Arkansas City, Winfield newspapers to merge

The Winfield Daily Courier and the Arkansas City Traveler will merge July 1 to become the Cowley CourierTraveler.

David A. Seaton, president of Winfield Publishing, said: "We've been working on this consolidation for several months, and the story has been leaking for a while.

"We wanted to do it the right way - through deliberate discussions among department heads at both newspapers and through proper planning."

Seaton said the merged publication will still come out Tuesday through Saturday at the same subscription price.

"We realize this is a big change - a bit of a shock to the system. We plan to make the transition as smooth and understandable as possible," Seaton told readers. "That's part of the reason we are making this announcement one month in advance of the change."

Both buildings in Winfield and Arkansas City will continue to be staffed, he said.

Earlier this year, the three newspapers in Miami County - the Miami County Republic, the Osawatomie Graphic and the Louisburg Herald combined into a countywide newspaper.