Welcome to the latest chapter in the long history of The Mexico Ledger.

This newspaper has a long history of being the top news leader in Audrain County and surrounding areas and it’s our goal to give The Ledger a rebirth to what it once was. We feel better days are ahead for The Ledger now that it has returned to local, independent ownership. In many aspects, we feel community journalism is better when decision making can be made at a local level. I’m humbled and honored that my company will be one that is responsible for recording the history of Audrain County. It is a challenge and responsibility that I don’t take lightly. In our first few days, I appreciate the kind words of encouragement that have already been received.

Our mission is quite simple - our staff will be committed to placing a renewed focus on local news, local names and local faces. And that means we need your help. We need you to submit photos of your family announcements such as births, weddings and anniversaries. If your child shot their first deer or turkey, we want to print those in the paper. We want to receive the latest news from your community organization or club. There is no story that is not important to us. If it’s local, it deserves to be in the paper. You will notice in today’s issue the land transfers and marriage licenses have returned to the paper.

All throughout Audrain County are stories that need to be written and shared. If we don’t share those stories and don’t record the history of Audrain County, who will?

We also understand that we have much to prove. Week by week, we plan to make each issue better than the last one.

What changes are ahead?

You will notice some changes in the coming weeks and certainly our readers already have many questions. The Ledger will continue to publish on Wednesdays and Saturdays. It is not financially realistic to add extra publication days or restart the presses at the current facility. Looking ahead, the free paper that many receive on Wednesdays is currently under review and may need to be eliminated in the weeks to come. Unfortunately, the printing and distribution expense may not be sustainable and we feel our resources should be better spent on improving our local content that provides a better value for our paid subscribers. Having a pile of unread newspapers in driveways and vacant properties in our communities is not desirable for us either.

Also, our subscription prices have been drastically reduced to match those of a twice-a-week publication. Starting this week, our regular in-county rate is now $60. For subscribers located elsewhere in Missouri, the annual rate is $70 and is $80 for those who are out of state.

We also will be unveiling our e-edition, a pdf replica of The Ledger, that will be available soon on our new website that should go live soon. An annual digital subscription is $60 for subscribers who prefer to follow local news online. In addition, any print subscriber can request online access at no additional charge.

We also will no longer publish stories from The Associated Press along with syndicated columnists and cartoons that normally appeared throughout the Ledger’s pages. Again, our commitment is on local news, not on state and national news that can be found elsewhere. A new set of comics will also appear in the weeks to come thanks to a new partnership. Content that appeared in The Ledger 50 and 100 years ago will also make a return soon.

When I founded Westplex Media Group over two years ago, it was my goal to create a company that was more than a newspaper. Though the print product is still our primary focus, we will aim to grow our audience through innovative ways. Beyond our print pages, we can create a marketing package that puts your business in front of targeted customers on regional and national websites. If your business or organization has a need for creative services, we now offer logo design and more. We can assist you on a printing project, whether it be a flyer, an envelope or a pull-up banner.

Moving forward, we need your help. We need you to purchase a subscription. We want to help provide marketing solutions and help you grow your businesses. We want you to feel The Ledger is your newspaper.

We’re here to partner with you and I’m ready to hear what you want your paper to be. Please reach out to me anytime at tim@mystandardnews.com.

We will listen to you, our loyal readers, on what changes you want to see.

We’re excited to be part of The Ledger’s next chapter!