Bleubird Printing takes over AP Printing in downtown New York Mills

Hunter and Kiana Truax have brought Bleubird Printing into downtown New York Mills, taking over AP Printing and giving the 1.5-square-mile city a closer source for custom screen printing and embroidery. For schools, teams, churches, clubs, fundraisers and small businesses, the move keeps shirts, banners and promotional materials nearer to home, where faster turnaround and local service can matter as much as price.

The new venture is based in Bertha, but its value is aimed squarely at New York Mills. In a small town, a print shop does more than produce apparel. It helps a booster club outfit a fundraiser, gives a business a clean look for an event and lets a school or nonprofit promote itself without sending work to a larger market. That kind of spending can ripple through the local economy, keeping more dollars inside Otter Tail County instead of sending them elsewhere.

The timing fits a community that has long used print and publishing to build identity. New York Mills’ first Finnish settlers arrived in 1874, and a Finnish-language newspaper was still being published there until 1985. Today, the New York Mills Regional Cultural Center carries that civic tradition forward as a rural hub for creativity, community vitality and lifelong learning in the arts. Each June, it hosts the Great American Think-Off, a nationally known event built around an essay competition and live debate, with four $500 cash prizes going to finalists.

Local events across town also depend on the kind of work Bleubird will provide. The community calendar includes recurring gatherings such as the Easter Egg Hunt, Ronald McDonald House Ride, Lund Mania/Fish House Festival, Corn Feed/Puppet Pageant and Kids Halloween Party, all the kinds of events that need posters, shirts, programs and other promotional pieces to draw a crowd.

The New York Mills Civic & Commerce directory shows how broad that customer base can be, with local employers and institutions including Lund Boats / Brunswick Boat Group, Farmers & Merchants State Bank and Magnifi Financial. In a town where New York Mills School and the New York Mills VFW sit alongside manufacturers, banks and service businesses, a downtown print shop fills a practical need that touches nearly every corner of daily life.

Bleubird’s arrival keeps that service in place under new ownership, while adding another sign that downtown New York Mills remains a working business center, not just a historic one.