Fontanelle, Adair papers set to merge

The Fontanelle Observer and The Adair News, along with their parent company, Harlan Publishing Company, are pleased to announce that, beginning with the June 3 paper, the two newspapers will merge into a stronger publication called The News Observer.

The new publication will be released on Thursdays. Editorial content will primarily be generated by Caleb Nelson, currently with the Fontanelle Observer, and Sandy Riley, currently with The Adair News. General Manager will be Craig Mittag, who is based in Creston.

Current subscribers to either newspaper will continue to receive the new blended newspaper. Readers who wish to make changes to their current subscription may call Circulation at 641-782-2141. The advertising deadline for the new newspaper will be 11 a.m. Mondays.

Moving forward, staff members say their goal is to provide hyperlocal coverage of human interest stories, Nodaway Valley and Adair-Casey/Guthrie Center schools and activities, city government news and community events for the communities of Adair, Casey, Fontanelle and Bridgewater.

“As our small communities ebb and flow, we have to think of what the best ways are to maintain strong community journalism within them. Looking at our resources after The Observer recently changed hands away from Shaw Media, we looked at our resources and realized that pooling these two publications together will result in an even stronger publication for Fontanelle, Adair and other communities in western Adair County,” Nelson said. “While some of the same content that is in the Adair County Free Press will still appear in The News Observer, we look forward to creating an entirely new identity for this newspaper that we hope readers, community leaders and advertisers will come to appreciate and love.”

Riley said though the change is bittersweet, she is excited for the added resources of a larger newspaper team.

“This represents another change in the reality of small town life, but also shows how important local journalism is. I’m grateful we can continue bringing our readers the community’s stories, events and information that matter while expanding coverage across additional areas,” Riley said. “I’m especially excited about the knowledge, experience and talent this merger brings. I look forward to working with Caleb and the team in Creston and have high hopes for what our new combined News Observer will become. Thank you for your continued support and for allowing us to continue sharing hte stories that connect our communities.”

Organizers of The News Observer want to start the new publication with the former publications at the front of their minds — and the front of the new newspaper will feature a nod to both former papers.

The Fontanelle Observer was founded in 1863 and is known as Adair County’s oldest newspaper. Part of its history includes its office being destroyed by fire in 1913, forcing the publisher at the time to use the presses at the Greenfield and Adair newspapers in the interim.

The Adair News, started in 1882, followed a former newspaper in Adair called The Adair Reflector. It was part of the Littler family from 1937 until recently, operating under three generations of publishers from that family who dedicated themselves to documenting local sports, news and community events. Bill and Connie Littler were awarded the Iowa Newspaper Association’s highest honor, the Master Editor-Publisher Award, in 2022. Bill died in 2024.