Kansas Newspaper Sees Retaliation Over Legal Notices

A growing community near Kansas City has decided to stop publishing its legal notices in its hometown newspaper, describing the move as cost cutting but doing it after several officials criticized the coverage the city was receiving.

The Associated Press reports the City Council in Gardner, Kansas, changed its newspaper of record following a staff report that the city would likely lower its costs 75% by going with another weekly publication. The Gardner News, which was the paper of record for at least three decades, stands to lose thousands of dollars a year.

The dispute comes as local newspapers are facing financial pressure as they struggle to deal with both readers and advertisers moving online. The industry has largely held onto the business of printing legal notices even though state lawmakers, including in Kansas, face proposals to allow local governments to save money by publishing them only online.

Some see something more troubling in the Gardner City Council’s move, made just weeks after the mayor and a council member accused The Gardner News of publishing inaccurate material, tying up city’s staff to answer it and obstructing city business. They also note that the print circulation for the new paper of record, The Legal News, is in nearby communities, not Gardner, where it is circulated only online.

“They want to put me out of business,” longtime Gardner News Publisher Rhonda Humble said. “They want to shut me up.”

The mayor and council members who supported the change — the council split 3-2 on Monday over the decision — said they could not ignore the potential cost savings: at least $48,000 over the next five years.

City officials say they’re not concerned that the legal notices will be less accessible because residents can find them online and that printed copies will be made available at City Hall.

The dispute might end up being settled in court; Humble said she’s “exploring litigation.”

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