Katrín Níelsdóttir, Winnipeg, MB

Celebrate Lögberg-Heimskringla’s 140th anniversary with us on Saturday, September 19, 2026, from 3 to 5 p.m. at the Scandinavian Cultural Centre, 764 Erin Street, Winnipeg. Founded in 1886, Lögberg-Heimskringla is one of North America’s longest continuously published ethnic newspapers, sharing “Everything Icelandic – Published in English.” The reception will feature a special 14-minute film exploring the newspaper’s remarkable history and enduring role in the Icelandic community. Guests are invited to enjoy light refreshments, dainties, conversation, and an afternoon honouring the past while looking toward the future.

Lögberg-Heimskringla is a charitable community newspaper dedicated to preserving, sharing, and celebrating Icelandic culture, history, and contemporary life. Established in 1886, it is one of North America’s longest continuously published ethnic newspapers and serves Icelandic Canadians, Icelanders abroad, and readers interested in the wider Icelandic world.

Our mandate is to strengthen connections among Icelandic communities by publishing accessible English-language journalism, historical features, cultural commentary, interviews, community news, and creative work. Throughout the year, we produce 22 print issues, maintain an online presence, promote Icelandic Canadian events and organizations, support writers and researchers, and document the people and stories shaping our community.

This anniversary reception grows directly from that year-round work. It celebrates 140 years of continuous publishing while introducing new audiences to the newspaper’s history through a short film, conversation, and community gathering. The event honours those who sustained Lögberg-Heimskringla while encouraging future generations to participate in its ongoing story. 

Stefan Jonasson, Winnipeg, MB

Depending on whom – and how – you count, Lögberg-Heimskringla and the earlier papers incorporated into its history, Heimskringla and Lögberg, have been served by 46 editors over the past 140 years. That’s 18 at Heimskringla, 11 at Lögberg, and 19 since the amalgamation. The numbers don’t quite add up because Einar Hjörleifsson Kvaran served both Heimskringla and Lögberg and Ingibjörg Jónsson was the last editor of Lögberg and the first editor of Lögberg-Heimskringla.

Besides these individuals, there had been a more than a dozen staff editors designated variously as assistant, associate, or Icelandic – one of whom will move to the editors’ column in a few weeks’ time, changing the first number to 47. And there has been a multitude of layout editors. Six editors have left one of the papers only to return later and two have been designated editor emeritus following their retirement: Ingibjörg Jónsson and Lillian Vilborg. Some editors have served only a few months, while six have served a decade or longer. Stefán Einarsson was editor of Heimskringla for 32 years while Einar P. Jónsson was editor of Lögberg for 26 years, although he was the paper’s assistant editor for a decade before. Far behind these two frontrunners, Baldwin L. Baldwinson was editor (and owner) of Heimskringla for 15 years and Jón J. Bíldfell was editor of Lögberg for a decade.

Since the papers merged, Ingibjörg Jónsson and Stefan Jonasson both served for just shy of 12 years, but Ingibjörg gets extra credit for having served as the last editor of Lögberg.

Stefan Jonasson, Winnipeg, MB

On the morning of September 11, 2001, I was sitting in the departure lounge of the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport, waiting for my connecting flight home from Boston, where I had been attending a meeting the day before. Blissfully unaware of what was happening in New York, I was quietly reading a book and planning the afternoon in the back of mind. As I recall, my connecting flight was scheduled for later in the morning, so I didn’t pay much attention to the announcements at first. At some point, I looked up and noticed that the television monitors had been turned off and that there were fewer people in the departure area than they had been before, so I wondered if I had missed something. Then there were a series of announcements about the airspace being closed, the length of time increasing with each one, until I heard “five hours” and the suggestion that passengers might want to find accommodations for the night. This was obviously not going to be a short delay.