''The Grand Island Independent'' is a newspaper published in Grand Island, Nebraska. The ''Independent'' is published seven days a week but does not produce a newspaper on Christmas Day. Its daily circulation is 20,500, in eleven counties of central Nebraska. The newspaper is owned by the Omaha World-Herald Co.

History

In 1869, Maggie Eberhart and Seth Mobley founded the ''Platte Valley Independent'' in North Platte. Eberhart, whose parents had immigrated from Ireland in her infancy, had been a teacher; Mobley had begun working in a newspaper office in Iowa at the age of 10, and had briefly published the ''Fort Kearney Herald'', while stationed at Fort Kearny, Nebraska in 1865. In 1870, Eberhart moved the ''Independent'' to Grand Island and started publishing on July 2; she married Mobley the following year. The newspaper, described as "decidedly Republican", was published daily for a short time in late 1873, in connection with a political campaign of that year, but resumed weekly publication after the election. In 1883, the Mobleys, who had alienated most of their advertisers, sold the newspaper to J. A. McMurphy; a week later, McMurphy sold it to Friedrich (Fred) Hedde.Schulz, Sarah.
"Grand Island Independent one of city's oldest businesses".''Grand Island Independent''.
2007-02-28. Retrieved 2010-03-24. Hedde had been a lawyer and journalist in his native

Holstein Holstein (; nds, label=Northern Low Saxon, Holsteen; da, Holsten; Latin and historical en, Holsatia, italic=yes) is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider. It is the southern half of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost state of German ...

. After immigrating to the United States in 1854,"Hall County: Biographical Sketches".''Andreas' History of the State of Nebraska.
Retrieved 2010-03-20. he was one of the original settlers of Grand Island in 1857.Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer website.
Retrieved 2010-03-20. He had served as County Judge and as a member of the Nebraska Territorial Legislature. Beside the ''Independent'', he owned a lumberyard and a general store. Hedde converted the ''Independent'' from a weekly to a daily in 1884; in 1885, he changed its name to the ''Grand Island Daily Independent''. In 1900, the octogenarian Hedde's health was failing, prompting him to turn the newspaper over to a group of Grand Island businessmen, who formed the Independent Publishing Company. A. F. Buechler served as president of the company and editor of the newspaper until 1930,Buechler, A. F. (1940

Nebraska Press Association. Retrieved 2010-03-24. when it was sold to Oscar S. Stauffer; he continued as editor until 1939.

Stauffer Communications Stauffer Communications was a privately held media corporation based in Topeka, Kansas, that owned many publications and broadcast outlets, including the ''Topeka Capital-Journal'' and WIBW, WIBW-FM, and WIBW-TV. The company operated from 1930 to ...

owned the ''Independent'' from 1930 to 1994.Gardner, Meredith.
"GateHouse Media to purchase The Independent".''Grand Island Independent''.
2007-10-24. Retrieved 2010-03-16. In 1974, the newspaper made the conversion from

letterpress Letterpress printing is a technique of relief printing. Using a printing press, the process allows many copies to be produced by repeated direct impression of an inked, raised surface against sheets or a continuous roll of paper. A worker com ...

to offset printing. In 1979, it began printing a Sunday edition, initiating seven-day publication.Brennan, Bill.
"All the changes in 25 years".''Grand Island Independent''.
1998-12-15. Retrieved 2010-03-20. In 1989, the "Daily" was dropped, leaving the newspaper with its present name. The newspaper was acquired by the Morris Publishing Group in the course of their 1995 purchase of Stauffer."About Morris Communications".Morris Digitalworks website.
Retrieved 2010-03-20. It introduced its website in 1996. In 2007, the ''Independent'' was bought by GateHouse Media. in 2008, GateHouse sold the newspaper to its present owner, the

Omaha World-Herald The ''Omaha World-Herald'' is a daily newspaper in the midwestern United States, the primary newspaper of the Omaha-Council Bluffs metropolitan area. It was locally owned from its founding in 1885 until 2020, when it was sold to the newspaper ch ...

Co.Coddington, Mark.
"Independent bought by World-Herald".''Grand Island Independent''.
2008-08-29. Retrieved 2010-03-16.

The ''Independent'' today

The publisher of the ''Independent'' is Terrie Baker; Prior to serving as publisher, Baker served as The Independent's general manager for two years. She joined the Independent in 2017 after serving as publisher of the North Platte Telegraph since 2015. The managing editor is Jim Faddis; he had worked for the ''Independent'' for 25 years before being promoted from editorial page editor to managing editor in 2007. Beside the daily newspaper, the ''Independent'' publishes a free-circulation weekly titled ''Trade West'', with a circulation of about 20,000, focusing on "rural and agricultural readers"."Trade West targets rural readers with free weekly paper".''Grand Island Independent''.
2005-03-20. Retrieved 2010-03-24.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Grand Island Independent, The 1870 establishments in Nebraska Daily newspapers published in the United States Grand Island, Nebraska Lee Enterprises publications Newspapers published in Nebraska Publications established in 1870