Missouri Press Association
Serving Missouri Newspapers Since 1867
Who owns the newspapers: In September 2024, Reaves and Williams LLC bought the paper from Lewis County Press. Monroe County Appeal and Ralls County Herald Enterprise combined into one newspaper in 2021 and now goes by Monroe-Ralls.
Circulation/Issues per week/publication day: Publish on Thursdays only and have around 1,000 circulation, with thousands more online only.
Staff: Our staff has dropped over the last eight years to one (me) onsite. We have a couple at the corporate office that assist with layout, legals, etc. which is a huge help!
Population of counties: Monroe County has 8,890 and Ralls County has 10,400 as of 2024.
Is the community growing, declining, or holding steady? We are holding steady.
Your greatest challenge: My challenge is selling ads. With Facebook and other social media platforms, we aren’t the first choice anymore.
Newspaper’s biggest strength: We have a huge online presence. Our readers like the paper conveniently at their fingertips on their electronics, our breaking news and article emails, as well as live streaming.
Newspaper’s biggest weakness or obstacle to overcome: When I first started in 2017, I had five employees under me to share responsibilities and job tasks. Now, I am the only one to cover events, write articles, sell ads, and make the budget and content count.
Your family: I am remarried to Jimmy. I have three sons, Eli, 22, Wyatt, 18, and Westin, 16. We have two dogs, Hunter (pitbull/boxer) and Jack (Jack Russell/chihuahua). My dad was a farmer, so we have the farm still in the family since his passing.
Your hobbies/interests: I am a Christian woman. I love to watch YouTube, write articles, craft, build, remodel, hang out with Hunter, spend time with my hubby and kids, and of course, shop! Retail therapy is the best! I am on the Missouri Press Advertising and Marketing Executives Board of Directors.
List something interesting or unusual about you: I do not like crowds or being around people in general, which doesn’t fit my job requirements at all. COVID really helped out with that. I got stuck in a new routine, and it’s hard coming out of that.
What is your favorite journalism accomplishment? I started in the newspaper world in 2016 as a part-time office manager. I’ve since grown throughout each necessary job in the newspaper world, from day-to-day office tasks, delivery to news racks, full-time reporter, graphic design, editor, supervised five employees, sales, publisher, and now general manager. I’m pretty proud of how far I’ve come.
If you weren’t a publisher, what do you think you would be doing? I’d be a remote medical coordinator for a hospital or clinic. I have my medical office assistant degree. I love the medical field. My first two jobs were in a nursing home and a hospital.
