''The Kokomo Perspective'' was a
weekly newspaper
A weekly newspaper is a general-news or current affairs publication that is issued once or twice a week in a wide variety broadsheet, magazine, and digital formats. Similarly, a biweekly newspaper is published once every two weeks. Weekly n ...
serving
Kokomo, Indiana, established in August 1989, with almost exclusively local content. It ceased operating on November 29, 2021.
The ''Perspective'' was distributed for free to 31,000 homes every Wednesday and beat the local
daily newspaper
A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background.
Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports ...
, the ''
Kokomo Tribune
The ''Kokomo Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Kokomo, Indiana, United States. It is owned by Community Newspaper Holdings Inc.
The ''Tribune'' was cited by the Audit Bureau of Circulation for the nation's highest market penetration for eig ...
'' in Monday through Saturday, and Sunday alone, circulation (although many copies were never read and immediately thrown away). The weekly paper tended to lean toward a union-friendly worldview, as Kokomo is a heavily unionized city, with
FCA US and
Delphi Automotive Systems
Aptiv PLC is an Irish-American automotive technology supplier with headquarters in Dublin. Aptiv grew out of the now-defunct American company, Delphi Automotive Systems, which itself was formerly a component of General Motors.
History
The com ...
being the largest employers. However, the paper carried columns from a wide range of viewpoints in the community, some of which were very conservative and at times hostile to the publication itself.
History
The paper published public vitals each week, providing information about citizens' court happenings, arrests, mug shots, marriages, divorces, causes of death, and obituaries. The section was one of the most popular sections of the paper.
One of the publication's overriding goals was to foster public awareness of the political process and to mobilize the citizens of
Howard County, of which Kokomo is the
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...
, to participate in electing local officials. In 2004, after publisher and editor Don Wilson had written articles pointing out that Howard
County Prosecutor Jim Fleming "did not have enough integrity to keep the majority of his campaign promises", Fleming launched what he called the biggest gambling case in Howard County history, eventually filing 11 felony charges against Wilson and his business partner; Fleming refused to recuse himself from the case.
In 2006, after two years of Fleming using "taxpayer-funded resources to fuel his own personal vendetta", the case had been transferred to
Grant County Grant County may refer to:
Places
;Australia
* County of Grant, Victoria
;United States
*Grant County, Arkansas
*Grant County, Indiana
* Grant County, Kansas
*Grant County, Kentucky
*Grant County, Minnesota
*Grant County, Nebraska
*Grant C ...
, where that county's prosecutor dropped all charges against Wilson and all felony charges against his partner, who was convicted on a single misdemeanorfor pocketing $18 in profit from handling betting on horse racing at
Hoosier Park
Harrah's Hoosier Park Racing & Casino is a racino including a standardbred racetrack located in Anderson, Indiana, approximately 30 miles northeast of Indianapolis. It is owned and operated by Caesars Entertainment. The facility features live harne ...
three times a year amongst friends at the local
American Legion hall.
[ While Hossier park does offer ]off-track betting
Off-track betting (or OTB; in British English, off-course betting) is sanctioned gambling on horse racing outside a race track.
U.S. history
Before the 1970s, only the state of Nevada allowed off-track betting. Off-track betting in New York wa ...
in various Indiana locations, it did not have a storefront in Kokomo, which is from the track.
In January 2017, local attorney Brian Oaks bought part ownership of ''The Kokomo Perspective'' with plans to fully purchase the business down the road. Don Wilson was the publisher for the next several years.
In March 2017, Brian Oaks also purchased the weekly ''Kokomo Herald''.
In June 2017, the paper switched to being delivered via the United States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U ...
versus carriers to ensure reliable delivery every week. The paper size also was changed to the Berliner format, which is slightly narrower and shorter than the broadsheet format.
In addition to delivering 31,000 papers to homes in Kokomo, an additional 3,000 papers were dropped off at area businesses also free of charge.
The ''Perspective'' office was located in downtown Kokomo at 209 N. Main St.
References
1989 establishments in Indiana
2021 disestablishments in Indiana
Defunct newspapers published in Indiana
Defunct weekly newspapers
Howard County, Indiana
Newspapers established in 1989
Publications disestablished in 2021
Weekly newspapers published in the United States
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