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After more than 26 years at The Journal and passing what many consider retirement age, it's time to move on at least to a degree.
After working five or six days a week and holding one full-time job and up to three part-time jobs at the same time, it's not easy to just cut loose from it all.
New Ulm beats most small towns as a good place to be a journalist for a number of reasons.
There are lots of festivals here.
The downtown area is still pretty vibrant. Our newspaper office is still downtown and open every weekday. Many important places like the courthouse, police station and city hall are close to it.
A sense of caring is something many here don't take lightly.
When it snows a lot and lots of vehicles are stuck in it, people are eager to help. A younger woman once offered to help me dig, push and pull my vehicle away from The Journal office when it was snowing and blowing.
While some newspapers ceased publication or print much less than they used to, we still print Tuesday through Saturday.
Newspapers, especially local ones, are vital for democracy, local accountability and verified facts.
Print readership isn't what it used to be. Many news organizations have survived, adopting with digital websites, mobile apps and reporting that social media doesn't do.
There are fewer journalism jobs than there were a few decades ago, but they haven't gone away completely.
The need for fact-checking and truth telling is greater than ever now.
I've been writing since the sixth grade when we created a class newspaper.
My work still gives me a sense of fulfillment.
For the near future, I will continue to work at least on a part-time basis. I'm thankful for the opportunity to be able to do so.
-- Fritz Busch is retiring as a full-time reporter after 26 years a the New Ulm Journal