About Us

Standard-Gazette & Messenger History

 

The Standard-Gazette was a combination of the Fairfax Standard and the Gibbon Gazette. The two newspapers were combined in November of 2000. The Standard-Gazette & Messenger was formed on October 1, 2013 when the Morgan Messenger was combined with the Standard-Gazette. 

 

The Fairfax Standard was founded in 1898, in Fairfax Minnesota. The community of Fairfax had previously been served by the Fairfax Crescent from 1892 to 1899. The Fairfax Standard began serving the community in July of 1898, as what was the considered to be the Republican response to the Democratic leaning Crescent.

 

The Gibbon Gazette actually predates the Fairfax Standard beginning to serve the City of Gibbon in 1894. 

 

Both newspapers originally had offices in each of the communities with on-site printing facilities for both newspaper production and other printing services. The printing operation of each of the newspapers was discontinued in the 1970s when a group of area publishers opened a regional printing plant in Hutchinson Minnesota. The plant is still in service today, but has since been sold to an individual owner.

 

The Standard-Gazette has been a closely held company for many years with only seven owners since its first publication. The newspaper was originally started by local attorney A.V. Rieke and a few others. The newspaper was sold to Asa Wallace in 1908, who had been editor since January of 1903. In 1920 the newspaper was sold to H.C. Sherwood. In 1929 the Fairfax Standard was sold to Edward and Catherine Sheire. The newspaper remained in the Sheire family following the retirement of Edward and Catherine in 1959 as their son Fred and his wife Joy took over the operation. The paper was sold to Charles Warner in 1973. Warner was later joined by partner Steve Palmer as they co-published the newspaper.

 

The Gibbon Gazette was founded by A.C. Black in April of 1894. The newspaper was later sold to E.C. Clasen in the late 1800s and then to Frank Melville in the early 1900s. The Gibbon Gazette was later sold to James Olson who was the publisher as of 1940. The business remained in the Olson family until it was sold to John and Linda Kading in 1980. The Kading family sold the Gazette to Charles Warner in the late 1980s.

 

The two newspapers were combined in 2000, and sold as a single newspaper in 2007 to Todd Newton. Daniel McGonigle, Pinchtown Publishing purchased the Standard-Gazette from Todd Newton on October 26, 2011. McGonigle also owned the Morgan Messenger, and made the decision to combine the two publications in October of 2013. David and Denise Bonsack, D & D Publications, LLC purchased the Standard-Gazette & Messenger from Daniel McGonigle on January 2, 2014.  

 

The Standard-Gazette & Messenger serves the communities of Fairfax with a population of 1,295 and Franklin with a population of 498, in Renville County, Gibbon with a population of 808 in Sibley County and Morgan with a population of 896 in Redwood County, as well as the School Districts of Cedar Mountain (Franklin and Morgan) and G-F-W (Gibbon-Fairfax-Winthrop).

 

The Standard-Gazette & Messenger currently has approximately 1200 subscribers.

 

 

Serving the communities of Fairfax, Franklin, Gibbon and Morgan, Minnesota
and the Cedar Mountain and GFW School Districts
STANDARD-GAZETTE & MESSENGER
102 SE First Street, PO Box 589
Fairfax, MN 55332
PHONE: (507) 426-7235 • FAX: (507) 426-7264 • 

EMAIL: 
Denise Bonsack, Editor, Advertising, Graphic Design, Print Jobs: sgmnewsads@gmail.com
Lori KopischkePress Releases, Photos, Obituaries, General Information: sgmnewsoffice@gmail.com

Elizabeth NiebuhrAccounts Receivable, Billing, Subscriptions: sgmnewsaccts@gmail.com
NEWSTANDS
The Standard-Gazette & Messenger is available at these local businesses:

Standard-Gazette & Messenger, Fairfax 

Farm Merchantile, Fairfax

Casey’s, Fairfax

Smart Mart, Fairfax

Fill Me Up, Gibbon

Amstar, Franklin

Winthrop Market, LLC, Winthrop

Fill Me Up, Winthrop

Becker's, Morgan

 

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