The Leawood City Council on Monday approved a resolution designating the Johnson County Post’s print edition as an official city newspaper, becoming the first local government in the county to do so.
The move comes just weeks after the Post’s print edition became eligible to carry legal notices for counties, cities and school districts under Kansas law.
State statute requires that local governments alert the public about a number of potential actions — from the rezoning of a plot of land to the opening of a bid period for capital improvement projects to the announcement of a proposition that will be put before voters — by publishing a notice in a local newspaper. Before the qualification of the Post’s print edition in April, only one other weekly publication, The Legal Record, was authorized to carry legal notices in the county.
Post Publisher Jay Senter said the Post worked toward eligibility for legal notice publications for two main reasons.
“For one, we believe that public notices should be easily accessible and that they should reach the largest number of people possible,” he said. “There’s a reason state law requires these notices to be published in local newspapers — it’s in the public’s interest to know what local governments are doing. The Post reaches hundreds of thousands of Johnson Countians each month. There’s no better way to get a message to the Johnson County public than the Post, making us the best option to meet both the letter and the spirit of the public notifications statute.”
Additionally, Senter said, publishing legal notices will allow the company to generate more revenue as it looks to add staff to its newsroom.
“The Post is the only news organization that employs local reporters dedicated to covering Johnson County week in and week out,” he said. “We’ve got six people in our newsroom, which is great. That’s the biggest news operation dedicated to Johnson County in a dozen years. But the fact is if we’re going to fully cover this big, vibrant county with a population of 600,000, we need to grow our staff.”
In addition to the county, cities and school districts, the Post is also eligible to carry legal notices for local attorneys and residents. Monday’s edition of the Post’s print edition will carry a legal notice for a probate court action in Division 8 of Johnson County District Court as well as a name change notification in Division 2.
“Every dollar we generate from legal notices will go toward growing our reporting resources,” Senter said. “And we’re offering rates significantly lower than other options, making it a great alternative.”
To place a legal notice in the Post, simply email legals@johnsoncountypost.com and we’ll get you a quote and a proof right away.
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