Emporia Gazette buys St. Marys newspaper

The Emporia Gazette has purchased the St. Marys Star from Renae Tetlow, it was announced last week.

Christopher Walker, editor and publisher of the Gazette, said the newspaper will remain committed to the community despite the change in ownership.

"The same staff and office location will remain ..." he said. "Delivery and deadlines will remain the same. The only change you will notice is the paper size will change to a broadsheet format" at the same time it switches to print at the Lawrence Journal-World.

"This is a bittersweet decision, but a step I need to take," said Tetlow, who bought the newspaper in 2005 with her late husband, Steve. "This has definitely been a team effort. The staff and all contributing writers and advertisers have helped meet the weekly challenges.

"This community is fortunate to have The Emporia Gazette see the importance of a weekly newspaper in St. Marys."

The new venture will be a partnership, with the news staff continuing to write, editor and design the paper and the Gazette handling the production operations.

"As the name implies, the St. Marys Star is your newspaper, and we are here to help produce the product that you want," Walker told Star readers.

In addition to the Star and the Gazette, the Walker family also owns the Chase County Leader-News in Cottonwood Falls.