Local Group to Acquire Pittsburg (KS) Morning SunBack to News

Pittsburg, KS – August 10, 2021 – Larry Hiatt, the owner of the Columbus (KS) News-Report announced that he and a group of local Southeast Kansas families have agreed to acquire the Pittsburg (KS) Morning News from Gannett Co., Inc. The transaction is expected to close on September 1^st.

Dirks, Van Essen & April, a media merger and acquisition firm based in Santa Fe, New Mexico, represented Gannett in the transaction. Terms were not disclosed.

According to Pittsburg attorney Kevin Mitchelson, a new company was formed by local families with the goal of keeping the newspaper locally owned. Larry Hiatt, who was an employee of the Morning Sun in the 1960s, will assume the publisher position.

Hiatt said, “We are working with the folks at Gannett to make this a smooth transition back to local ownership. We thank them for their assistance and willingness to return this newspaper to local ownership. We hope to retain The Morning Sun’s current staff and add more local news and sports reporters, as well as a local advertising sales staff.”

Hiatt stressed the need for local support in the form of subscribers and advertisers in order for this venture to be successful.

The Morning Sun dates back to 1887 and has been owned by Stauffer Communications, Morris Communications, Gatehouse Media and Gannett during the past 50 years.