Forum reporter, 'master punster' lets ink dry on 40-year career (2025)

FARGO — On a recent afternoon, Forum reporter Helmut Schmidt stopped by the newsroom to be interviewed for a story about his imminent retirement after four decades in journalism.

Before the interview, a professional exercise he has engaged in countless times on the other side of the notebook, Schmidt did something else that for him is an everyday thing — he recharged the newsroom snack counter.

This time, it was a large bag of chocolate-covered peanuts.

His penchant for handing out goodies, he said, started in the mid-1970s during a three-year tour of duty with the U.S. Army in what was then West Germany.

It was his practice at the time, he said, to walk through a large garage space once used for repairing tanks that his unit had converted to an electronics repair bay, all the while shouting "incoming!" as he tossed candy to fellow soldiers.

For the 1976 graduate of Park High School in Cottage Grove, Minnesota, Schmidt's Army stint was a homecoming of sorts, as he was born in the small German town of Zeil am Main.

Schmidt's late father, also named Helmut, was a U.S. soldier who was stationed with an infantry unit in nearby Schweinfurt.

Young Helmut immigrated to the United States when he was 1, accompanied by his mother, Doris, with mother and son making their home with Helmut Sr. in South St. Paul, Minnesota.

Schmidt became a naturalized U.S. citizen a few years later, and he got his first taste of journalism in high school, when he took a class that put together the school newspaper.

Class trips took Schmidt to the Hastings Gazette in Hastings, Minnesota, where he would watch pressmen put the pages together.

The smell of ink and sawdust and witnessing how newspapers were made left a lasting impression, said Schmidt, who after completing his stint in the Army returned home to the Twin Cities, where he took part-time jobs while pursuing a degree in journalism.

Schmidt graduated from the College of St. Thomas with a bachelor's degree in December 1984 and took a reporting job in spring of 1985 with the Albert Lea Tribune in Albert Lea, Minnesota.

The Tribune later named Schmidt managing editor, and he served in that role for about three years before joining The Forum in the fall of 1989.

David Samson / The Forum

At The Forum, Schmidt started as a copy editor and did layout and design of the paper as part of what then was known as the night desk.

Around 2000, Schmidt returned to reporting and covered many newsroom beats over the years.

They included cops and courts, as well as higher education, though the bulk of his reporting has been covering K-12 education and, more recently, area business.

Schmidt said one of the most emotionally powerful situations he covered involved stories he wrote about area troops tasked with peacekeeping duties in Bosnia in 2003.

He said one memorable day was when he and then Forum photo editor Colburn Hvidston III were traveling with U.S. peacekeeping troops in Bosnia. Schmidt was carrying a video camera when they came upon a scene of a woman kneeling on the ground next to the grave of a person who had been reburied after being found in a mass grave.

"The dirt was still mounded up, and there was fog coming in over the mountain, and there was a woman, she was there grieving," Schmidt recalled.

"That scene, where she was on her knees and the fog cascading down the mountain toward her ... I tried to do a stand up (report), and I just couldn't," Schmidt said. "I didn't have the words. They just caught in my throat."

At The Forum, Schmidt is renowned for his legendary work ethic, including his willingness to fill in for others whenever asked.

He's also been known to call in story tips, even on sick days.

Schmidt said that all may have something to do with having watched his parents growing up.

"My father was a very hard-working man," Schmidt said, adding that his mother was a hard worker, too, "despite the fact she didn't know a lick of English when we moved here."

He said the unspoken and yet clearly expressed message he got from his parents, particularly his father, was that it was important to fully integrate into American society.

"The thought was, if you want to succeed, you become fluent in English and you work hard and do the whole immigrant thing," Schmidt said, noting that after his time in the service his father worked at a large stockyards in South St. Paul and later at Northern States Power Co., now Xcel Energy.

When it comes to his mother, Schmidt said practically from the day she landed in America she went to work, first at a commercial laundry and later as a server at St. Paul restaurants, a job "she was really darn good at," Schmidt said.

Though some might suspect "work" is Schmidt's middle name, his nose isn't always pressed against the grindstone.

Somehow, he finds the time to keep colleagues apprised of the best memes and dad jokes the internet has to offer.

And his own stories are sprinkled with word play when and wherever he deems it necessary.

"Helmut is a master punster," said John Lamb, a features writer at The Forum.

Chris Flynn / The Forum

"I've had people tell me they know a Helmut story before reading the byline, because they can tell he's having fun writing it," Lamb added.

Fellow features writer Tracy Briggs said she feels lucky to have worked with Schmidt for the last few years.

"Not only is he one of the nicest guys in the newsroom, quick to bring a treat or snack to hungry reporters, he's a consummate professional. I always knew when he was assigned a story, it would be done well and with integrity," Briggs said.

Briggs' sentiments were echoed by Matthew Von Pinnon, editor of The Forum.

"I've had the privilege of working with Helmut for more than 30 years. He's a consummate professional, courteous and fair at all times," Von Pinnon said.

"He's funny, too, with a quick wit and a flair for storytelling. We'll miss his jovial spirit and journalistic excellence," Von Pinnon added.

Angie Wieck, business and features editor at The Forum, said while she may groan at some of Schmidt's puns and dad jokes, she's really going to miss him on the business and features team.

"In addition to being a very talented and well-respected journalist, Helmut is a thoughtful, kind and generous friend and colleague," Wieck said.

As Schmidt puts his well-used byline to bed, he is looking forward to joining his wife, Lori, in retirement.

Lori stepped back from her work as a nurse practitioner for Essentia Health two years ago.

The couple have four grown daughters — Allison, Andrea, Melinda and Stephanie — all of whom, according to their father, are pursuing successful careers.