FARGO, N.D. — Forum Communications Co., which owns The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead, has agreed to buy the Brainerd Dispatch and other newspaper properties in north-central Minnesota.

The deal is to be completed Jan. 1.

Forum Communications is buying the properties from Morris Communications, a media company based in Augusta, Ga.

Forum Communications is a Fargo-based multimedia information company that owns dozens of newspapers, television stations and radio stations in North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin and South Dakota.

Forum Communications board Chairman Bill Marcil Sr. says the Brainerd market “is an ideal fit” for the company’s regional media presence.

According to online historical sources, the Brainerd Dispatch published its first edition in December 1881.