Missouri Press Association
Serving Missouri Newspapers Since 1867
Newspapers are always looking for ways to engage younger readers, and the Gasconade County Republican seems to have found a great opportunity.
The newspaper has started partnering with Owensville High School (enrollment 514) to start a journalism class and produce a monthly student paper, The Dutch Mill, inside the pages of the Republican. The first issue came out in March.
Owensville High School previously had a student paper, the OHS Spectator, but it was discontinued nearly 15 years ago. Roxie Murphy, a co-editor-in-chief of the Spectator in 2006-07, is now the assistant editor of the Republican.
“We were understaffed and felt there were areas in the city that needed more coverage,” said Murphy in explaining the collaboration with the school. “We wanted to pull in younger readers. We wanted to improve views on local news sources.
“I’d just been promoted to assistant editor and felt there were ways to cover the gaps, including working with the OHS journalism team, only to discover there wasn’t one! Helping the school restart its program would benefit everyone. COVID eliminated a lot of the community’s engagement in a district that has traditionally welcomed volunteers.”
Murphy and Jacob Warden, general manager, first pitched the idea to publisher Dennis Warden, who said to “run with it.” Meetings with the superintendent and principal followed. Amy Quertermous, an English teacher with no journalism background, agreed to become the adviser. Quertermous, who understandably goes by “Mrs. Q.,” completed the “Earn Your Press Pass” program made available through the Missouri Press Association.
“The Press Pass program was extremely helpful; each video was clear and easy to follow,” Quertermous said. “Switching writing focus to that of a journalist was a tricky transition to make. The videos helped students know what topics to look for, how to approach people, interview strategies, and gave them visual permission to carry a small journalist notebook.”
The collab-oration with the high school officially started in August 2024, with the students learning how to write newspaper stories. Rather than calling the publication the Spectator again, they chose The Dutch Mill to reflect the Owensville High School Dutchmen mascot and the community’s heritage.
The staff of 12 creates a run sheet for each issue listing the suggested headlines, word counts, potential artwork, and placement priority. Mrs. Q and the students edit the stories, then Murphy gives them a final edit. Jacob Warden and Republican editor Dave Marner help coordinate the student photography, and Warden designs the pages. The Republican staff drops off 100 copies of each issue containing the pages of The Dutch Mill in the school cafeteria.
Mrs. Q said the students’ favorite experience was visiting the Missourian Publishing Company in Washington, where the Gas-conade County Republican is printed.
“Students could see the process from the graphic design department to the printing process itself,” she said. “That morning’s issue of the Republican was still hanging. Then fast-forwarding to our first mock pages prior to print was a great motivator into the next issue.”
Mrs. Q said the goal of The Dutch Mill is found in its tag line ─ “Bringing GCR2 (Gasconade County R-2) to YOU.”
“We want to share what is going on in our school community with our local communities,” she said. “When the students approach an article, they are thinking about students directly involved, sponsors of the event, and what we want to share with our local community. Collaboration with the local paper has given our students a more realistic hands-on experience and responsibility than working on a strictly in-district paper.”
Murphy sees a distinct advantage to the project.
“Printing the student production brings the school’s news directly to the community and vice versa,” she said. “Students are picking up the whole Gasconade County Republican. They are reading community news at the same time that they are reading about themselves. We wanted to encourage the school and community to take pride in each other.”
Warden sees yet another benefit. “Schools spend a ton of time and effort on FFA, band, football ─ all those extracurricular activities,” he said. “But one of the most important things to do is to learn how to write and communicate your ideas. This class is teaching students how to do that.”
“We hope printing the student publication within the Republican will increase both youth and adult readership,” Murphy said. “We also hope that establishing this relationship with students will encourage both the community and students to take pride and ownership in their local newspapers.”
Murphy also wanted to acknowledge Hannah Spaar, news editor of The Odessan and Focus on Oak Grove, for her support.
“Her grandmother started a journalism program between the newspaper and the school district in Odessa,” she said. “When I began researching ways to pitch this idea to the district, Hannah’s was the only program that came close to what I wanted to do, and helped lay the foundation of our proposal.”
