Publication sold for purpose of merging The Sentinel & Rural News into O-W Enterprise to become Enterprise-Sentinel newspaper
OWEN, Wis. — On Feb. 2, 2023, thepaperboy.news group of newspapers purchased the O-W Enterprise newspaper from NJL Media LLC and publisher Nathan J. LePage, on the heels of just having purchased “the other Owen-Withee newspaper,” The Sentinel & Rural News, from Multi Media Channels (MMC) on Nov. 18, 2022.
In addition to the above, thepaperboy.news group includes The Stanley Republican and the Pierce County Journal in Wisconsin and the Hastings Journal and Cottage Grove Journal in Minnesota, all published by John McLoone.
Regarding striking a deal for the sale, LePage and McLoone quickly found common ground in the idea of the entire history of Owen and Withee newspapers coming together in one combined newspaper—in merging The Sentinel & Rural News into the O-W Enterprise and under McLoone’s ownership. The name Enterprise-Sentinel is likely to be the name of the new, combined newspaper.
“In our first meeting, we almost immediately both stated that Owen and Withee doesn’t need and never needed two newspapers,” said LePage. “Hopefully merging the two ‘back into one’ will calm some feathers ruffled these past nine years of conflict spinning from the existence of two newspapers here, not to mention the shady way The Sentinel & Rural News was formed.”
“We’re excited to move forward next week with our ‘married’ newspaper,” said McLoone. “We pledge to work to live up to the rich tradition of the O-W Enterprise and provide this community with a great local newspaper.”
LePage continued, “The second thing John and I quickly agreed on was to continue operating the publication on the concept of staying true to what built these small hometown newspapers—to first, foremost, and unapologetically report local news.”
LePage was hired as editor of the O-W Enterprise on June 19, 2006, purchasing and becoming publisher-editor of the newspaper on March 1, 2014, buying it from TuMarx Printing. Credited in by TuMarx Vice-President Mark Renderman as saving the newspaper, LePage brought permanent full color, streamlined office and pagination procedures, greatly improved quality and look, increased the amount of content, and most notably doubled the circulation and revenue generated by the publication—all within the first few years.
Remaining a consultant throughout the transition to new ownership and through the process merging of the two publications, LePage will be exiting in summer of 2023 after what will be 17 years at the publication. However, O-W Enterprise staff members Associate Editor Cindy Cardinal and Reporter Megan Kelsey, both lifetime Owen-Withee residents, will be staying on as employees of McLoone and his newspaper group, as well as the many columnists of the publication. The fates of current Sentinel employees and former principals Nicole Rogers and husband Travis Rogers Jr. remains hazy.
“It’s bittersweet to leave a job where I put so much of my blood, sweat, and tears into building up the newspaper and keeping it going despite the odds—the competition of other area newspapers, a major fire, rebuilding afterward, the turbulent business climate, the effects of the pandemic, and the difficulty running a newspaper from a home 47 miles away. But despite my personal, professional, financial, physical, and mental challenges I have faced and huge sacrifices I have made, I don’t regret a thing as I did it so this community would continue having a hometown newspaper,” said LePage.
“I appreciate the work of Nathan and his staff. This is a tough business, but they’ve been dedicated to serving this community. They’ve worked hard at covering the people, events and businesses here, and we’re excited that Cindy and Megan will be joining our team,” commented McLoone.
“In March 2020, I moved to the Wausau area, which was supposed to be temporary, to look after my mother as she endured major back surgeries that weren’t as successful as we had hoped. That and the pandemic happening made my move permanent. As of January 2022, I became a state/federally paid, home caregiver for my mother and I didn’t want to see the newspaper suffer, and so I have been actively looking for a buyer to carry on its history. I can think of no better fit than with John and in our vision of unifying the two newspapers,” explained LePage.
“I want to acknowledge that none of my accomplishments have been possible without the support of my employees, customers, subscribers, advertisers, and area organizations—I thank you all so much. I particularly want to thank Cindy and Megan for their everlasting effort and sacrifice right along with me,” said LePage.
“And I hope that the whole community will throw their continued support behind John and his team to keep this now 117-year-old publication running well into the future!” concluded LePage.
History of Owen-Withee Newspapers
The O-W Enterprise was originally known as The Owen Advertiser and was started on January 18, 1906 by George Deuel. A string of other publishers owning the publication followed until the Barager family purchased it on February 14, 1914, owning it for 75 years. The name of the newspaper unceremoniously changed sometime in 1910 to The Owen Enterprise and existed as such until December 1989 when Larry & Sandy Shimono purchased it and moved it to Withee, changing the name to O-W Enterprise to reflect the two communities it primarily represented—Owen and Withee. Mark & Tammy Renderman purchased the newspaper in 1997, which later was folded into TuMarx Printing when the Renderman’s merged their newspaper and printing business with that of Mark Gorke’s First City Printing of Abbotsford. The newspaper later moved back to Owen, where it remains today.
The Sentinel & Rural News name is based on the moniker of the Withee newspaper, The Withee Sentinel, established in February of 1901 by James A. Barager, who died in May 1903. His wife Annie Laurie published The Withee Sentinel with help from her sons until August 1, 1912, when it was sold and later renamed and existing as the Clark County Journal a few years until closing. At that point, Withee news was incorporated into The Owen Enterprise, which Annie Laurie Barager and her son Vernon had purchased in 1914.
