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KANKAKEE VALLEY POST-NEWS

KANKAKEE VALLEY POST is a newspaper covers local news in Jasper County, Northwest Indiana. Their headquarters are located in DeMotte, Indiana,United States of America. THE KANKAKEE VALLEY POST NEWS is a member of the Hoosier State Press Association and a member of the Community Media Group family of publications that has been serving the DeMotte, Wheatfield, Roselawn and Hebron communities for over 85 years. THE KANKAKEE VALLEY POST NEWS publishes a weekly newspaper and can also be accessed through subscription to the e-edition at www.kvpostnews.com. (The Kankakee Valley Post News 2018)

HISTORY

The paper was founded July of 1932 by Karl Runyon and self-published by Runyon Printing Company on October 6, 1932. Their first issue reported that the town of DeMotte would holds its first community meeting on the last Tuesday of every month and are still currently meeting to this day. The first edition stated in part, "The success of the newspaper is measured by its service to the communities it represents and is supported by, and it will be our endeavor at all times to promote the welfare of this region and its inhabitants. Schools, church and civic welfare will ever find a ready and willing champion in the columns of the Post." (30 Years of Growth 100 Years of Service 1997) The paper has held this “community first” position to this day. The first publishers didn't last long. On December 1, 1932 the Post combined with the Griffith Herald and was then published by R.L. Joiner. Joiner sold the paper on February 2, 1933 to J. Barton Cox and his wife. Cox also began a print shop for flyers and auction bills and ran a promotion for subscriptions saying, "Swap Produce for Your Subscription." (30 Years of Growth 100 Years of Service 1997) If you were a subscriber, you also got free classifieds. This was the keystone to classified ads and advertisements. Cox was able to create an additional source of income for the paper during the depression. This helped the paper to stay afloat then and still serves as a major source of income for the paper.

The paper was sold to R.A. Ruck, and he, in turn, sold out to his editor Mary E. Peterson who sold it Alvin Johnson in 1946. Johnson appointed Blanche Henrichs as the editor of the newspaper for twenty-four years until she retired in November of 1969. Under Johnson, Dorothy Van Dam became the advertising representative making weekly calls on the advertisers. Not only was the paper reporting news and current events, it was creating a barter system throughout the community. Henrichs remained editor in chief after the sale of the paper to Keith B. Robinson in 1946 and replaced by Gerald Kenning. In July of 1971, Keith B. Robinson combined the POST with the JASPER COUNTY NEWS of Rensselaer to form the KANKAKEE VALLEY POST-NEWS from a merger with the JASPER COUNTY NEWS. It was then changed into a Democratic Party newspaper with Gerald Kenning as acting editor in chief. The owner, Keith B. Robinson was apparently the editor. June of 1973, Joan Whitaker was named editor until she was promoted to general manager and replaced by Garth Snow. Allan Essex proceeded Snow in 1979 and continued to run the paper with Robinson and Whitaker in 1980. (Miller 1982, 254-5) In 1975 the four-page DeMotte Shopper was renamed the Action Plus, a shopping guide with an average of 16-pages published weekly in addition to the newspaper. Robinson sold the group of newspapers he owned in 1978 to the Dear Corporation of Henderson, Kentucky. The KANKAKEE VALLEY POST-NEWS has been-owned by the Thomson newspaper group, American Publishing newspaper group and in February 1996 was purchased by the Community Media Group out of West Frankfort, Illinois.

References 1. 30 Years of Growth 100 Years of Service. 1997. "30 Years of Growth 100 Years of Service." Faith Fabric. January 01. Accessed February 28, 2019. www.faithfabric.com. 2. Miller, John. 1982. Indiana Newspaper Bibliography. Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Society.2018. 3. The Kankakee Valley Post News. April 12. Accessed March 1, 2019. www.newsbug.info/kankakee_valley_post_news. Davislori (talk) 02:47, 20 April 2019 (UTC)