The Lennox Independent will celebrate 135 years in print come 2019, and as one of the longest running businesses in the community, Lennox Independent publishers Kelli Bultena and Debbie Schmidt, want to appeal to their patrons.
“We haven’t raised our subscription rates since 2012 and we strive to be an affordable source for local information, but due to the rising cost of printing and postage, we feel it’s a move we have to make,” said Schmidt.
Beginning October 1, 2018 subscription rates for The Lennox Independent will be increased to $40 per year in South Dakota and $50 for out of state subscriptions. The newspaper will still offer a $5 discount on a two-year subscription. Rates for the printed paper will still include the free electronic version of the paper and for readers who wish to receive the electronic version only, the cost will remain at $25 per year.
“We don’t want to change the way we do things, though,” added Bultena, “Going down in page counts isn’t an option — we want to cover the important events for the communities we serve.”
She and Schmidt have been at the newspaper since 1997. Anne Homan has been there nearly as long, coming on as sports editor in 2001. A new reporter, Caitlyn French, will start on staff later this week.
“We hope that our readers will be willing to pay a little more so that we can continue to keep our communities informed and share advertisements for our local businesses,” said Schmidt.
The Lennox Independent is published every Thursday. The office is located at 116 S. Main St., Lennox and is open Monday through Thursday 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.