Its origin may be traced to the appearance at
La Crosse, Wisconsin, in 1866, of the first
Norwegian-American literary magazine,
Ved Arnen ("By the Fireside"), which would later become a
feuilleton supplement to
Decorah-Posten. Anundsen relocated his printing operation to Decorah, Iowa the following year. On September 18, 1874, Anundsen launched
Decorah-Posten. It was a well-edited newspaper, its size and familiar format developed gradually. The publisher avoided areas of political and religious controversy, which had destroyed so many earlier papers. Considerable credit has been given to Anundsen for his sound judgment and business sense. He kept abreast of the times in printing and distribution, and expanded the physical plant to meet growing needs. A popular feature of the
Decorah-Posten was news contributed by Norwegian immigrants and their descendants from many localities in the
upper Midwest. The newspaper frequently featured, usually in the
Ved Arnen section, Norwegian-language stories and books in serial form, most notably the work of
Hans Andersen Foss. The popularity of ''The Cotter's Son
serial in 1899, has been credited with saving the Decorah-Posten'' from bankruptcy. The comic strip
Han Ola og han Per was introduced in the
Decorah-Posten during 1918.
Han Ola og han Per was an exclusive feature of the
Decorah-Posten. The comic strip was drawn by Peter Julius Rosendahl (1878-1942) from 1918 until 1935. The comic strip was reprinted almost continually until the newspaper ceased publication. Author and journalist
Johannes B. Wist was the editor of
Decorah-Posten from 1901 until his death in 1923. During much of this period, he also served as editor of
Symra, a
Norwegian-language literary magazine which was also published in Decorah, Iowa.
Kristian Prestgard served as editor-in-chief of
Decorah-Posten from 1923 until his death in 1946.
Simon Johnson served as co-editor from 1929 until his retirement in 1945. To the
Posten were incorporated the
Minneapolis Tidende in 1935, and the
Skandinaven in 1941. By 1948 the
Posten claimed to have a larger circulation than all other
Norwegian-American newspapers combined. The
Decorah-Posten ceased publication in 1972 when it was purchased by
Western Viking. Now known as
The Norwegian American, this bilingual publication is the continuation of several former Norwegian-language newspapers, including
Decorah-Posten,
Ved Arnen,
Minneapolis-Tidende,
Minnesota Posten,
Washington Posten,
Norrøna and
Skandiaben.{{cite web It is not known if there is an index to the articles of this newspaper, and, if so, for what time period and where such an index can be found. ==References==