Group hopes to print first edition of La Conner Community News in March.
This story was first published in the Skagit Valley Herald on Feb. 5, 2025
In the wake of the December shutdown of the La Conner Weekly News, a local group is set on launching a new community newspaper.
The group is in the midst of setting up a new nonprofit-owned newspaper called the La Conner Community News.
In late December, Kari Mar, formerly of The Seattle Times, joined as publisher, and former general manager of the Cascadia Daily News Staci Baird joined as managing editor.
“When I found out that there was a community group coming together, I just thought, ‘That is the type of town that I want to work for’,” said Mar.
Mar has a history with the Skagit Valley. Her father graduated from Mount Vernon High School, she said.
Baird said that when Mar brought up the idea to join the group, she had said, “It’s totally crazy. I’m all in.”
About 30 community members were at Maple Hall on Wednesday to check in on the latest plans.
The group is in the midst of the 501(c)(3) designation process, said Board President Andrew Ashmore.
In January, it began a free newsletter, which has 425 subscribers. That’s about half of the town’s population.
It’s been adding about 80 subscribers a week, said Mar.
For now, the group is not leasing office space.
The group is continuing to fundraise. It has raised about $4,000 in donations, and community members have pledged about $50,000 since November.
“I think we can do it,” said Ashmore.
The newspaper’s guiding principles include building an “enduring community institution,” paying a living wage to employees and being inclusive and considering all voices in the community, Mar said Wednesday.
The group plans to pay all employees, including the publisher and editor, salaries of $55,000.
The group plans to launch a website next week, then start a subscription drive in about a month.
The goal, said Mar, is to begin a print publication in March.
“It was really important for us to get up and going with print as fast as possible,” she said.
The La Conner Weekly News published its last issue on Dec. 18.
The newspaper had been published weekly since 1879 — the longest continuously-published weekly paper in the state.
Owner, publisher and editor Ken Stern had been looking to sell for the past two years in order tor retire.
The community group attempted to buy the La Conner Weekly News from Stern, but the two parties couldn’t agree on a price.
About a week ago, the two sides ended negotiations.
The decision to end negotiations means that the new newspaper will not receive the La Conner Weekly News’ subscriber list.
— By Emma Fletcher-Frazer, Skagit Valley Herald
Also read in Salish Current:
• “Future of La Conner newspaper unclear despite community efforts to save it,” Dec. 16, 2024
• “As La Conner Newspaper faces closure, residents step up to save it,” Oct. 25, 2024