Our Dunlap Reporter subscribers received a letter in the mail this week that led to some confusion. If you received it, you know what I'm talking about.
If you didn't, what I'm saying next still affects you. It affects all of us, so it's important to clear the air on exactly what comes next for the Missouri Valley Times-News and Dunlap Reporter.
The April 30 edition of the Times-News and the May 1 edition of the Reporter will be their last. Starting May 7, the Times-News and Reporter will merge into one paper called the Harrison County Times-Reporter. This paper will come out on Wednesdays, just like the Times-News has up to this point.
If you are a subscriber to the Times-News or Reporter, your subscription will be honored through whatever length of time you have already paid for. You do not need to worry about getting a new subscription or getting a refund. Of course, you can cancel if you'd like, but we'd prefer it if you'd stick with us and see the additional coverage you’ll be getting at no extra cost.
When I say this change affects all of us, I mean it. It affects us here in the newsroom, too. Our coverage and dedication will remain the same, but there will surely be some hiccups as we combine coverage into one paper with one deadline.
The most important thing for all of you to know, though, is that this opens up a bunch of opportunities for how we approach coverage in the future. Here's a look at what we've talked about amongst ourselves while determining what your paper will look like in the future.
As the Harrison County paper, the biggest news will go on the front page. Doesn't matter where it happens within the confines of this region. If you have a “front page worthy story” happening in your community, well, it will be exactly that.
For each story that runs on an inside page, there will be a header placed above it that identifies the city of origin. If you’re a newspaper skimmer (please read the whole thing!) then this will help you find the news that corresponds to your taste.
This integration won't happen perfectly and all at once. We will be fine-tuning for the first several editions and figuring out exactly how we want things to look, and we would appreciate your feedback.
The main takeaway I would like for all of you to have, though, is that while the paper itself is changing the coverage isn't. We already pride ourselves on covering the wider-than-you-think communities of Harrison County, and now we will simply do that in one paper.
Our address at 513 E. Erie St. in Missouri Valley will remain our headquarters, and you are welcome to swing by, call us at 712-642-2791 or email me personally at news@enterprisepub.com to ask questions about this process.
I will offer one personal reflection to close out this column. I've been working here since late 2022, and in that time I've seen the deep need that citizens have for coverage that only community newspapers can provide. You hear this from small-town journalists all the time, but it's true.
The people of Missouri Valley and Dunlap are great. There are many other communities in Harrison County, too, and they have already looked to us as their newspaper even though it doesn't bear their name. It's safe to say that we have been covering these communities as much as we can, though, and we appreciate the Missouri Valley and Dunlap folks who were OK with these stories getting some shine in what could be considered “their newspaper.” I wouldn't be surprised if many of you already saw us as the Harrison County paper, and there are many times throughout the year where we feel that way ourselves.
There is no Logan Herald-Observer anymore. There is no Woodbine Twiner. There are no Mondamin or Persia papers, and they haven't existed for many generations now.
What I'm saying is this: This is not the “end” of the Missouri Valley Times-News or the Dunlap Reporter. What this is is the natural progression and continuation of coverage in a way that accurately describes what we are aiming to accomplish as your newspaper. While we have effectively been the county paper for some time, this formalizes it, changes the name and puts processes in place that should serve to make our coverage and newspaper design even more comprehensive for the reader.
I love the Missouri Valley Times-News and the Dunlap Reporter. This is the first full-time job — and still the only full-time job — that I've ever had. But, more specifically, I love Missouri Valley and I love Dunlap. I love Logan and I love Woodbine. I love my trips out to Modale, Mondamin, Magnolia, Pisgah, Persia, Little Sioux and Dow City. I don't get to go there as often as I'd like sometimes, but it isn't for lack of trying.
I love driving through the Loess Hills to get to an obscure interview. I love the fun at the Harrison County Fair and the 4 County Fair each year (even though the work I have to do afterward nearly drives me insane!). I love seeing the growth and investment from young families and school districts. Harrison County is a cool place.
I think it’s OK for the newspaper to reflect that. I think it’s OK for the newspaper to unapologetically be the Harrison County Times-Reporter. I understand if some of you have suspicions or drawbacks to this change, but I'll still be covering everything I've been covering. Matt Gengler is still somehow alive and breathing after 30 years of this, and the same goes for him.
Give us some time, and we'll prove it to you. Give us, and this new path for the newspaper, a chance. It is our hope that this will be something the entire county can get behind and be proud of.
