Charles City publishing family purchases northwest Iowa newspapers and shoppers

To The Press

Charles City Press Publisher Christopher Hall and his father, longtime newspaperman Gene Hall, have joined forces to purchase several northwest Iowa newspapers and related publications from Rust Communications of Gape Girardeau, Missouri.

The purchases were completed Friday on the Spencer Daily Reporter and Northwest Iowa Shopper, the Dickinson County News in Spirit Lake, the Le Mars Daily Sentinel and Le Mars Shopper, the Remsen Bell, the Storm Lake Pilot-Tribune and the Cherokee Chronicle Times.

The Halls’ Hallmark II Publishing company immediately entered into an agreement in principle with John and Art Cullen of Storm Lake to spin off the Storm Lake and Cherokee publications. The Cullins own and operate the Storm Lake Times.

Christopher Hall will continue to own and operate the Charles City Press, New Hampton Tribune and Nashua Reporter, and said the new purchases will not affect those local newspapers, other than to possibly provide opportunities for shared resources and greater operating efficiencies.

“Newspapers, especially Iowa community newspapers, are still vibrant, thriving businesses, and I expect they have a long future,” Hall said.

Brad Hicks, editor of the Kossuth County Advance in Algona, a newspaper owned by Gene Hall’s Hallmark Integrated Media, will assume duties as chief operating officer of the newly purchased media group and will be publisher of the Spencer Daily Reporter.

Hicks is a graduate of Iowa State University with an extensive background at Iowa daily and weekly newspapers as a reporter, editor and publisher.

Paula Buenger, who had served as the Spencer publisher, retired after a long career in news and advertising.

Jon K. Rust, president of Rust Communications, noted that Gene Hall is a native of Spencer and said, “We are happy to entrust the award-winning newspapers of Northwest Iowa to the Hall family. They are an Iowa family that knows Iowa well, and they know Spencer well.”

Gene Hall said, “Chris and I are tremendously excited for the opportunity to purchase our hometown newspaper. I believe in Spencer, I believe in great journalism, and I believe that we will do our level best to give our readers and advertisers the greatest value possible.”

Christopher Hall said, “These are great towns and great newspapers and our singular goal is to make them stronger.”

Hicks said, “The Halls are a great Iowa newspaper family. I’ve enjoyed working with them the last four years in Algona, and I’m excited to work with them and the newspaper staffs to produce the best newspapers and related products we possibly can.”