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The Des Moines Register helped set the agenda for Des Moines and Iowa on many occasions in its glory years, and now it’s redefining the “Buy Into the Circle” concept. If you need office supplies and things like that, continue to buy them in the Golden Circle whenever possible. But when it comes to paying wages and benefits, start thinking about a bigger circle.

A circle that’s roughly 25,000 miles in circumference – in other words, the entire Earth.

We had heard about newspapers outsourcing work to the other side of the world, but hoped it was one trend that wouldn’t ooze here from the coasts. So it was discouraging to hear that the Register will lay off a handful of advertising designers here and hire workers in India to do those jobs.

Draining wages from the local economy in this way is another small, sad step for the company. There’s no telling how much more outsourcing is in the cards, as the Register scrambles to reinvent itself. And outsourcing isn’t the Register’s only regrettable employment move.

The paper has offered early retirement packages to a number of veteran employees during the past few months, and quite a few have accepted the deal. It appears those people are not being replaced, certainly not on a one-for-one basis. That means the paper is supporting fewer Central Iowa workers.

By the way, even though readers might not notice these changes, more visible ones are on the way. At a recent presentation to investment analysts, a Gannett officer confirmed that the company, like its competitors, is moving to smaller pages on thinner paper.

The Internet has made life difficult for daily newspapers. Gannett’s profit dropped 31 percent from year-ago levels in the most recent quarter. The company doesn’t break out individual properties, so we don’t know how the Register is doing.

But it’s clear that the paper is having its share of trouble. And the community is starting to feel the economic effects.