness, our small staff has battled our emotions in an attempt to continue putting the paper out without missing a beat. We know we have not been perfect. Some things have slipped through the cracks, some things were not given as much attention as they should, and for that we apologize. But by the same token, we thank you. We thank you for understanding. We thank you for all your calls, visits, letters, gifts and words of encouragement. We thank you for caring about the newspaper and for caring about us as we tried to hold it together.

It has been made evident to all of us that Ingrid was, above all else, respected. She may have angered some folks along the way, but no one could say she didn’t do her best to do her job. And we intend to continue doing the same. Ingrid never believed this newspaper belonged to her. She always believed it belonged to you. It belongs to the community and is here for Polk Countians. That will never change.

There is an emptiness inside our office. The outpouring of support has gone a long way to fill the void. We know you believe in the power of community journalism. And we will always continue to give you our best.