Effective Thursday, January 1, 2015, the Postville Herald will be published by a new owner, Mid-America Publishing Corporation based in Hampton, IA. Mid-America had entered into an agreement earlier in December 2014 to purchase the publication from Jason Meyer dba Meyer Publishing, L.C. and the January 7th edition will mark the first edition under Mid-America’s stewardship.
“We are very excited to add the Postville Herald to our family of newspapers,” said Ryan Harvey, President and CEO of Mid-America Publishing. “We’ve been working with Jason throughout the year to put this transaction together and we are happy that we were able to come to terms in time to coincide with the new year. Harvey further added “We appreciate all the hard work Jason has put in with the papers over the past few years and we look forward to continuing to build upon the tradition that he has established.” Terms of the purchase have not been released.
The publications will join a growing network of 21 Iowa weekly newspapers, which are owned and operated by Mid-America and which as some readers may be aware include one nearby publication, The Calmar Courier. In addition to The Courier, other Mid-America newspapers include; The Grundy Register, of Grundy Center; The Record, in Conrad; The Eldora Herald-Ledger and Hardin County Index, with an office in Eldora; The Leader, with offices in Garner and Britt; the Kanawha Reporter, the Wright County Monitor, in Clarion and Dows; the Eagle Grove Eagle; the Buffalo Center Tribune, The Pioneer Enterprise (Rockwell-Thornton), The Sheffield Press; The Hampton Chronicle; The Butler County Tribune-Journal (Allison); the Clarksville Star, The Ogden Reporter, and The Graphic-Advocate, with offices in Lake City and Rockwell City. The company additionally owns and operates newspapers in southeast Iowa which are The News-Review, in Sigourney, The Keota Eagle, Keota, and The Sun with officers in New Sharon and Fremont. The company also produces two weekly political newspapers, the Conservative Chronicle and the Liberal Opinion Week. Additionally the company prints several TMC shoppers, such as The Hampton Chronicle’s Bonus in Hampton, The Spectrum in Lake City-Rockwell City, The Leader’s Shoppers News Review in Garner, and the Wright County Reminder in Clarion; plus monthly shoppers such as The Dual County Leader in Eagle Grove and the Keokuk County Chief in Sigourney. Mid-America also has a commercial printing division that offers customized printing and publishing solutions such as banners, posters, postcards, direct mailing, mailing list management, letter head design, newsletter management and dozens of other marketing and promotional products which it plans to make available locally in the Postville area.
“As a publisher of weekly newspapers and customized publishing solutions for local markets, we feel that Postville is a natural fit for our company,” Harvey said. “We believe strongly in the tradition of weekly newspapers and are elated that Jason has chosen us to carry the legacy of the Herald in Postville.”
Harvey has been named the publisher of the newspaper although day-to-day operations will be handled by the local staff of Nadine Brock and Sharon Drahn. “We have the greatest confidence in Nadine and Sharon’s ability to serve the people of Postville and Allamakee County and are more than thrilled to be a part of the local scene,” said Harvey. The company has launched a search for a full-time marketing representative, effective immediately, to assist with the customers served in the local market.
Matt Grohe, Board Chair and part owner of Mid-America Publishing further added that Mid-America’s interest in Postville is due to its good mix of businesses, dedicated local employers who have fostered a diverse environment and a faithful readership made up of long term residents and new arrivals to the community. “A local newspaper is only as healthy as the region it serves and it is encouraging to see the commitment to Postville the citizens and business owners have shown over the long term.” Grohe further added that although the paper will retain its local appeal, readers will notice some immediate changes such as expanded and varied content, special sections, more local photos and greater use of color. He also added that some additional printing services will be added in The Herald offices but that the full suite of services Mid-America offers would be available immediately and that any interested parties could contact the newspaper office for more information.
One change for readers and advertisers to note is that the newspaper’s billing and circulation will be consolidated to the company’s home office staff in Hampton effective immediately. The printing of the newspaper will also move to the Hampton facility rather than being printed in Calmar and a website for the newspaper will be launched within a few weeks. The newspaper will remain in its current location at 101 N. Lawler St. and will also retain the same mailing address, email addresses and phone number.