The Pacific Northwest might seem cold in the dark winter months, but “cold’ took on an entirely new meaning for Colton Rasanen-Fryar when they landed a job in North Dakota. 

The summer 2020 Western Washington University alumn entered the job market during tumultuous COVID-19 newsroom closures. After staying in Bellingham for a little over a year, they accepted a position at the Wahpeton Daily News in April 2022.

The three-times-weekly publication is located on the border of North Dakota and Minnesota and experiences a cold-season temperature range of minus 3-29 degrees Fahrenheit. 

After less than a year, they were promoted from Wilkin County reporter to assistant managing editor in January 2023.

Over the past year, their work has focused on telling community members’ stories through feature writing skills and education-based reporting to push back against disinformation about “liberal” issues in the rural, agricultural-based community. 

Rasanen-Fryar might have known about the cold weather, but they couldn’t have prepared for how frigid their initial welcome to the area would be.

“It’s hard for me, at least, as an openly gay person,” said Rasansen-Fryar, who uses all pronouns but will be referred to as (they/them) for this article. “I have to sit here and think, ‘do I want to go out and do this,’ or, ‘do I want to look like this when I’m going out?’ Just because it’s a bit scary.”

They pointed to anti-trans and anti-LGBTQ+ legislation going through the North Dakota legislature.

“That’s extremely bleak,” they said. 

A Rough Week, To Say The Least

The inside scoop of the town’s tight-knit and socially conservative nature was made clear to Rasanen-Fryar by their former classmate at Western, Audra Anderson, who held the assistant managing editor position for a year-and-a-half prior to their interest in the role.

Anderson now works as Cascadia Daily News’ assistant editor and enterprise reporter.

“It’s really great to put on your resume, you get really good experience, but the town is not a good fit for people like [Rasanen-Fryar and me],” Anderson said. “It’s not a really decent place to live.”

Starting their first week on the job, what was a well-intentioned “meet our new reporter” on the Daily News Facebook, quickly turned into a comment section full of personal attacks on their identity, using prior posts from Rasanen-Fryar’s personal page to fuel the fire.

Rasanen-Fryar found support from fellow newsroom staff and decided to stay at the publication despite a historically un-warm welcome nearly a year ago.

They said it feels like things have come full circle when readers say former uncertainties have melted away after consistently seeing about 10 pieces of fair coverage a week with Rasanen-Fryar’s byline. 

“They wanted to stick it out, and they wanted to be there and just show, ‘no, I’ll stay in this community because I belong just as much as anybody else,'” said Anderson. 

She said she wouldn’t have lasted through the controversy had it been her in Rasanen-Fryar’s position. 

Choosing resilience

One of Rasanen-Fryar’s strengths is balancing an optimistic outlook with a realistic understanding of the world around them. 

They said the eventful fallout of their first week is in the past for them now.

“You gotta get out and be resilient, or else they’re gonna run you out of town and the job that you want to do,” he said.

A personal and people-oriented approach to journalism is not new to Rasanen-Fryar. While at Western, they worked as editor-in-chief on the fall 2020 issue of Klipsun — themed Pride. They also worked on The Front for several quarters as a reporter and as campus life and managing editor. 

The idea of storytelling is what made them fall in love with the idea of journalism and switch over from a communication studies degree. They said after taking Dean Wright’s newswriting class, they were in awe of the possibilities journalism opened up. 

“After that first class, I was sitting there like, ‘no, this is what I want to do,'” they said.

As current interim managing editor, Rasanen-Fryar stayed true to their identity while learning who the people of their new community are on a personal level. 

Their coverage has ventured out of feature stories into city news, educational pieces about Black History Month and Pride curated with information presented in an approachable way — even to the most conservative of the readers of Daily News. 

“These are people here, regardless of viewpoints, regardless of opinions, they deserve news coverage that’s accurate and balanced. And they deserve respect just for being people,” Rasanen-Frayar said. 

Rasanen-Fryar learns from the people in their community by telling their stories. They approach chats, never “interviews,” in a way that amplifies a safe and comfortable feeling for their sources. They are open to phone interviews if their conversation partner, never “interviewee,” would prefer it to a face-to-face meeting.

For their in-person talks, Rasanen-Fryar enjoys going to the spaces where their sources feel most comfortable, whether in their home/quilt studio or the funeral home where they work. 

Looking back over the last year, they’ve made the absolute best of what began as a week in hell.

“I’m resilient,” they said. “We have to tell ourselves that as journalists because people aren’t always gonna love us.” 

Local reporting in a national context

Rasanen-Fryar has a sense of belonging to the newfound community of the Daily News and its readers and the much larger movement of LGBTQ+ journalists pushing for representation and respect in the media.

“Newspapers as a whole, in my opinion, have a lot of work to regain the trust of marginalized communities,” they said. 

They cited the New York Times’ repeated publishing of anti-trans rhetoric as one instance of a respected media pillar turning its back on the voices of an entire community.

Rasanen-Fryar sees active listening goes hand-in-hand with accountability. They said sincere apologies and direct action would serve the future of journalism better than a defensive attitude in the face of valid criticism.

“Listening to other journalists of color, listening to trans journalists, listening to the people who have lived these experiences, who are in our industry is where I think that we could do better,” they said. 

In an industry with an ever-changing future and eagerness to dismiss its past mistakes, Rasanen-Fryar still finds a way to see the bright side.

“Journalists in our field, they’re doing the most to move things forward, to figure out ways to keep us moving,” they said. “I have to sit here, and I have to believe the work we’re doing is positive and the work we’re doing is going to pay off.”

Sunnier Days Ahead

With a one-year anniversary approaching for Rasanen-Fryar’s memorable time in Wahpeton, they are looking forward to the exciting opportunities the future may bring. 

Anderson can attest to the cold winters and initial icy reception as one of several reasons for the Daily News to remain a “stepping-stone” for herself and Rasanen-Fryar.

“I’m really proud of Colton and the way that they’ve handled this whole situation and with such grace, and obviously, the situation blew over, but it’s still not an easy place to live, and that job can be very demanding,” she said.

Rasanen-Fryar has their fingers crossed for an eventual feature writing role somewhere warmer — Arizona, perhaps?

They also maintain a balanced attitude and recognize in an ever-changing industry, there is such a thing as planning too far ahead. 

“While I want to believe that we have reason to be in this position, we have a job to do, and it’s going to be a valid job. I can’t say it’s going to be there forever.”

Looking back, Rasanen-Fryar can say their experiences in North Dakota only made them stronger.

“Not many other journalists can say that’s how they started their career,” they said.