During its more than century of existence, Ellsworth County has experienced such extraordinary events as fires, floods and cattle drives and such individual milestones as weddings, births and graduations.
For 150 years, the weekly Ellsworth Reporter and now the Ellsworth County Independent-Reporter have been there to share those events with the community.
To celebrate the anniversary of one of Ellsworth County’s oldest businesses, a week of activities is planned in conjunction with Ellsworth’s annual Cowtown Days, Aug 19-20.
Included will be the kick off the Ellsworth Area Chamber of  Commerce’s Cowtown Cash eGift Card, which will eventually replace Chamber Checks.
“We wanted to do something special to thank our readers and advertisers for their many years of support. We think this is the perfect vehicle for that,” said Karen Bonar, editor-publisher of the Independent-Reporter.
The eGift Cards will be available Sunday, Aug. 14, before and after a free public showing of the docu

mentary “What’s The Matter With Kansas? William Allen White.”
White was a Pulitzer Prize winning Kansas newspaper publisher. His story is told in a movie directed by Kevin Willmott, a professor of film at the University of Kansas and winner of an Academy Award for Best Writing.
The film will be shown for free at 2 p.m. in the Performing Arts Center at Ellsworth Junior-Senior High School.
 A panel discussion on the “Importance of Newspapers in Today’s Digital World” will follow. Panelists will be Ellsworth Mayor Dan Finnegan, Dawnae Bunch, journalism teacher at EJSHS, and Karen Bonar.
Moderator will be Joey Young of Newton, owner and publisher of Kansas Publishing Ventures. Young, a past president of the Kansas Press Association, has partnered with University of Kansas professor of journalism Teri Finneman to test a program aimed at the creation of a revenue model for small rural weekly newspapers.
The second I-R-sponsored event will be a 7 p.m. reception Thursday, Aug. 18, at the downtown Ellsworth Area Arts Council Gallery. Historian Jim Gray will talk about the colorful history of Kansas newspapers.
The week will conclude Saturday, Aug. 20, with the Cowtown Days parade. The Reporter is this year’s grand marshal.
The newspaper will be represented on the review stand by long-time Reporter and Independent-Reporter employees Dorothy Grothusen and Garnell Hanson.
Other former and current employees also are invited to participate in the parade. They should meet at 9:30 a.m. in the parking lot of the Immanuel Lutheran Church, 905 Stanberry St.
A group photo of all current and previous employees of the newspaper will be taken after the parade in the auditorium at Ellsworth City Hall, 121 W. 1st St.
Chamber eGift Cards will be available at the PAC and art gallery events with the purchase of a subscription to the Ellsworth County Independent-Reporter. Current readers who extend their subscriptions will receive a $10 eGift Card and new and gift subscriptions will earn a $15 card.
Tami McGreevy, executive director of the chamber, will be available at the two events and also in the I-R office, 304 N. Douglas Ave., from 8 to 10 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 17, to process the cards.
Subscriptions also will be taken during the week by phone using a credit card. The number is (785) 472-5085.