Three years after Harding's death, William Thompson died on January 4, 1926. He was replaced by assistant editor Alfeld Hjalmar Nordale, who had been mayor of Fairbanks. At the time, the newspaper was in dire straits. Circulation had declined with the falling Fairbanks population, and reached a low of about 500 in 1925, less than half what it was in 1909. The paper still relied on an old flatbed press, which dated from the turn of the century. The newspaper offices were aging, and there was little money to upgrade. Nordale was further stressed by a conflict between him and Thompson's widow, who was the majority shareholder. The conflict arose when two competing candidates for political office attempted to buy the paper's editorial support with pledges of money. When Mrs. Thompson accepted one of the offers, Nordale asked that his name be removed from the newspaper. During the months leading up to the election, the "News-Miner" produced dozens of editorials and reproduced the speeches of the candidate. After the candidate lost, however, he failed to follow through on his promises of payment. Nordale was reinstated as editor on February 1, 1927, vindicated by the candidate's indictment on four counts of violating the federal Corrupt Practices Act.