Senior Reporter sold

The Senior Reporter, a Duluth magazine catering to older readers, has a new owner.

Larry Fortner has sold the publication he launched in 1988 to Harbor Centers Inc., a private nonprofit that also owns and operates Duluth's Lincoln Park and Rainbow community centers. As part of the deal, Harbor Centers also has acquired five Senior Resource Directories that Fortner published. Terms of the sale were not made public.

The monthly magazine has a paid circulation of about 2,000, Fortner said. It had been on the market for about one year.

Fortner said he wanted to find someone he could count on to continue the publication.

"The Senior Reporter fills an important niche in the community," Fortner said. "There's nowhere else where people can find consistent coverage of issues that are important to elderly adults.

"It speaks for them and to them."

Keith Depre, chairman of the board of directors for Harbor Centers, issued a statement saying that his organization "is dedicated to celebrate the second half of life and looks forward to providing, education, inspiring stories and helpful information through the Senior Reporter."

"We plan to continue the 20-year tradition Larry Fortner established and will provide unique area information that will help anyone in the region live as vital and active a life as possible," he said.

In addition to operating community centers and the Senior Reporter, Harbor Centers also oversees Hands In Service Duluth. That volunteer program provides services in the Lincoln Park neighborhood to help low-income seniors remain in their homes longer.

Fortner, 65, said the sale of the Senior Reporter should enable him to slow down a bit, but he has no plans to retire. He will continue to operate Fortner WordWorks. Its clients include the Duluth Seaway Port Authority, the Iron Mining Association, the Lake Superior Maritime Association and Hansen House Co.

Fortner said his wife, Jerilyn, has helped him publish the Senior Reporter since her retirement from teaching and now she will be able to fully retire.

For now, Fortner will continue to operate his business out of the former Bethel Lutheran Church in West Duluth. The property was not part of the magazine sale. However, Fortner has placed the former church on the market.

Once he sells it, Fortner and his wife plan to make a cabin in Itasca County's Balsam Township their primary home. But Fortner said they probably will maintain an apartment in Duluth as well.

Fortner served as editor of the Duluth News Tribune from November 1979 to January 1988.