Missouri Press Association
Serving Missouri Newspapers Since 1867
In a day and age when we see announcements of newspaper closures all too often (not very many in Missouri, though!), it’s refreshing to hear about papers being purchased because they are still considered valuable and relevant products.
Two of our Missouri publishers recently acquired a total of five more papers. Warden Publishing bought the Cuba Free Press, the Steelville Star-Crawford Mirror, and the Saint James Press from Rob Viehman. Ken Garner bought the Mount Ayr Record News and the Diagonal Progress in Ringgold County, Iowa.
“Rob [Viehman] had an option to sell his papers to a larger chain, but didn’t want to do that,” said Dennis Warden. “We and he both wanted to keep the papers locally owned.
“There’s still a market for local, community news. Jacob [Warden] did all the research on it and said it was something we should do. It’s his baby.”
The Wardens now own six papers, including their flagship Gasconade County Republican (acquired in 1963), the Maries County Advocate (2016), and the Osage County Unterrified Democrat (2018). Their staff has increased from 11 nine years ago to the current 40 (both full-time and part-time). Warden Publishing has main offices in Owensville, Linn, and Cuba, and satellite offices in Vienna, Belle, Steelville and St. James.
Jacob Warden, who eventually will be the owner and publisher of all six papers, said the primary motivator was keeping the Cuba Free Press, the Steelville Star-Crawford Mirror, and the Saint James Press all locally owned. The papers were not turning much of a profit.
“If we didn’t buy them, a corporate chain was going to buy them,” he said. “I wanted to do everything we could do to keep them local.”
A key to the transaction was that advertising manager Dailene Forbes agreed to stay on.
“She’s very good,” Dennis Warden said. “If she was going to leave, we wouldn’t have purchased the papers.”
Viehman, for his part, was quite pleased with the sale. “After 45 years in the newspaper business, I am thrilled that the Wardens bought my newspapers,” he said in a June 27 interview with Roxie Murphy, Warden Publishing assistant editor. “When my wife decided late last year on her retirement date, which is still about 20 months away, I decided I had better begin trying to sell the business.”
The purchase has made a road warrior out of Jacob Warden, who splits his time between Owensville (where he lives), Linn and Cuba.
“I’m spending a lot more time running all over the place,” he said. “I spend Monday in Linn, which is a 30-minute drive. I spend Tuesday in Owensville. On Wednesday, I get up at 3 a.m., travel to Linn to put papers out, drive to Cuba, and try to get home by 6 p.m. Thursday, I’m back in Linn and then Cuba again on Friday.”
Garner has also become a king of the road as he travels from Maryville to Mount Ayr, Iowa, every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. It’s a 65-minute drive, door to door. Fortunately, a 2016 Jeep Grand Cherokee came with his purchase of the two papers.
To cut costs, Garner isn’t taking the big salary and benefits that the previous owner did.
“It’s a huge savings that I am reinvesting into some critical infrastructure,” he said.
Garner is modernizing the Mount Ayr Record News and the Diagonal Progress, adding bylines and datelines and introducing some style changes to the writing. He’s also making some design tweaks and giving the papers a cleaner look.
Garner purchased the Maryville Forum in June 2021 and the Grant City Times-Tribune in October 2022. He also owns a weekly shopper, The Post.
“Every community deserves a quality, hometown paper run by local people,” he says. “We are still on the front lines telling our communities’ stories, the good and the bad.”
The Mount Ayr Record News is the oldest continuous business in Ringgold County, tracing its roots back to 1863. It has had only seven owners.
“We had opportunities to sell to newspaper groups, but wanted someone who would be ‘hands on,’ and we think we found that in Ken,” said previous owner Tom Hawley in the Aug. 7 Record News.
Publishers like the Wardens and Ken Garner are the backbone of Missouri’s community newspapers. The Missouri Press Association appreciates the fact that they are willing to shoulder an even greater workload and more responsibility to ensure the future of these weeklies.
