Mullen Newspaper Company

Mullen Newspaper Company is a privately owned publisher of daily, non-daily and weekly newspapers based in Deer Lodge, Montana, United States. With 20 publications, the publisher operates in six states, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, and Washington.^[1]

Mullen Newspaper Company

Founded	2018
Founder	Jesse Mullen
Headquarters	312 Missouri Ave, Deer Lodge, MT 59722
Key people	Alex Barta (CEO)
Owner	Jesse Mullen Lloyd Mullen
Website	mullennewspapers.com

History

Jesse Mullen founded the Mullen Newspaper Company in 2018^[2] with the purchase of Philipsburg Mail and Silver State Post in Montana. Both those papers were merged together two years later.^[3]

In December 2020, Mullen purchased the Bitterroot Star from Michael and Victoria Howell, who founded the newspaper in 1985.^[4]

In May 2021, Mullen purchased Idaho based newspaper St. Maries Gazette Record, founded in 1902 and operated by the Hammes family since 1958.^[5]

In December 2021, Mullen purchased the Johnson Newspaper Group in Nebraska and Colorado The sale included the Grant Tribune-Sentinel, Imperial Republican and Holyoke Enterprise.^[6][7]

In March 2022, Mullen acquired four Montana newspapers that Kavanagh family, including Cut Bank Pioneer Press, Shelby Promoter, Browning Glacier Reporter and The Valierian.^[8][9]

In December 2022, Mullen acquired six Kansas newspapers from the Haynes family. The sale included Colby Free Press, Goodland Star-News, Oberlin Herald, Norton Telegram, St. Francis Herald/Bird City Times and the Rawlins County Square Deal.^[10][11][12]

In May 2023, Mullen stepped down as CEO and was replaced by Alex Barta, publisher of the St. Maries Gazette Record.^[13]

In January 2025, Mullen purchased the Havre Weekly Chronicle.^[14]

List of publications

Title	Location	Info
Bird City Times	Bird City, Kansas	[15]
Bitterroot Star	Stevensville, Montana
Colby Free Press	Colby, Kansas
The Country Advocate	Colby, Kansas
Cut Bank Pioneer Press	Cut Bank, Montana
St. Maries Gazette Record	Saint Maries, Idaho
Goodland Star News	Goodland, Kansas
Grant Tribune	Grant, Nebraska
Glacier Reporter	Browning, Montana
Havre Weekly Chronicle	Havre, Montana
Holyoke Enterprise	Holyoke, Colorado
Imperial Republican	Imperial, Nebraska
Oberlin Herald	Oberlin, Kansas
Philipsburg Mail	Philipsburg, Montana
Port Townsend Leader	Port Townsend, Washington
Saint Francis Herald	Saint Francis, Kansas
Seeley Swan Pathfinder	Seeley Lake, Montana
Shelby Promoter	Shelby, Montana
Silver State Post	Deer Lodge, Montana
The Valierian	Valier, Montana

References

1. "Mullen Newspaper Company acquires 6 Kansas newspapers". www.nna.org.
2. "Mullen Family". postalmuseum.si.edu.
3. Adams, Duncan (April 16, 2024). "Sharing pages for the ages: Silver State Post, Philipsburg Mail combine printing". Montana Standard. Retrieved January 26, 2025.
4. "Bitterroot Star changes hands". Bitterroot Star. December 2, 2020. Retrieved June 2, 2023.
5. "New owners take reins at Gazette Record". St. Maries Gazette Record. May 5, 2021. Archived from the original on June 11, 2023. Retrieved June 11, 2023.
6. "Johnson Publications sells newspapers in Grant, Imperial and Holyoke". The Grant Tribune-Sentinel. December 12, 2021. Archived from the original on November 25, 2021. Retrieved June 11, 2023.
7. "Mullen brothers purchase Johnson Publications Inc. ⁠— northeast Colorado and southwest Nebraska newspapers". National Newspaper Association. December 14, 2021. Retrieved January 26, 2025.
8. Erickson, Kay (March 11, 2022). "A century of family ownership ends with sale of Hi-Line newspapers". Yellowstone Public Radio. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
9. "Kavanagh family sells four Montana newspapers to Ponderosa Publications". Fairfield Sun Times. May 24, 2022. Retrieved January 25, 2025.
10. "Couple sells six Nor'West newspapers". Kansas Press Association. December 8, 2022. Retrieved January 25, 2025.
11. Jackson, Destry (December 8, 2022). "Longtime NW Kan. publishers retire, sell six-paper chain". Hays Post. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
12. "Northwest Kansas newspapers sold to Mullen Newspapers". Associated Press. December 7, 2022. Retrieved June 2, 2023.
13. "Alex Barta takes over as CEO at Mullen Newspapers". MullenNewspapers.com. Mullen Newspaper Company. May 17, 2023. Retrieved May 23, 2023.
14. "The Havre Weekly Chronicle sold". Havre Weekly Chronicle. January 23, 2025. Retrieved January 23, 2025.
15. "About Mullen Newspaper Company". Mullen Newspaper Company. Retrieved May 23, 2023.