Vang, Hedmark

Vang is a former municipality in Hedmark county, Norway.

Vang was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt). The city of Hamar was separated from Vang in 1849. Furnes was separated from Vang in 1891. Vang was merged with Hamar on 1 January 1992.

Prior to the merger of Hamar its administration center was located in Hamar (i.e., outside of its own municipality). Vang had 9,103 residents and an area of 327 km². There was strong local opposition, with one poll showing 95% of former Vang residents opposed to incorporation into Hamar. Support in Hamar was stronger as Vang was a prosperous farming municipality, while Hamar suffered from urban decay.

The sponsor for the consolidation was Odd Aspeli (of the Arbeiderpartiet). He took over as Mayor in Hamar after consolidation and remained as Mayor until 1999. Another chief sponsor against consolidation, Einar Busterud, then assumed the position of Mayor.

Gåsbu Ski Center lies in Vang Almenning, and has served as the backup venue for the Holmenkollrennene. The national cross-country skiing championship was last held here in 2002.

Hedmark

Hedmark [ˈheːdˈmɑrk]  ( listen) is a county in Norway, bordering Sør-Trøndelag to the north, Oppland to the west and Akershus to the south. The county administration is in Hamar.

Hedmark makes up the northeastern part of Østlandet, the southeastern part of the country. It has a long border with Sweden, Dalarna County and Värmland County. The largest lakes are Femunden and Mjøsa, the largest lake in Norway. Parts of Glomma, Norway's longest river, flow through Hedmark. Geographically, Hedmark is traditionally divided into: Hedemarken, east of Mjøsa, Østerdalen, north of Elverum, and Glåmdalen, south of Elverum. Hedmark and Oppland are the only Norwegian counties with no coastline. Hedmark also hosted some events of the 1994 Winter Olympic Games.

Hamar, Kongsvinger, Elverum and Tynset are cities in the county. Hedmark is one of the less urbanized areas in Norway; about half of the inhabitants live on rural land. The population is mainly concentrated in the rich agricultural district adjoining Mjøsa to the southeast. The county's extensive forests supply much of Norway's timber; at one time, logs were floated down Glomma to the coast but are now transported by truck and train.

Hamar Arbeiderblad

Hamar Arbeiderblad (often referred to locally as "HA") is local newspaper published in Hamar, Norway by Hamar Media. The paper is edited by Carsten Bleness. HA was one of the first newspapers to place the internet edition of a newspaper behind a paywall. Access to the internet edition is free for annual subscribers to the print edition. Access to the internet edition costs the same as the print edition.

History

The first edition of Hamar Arbeiderblad was published on 30 March 1925 with a print run of 1200 copies. Local branches of the Labour Party in Hamar, Vang, Stange, Romedal, Løten, Ringsaker and Nes were behind the founding of the newspaper. It was considered that Hamar and the surrounding areas needed their own newspaper. The paper's first editor was Nils Hønsvald. The paper got its own printing press in 1927.

The paper was originally distributed to municipalities around Hedmarken. In 1932 distrubition was extended to include Østerdalen.

The paper is now the largest newspaper in Hedmark. It has also grown from being a party organ of the Norwegian Labour Party to being a politically independent local newspaper, but it kept its original name all the same.