Jim Carrington, longtime Pioneer sports editor and Bemidji icon, dies at 93

A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. on Saturday, July 9, at First Baptist Church in Bemidji

Jim Carrington, pictured here in 2007, worked at the Pioneer for 52 years and served as the full-time sports editor for 39 years. Carrington died on Saturday, July 2, 2022. (Pioneer file photo)
Jim Carrington, pictured here in 2007, worked at the Pioneer for 52 years and served as the full-time sports editor for 39 years. Carrington died on Saturday, July 2, 2022. (Pioneer file photo)
Posted

From his 1959 arrival to his 2011 departure, Jim Carrington hardly took a personal day. If he did, so the legend goes, he feared that he’d return to discover that his job had been stolen.

That’s why he did what he did for 52 years.

“Jim was the most dedicated journalist I've ever worked with,” said Dennis Doeden, former publisher at the Pioneer (Bemidji, Minnesota) who worked with Carrington for 10 years. “It seemed like he was never off duty.”

The Pioneer’s longtime sports editor and a celebrity by all accounts within the Bemidji sports scene, Carrington died on Saturday, July 2, at the age of 93.

A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. on Saturday, July 9, at First Baptist Church in Bemidji, located at 1555 Paul Bunyan Drive NW.

Read more from the Pioneer