The Ellsworth Reporter — now the Ellsworth County Independent-Reporter — has had a long and distinguished history of serving Ellsworth and Ellsworth County for the past 150 years.
To mark that milestone, the I-R asked several of its readers to share their thoughts on the newspaper — its past, present and future. Here are their responses:

Ron Svaty
“Ellsworth is so fortunate to have the paper reach its 150th anniversary year,” said Ron Svaty of Ellsworth, retired 20th Judicial District judge. “There are many things that make for a vibrant community — and a strong newspaper has been and is one of them.”
Svaty said the best part of the Independent-Reporter is its diversity in coverage.
“You cover local sports, social events, community events, school events, local people, local government issues and a variety of other facets of the community,” Svaty said. “The letters to the editor section is one of the strongest in the state and highlights the divergent views of the community.”
Svaty said he reads and subscribes to the I-R to keep abreast of what is happening in the community and what is going on with local residents of all ages.
“I read the paper from cover to cover, including the letters to the editor, the legal publications and the events calendar,” he said.
 Svaty hopes the printed newspaper will always be a part of the future.
“I think that the I-R has worked hard to survive by trying to also be part of the electronic source of news,” he said.

Dave Brownback
“What a tremendous accomplishment to have survived and thrived for 150 years,” said Dave Brownback of Ellsworth, president of Citizen’s State Bank and Trust Company, Inc. of Ellsworth. “Ellsworth was in its infancy when the Ellsworth Reporter/ Ellsworth County Independent Reporter (I-R) began. To me, success in business is measured over a long period of time, and you have hit your mark by serving Ellsworth through good times and bad. I would guess that there are very few businesses in Central Kansas that can match the I-R’s longevity.”
Brownback said the I-R is the prime source of local news for him and the community.
“The staff work hard week after week to get the news, happenings and interesting features out to the public,” he said. “My favorite thing about the I-R is learning about what’s happening in Ellsworth County. I also like to read From Our Files about the history of Ellsworth, and Jim Gray’s column, The Way West.
“In addition, for many years our local paper has been recognized around the state for being an outstanding weekly newspaper. Another reason I enjoy our local paper is news stories are reported objectively, and opinions are limited to the editorial page.”
Brownback said when the I-R comes in the mail each Thursday, he first turns to the obituaries.
“If I don’t see my name, I go back to the front page,” he added.
Brownback said he is a big fan of the I-R and it would be a sad day if it was not serving Ellsworth County.
“There is no good alternative to the service provided by our local newspaper,” he said. “Area daily newspapers and television news programs rarely mentioned Ellsworth County. I am sure that it requires a tremendous effort to meet deadlines and get a newspaper to press each week. Were this not to happen, that would be a real loss for our community.”
Brownback said he believes the future is bright for the I-R, not because of the format — paper or electronic — but because of the service provided.  
“Sure, maybe someday we will read the I-R on our computer or phone,” he said. “The real value is the comprehensive coverage of the happenings in Ellsworth County and I don’t see any good alternative to the I-R, electronic or paper. As for me, keep sending me the paper in the mail. Congratulations again on 150 years!”

Noah Erichsen
“It is actually amazing to think about how long the paper has been around — 150 is a big milestone,” said Noah Erichsen of Ellsworth. “I can only imagine what it looked like 150 years ago.”
Erichsen said I-R is an integral part of the community.
“It provides the best local news possible,” he said. “I think the paper does a great job. One of my favorite parts of the paper is the ‘Letter to the Editor’ section. I love reading about what community members think about and would like to share with others. It keeps us as a community close together.”
Erichsen said he subscribes to the Independent-Reporter because it keeps him close to home.
“Especially while being at college, it is great to read the paper each week to keep up with what is happening at home,” he said. “It keeps me close while I am away.”
Erichsen said he always reads the front page stories first and then the op-ed sections.
“These sections give the biggest weekly updates from a community scale to a personal scale,” he added.
Erichsen said he knows many young people do not read the paper.
“I encourage all high school seniors to take advantage of their free year,” he said. “My brother and I both liked having that.”
Erichsen, who was defeated in the Aug. 2 primary election for the 109th District Kansas House of Representatives, said after interacting with six other newspapers this summer, the Independent-Reporter is by far the best paper in all of Central Kansas.
“We have more news than all the other papers,” he said. “Our paper is appealing to the eye. Ellsworth County is so lucky to have our paper. It is also bigger than the rest. It is so easy to read and there are a lot more ads for businesses. Our paper is well interacted with. Our paper quality is the best of any rural county in the state of Kansas.”
Erichsen said he thinks the I-R will always need to keep its digital option.  
“While away, I always read online,” he said. “However, when I am home, I always read the physical copy that comes in the mail. I think the paper just needs to make sure to advertise their digital option to the younger generation.”

Ron Etchison
Ron Etchison of Ellsworth, a former sports writer and general assignment reporter for the Reporter, said achieving this milestone proves the Ellsworth County Independent-Reporter has withstood the test of time, both good and bad.
“The bigger newspapers nowadays don’t present the conservative point of view as well as the liberal,” he said. “Where as the Independent, for the most part, has tried, I think, to keep a balance.”
Etchison said he reads the sports page first, as well as the obituaries.
“That sounds maybe morbid, but a lot of times there are people who pass away that I didn’t even realize were sick, or on their deathbed,” he said.

Meredith Vargo
“We are so lucky to have the Ellsworth Reporter,” said Meredith Vargo of Kanopolis.
Vargo has been reading the Ellsworth Reporter and later the Ellsworth County Independent-Reporter since she moved to Ellsworth in 1963 to teach kindergarten at Ellsworth Elementary School.
“The Ellsworth Reporter was always a part of our lives then as it is now,” she said.
Vargo said she has always relied on the Reporter to give honest information and “people know they can county on events covered truthfully.”
“I feel that in a small town, its heart is a newspaper,” she said. “A good paper enriches the lives in the community with stories of their friends and neighbors.”

Mason May
Mason May of Ellsworth described the Independent-Reporter as “very reliable.”
“Every Wednesday morning I check on it to see what’s happening with the city council and the county commissioners,” he said, adding he also has to check out the sports page.
May said Ellsworth is a good, active and progressive community and the Independent-Reporter is part of that.

Terry Kepka
Retired pharmacist Terry Kepka of Ellsworth, former owner of Seitz Drug in downtown Ellsworth, said the 150th anniversary of the Independent-Reporter is a testament to the community that supported the newspaper over the years.
“A good newspaper is vital to a community and county,” he said. “With the social age, it’s quite remarkable that the Reporter has lasted as long as it has.”  
Kepka said the Reporter has served a need as the office paper of the county and has provided timely news along with other social news sources.
“I always check out the front page first,” he said. “From there I follow what is going on in each community’s council meeting and the county commissioner meeting. Then it’s to the editorial section, followed by the deeds listings.”
Kepka remembers the almost daily visits to the pharmacy for coffee by Reporter editor/publisher Karl Gaston and “his group of guys” to get the pulse of what was going on in the community and surrounding area.
“As my memory recollects, over the years, they were as follows: George Holm, Alan Paul, Dr. Ptacek, George Jelinek, Ken Barta, Rev. Snook, Lou Drazic, Herb Mall, just to name a few,” Kepka said. “Many of the conversations in the group ended up on the editorial page.”
Kepka said Gaston was kind of a mentor to him.
“He was always encouraging me to spread my wings and add pharmacies to my ownership,” Kepka said. “I remember a comment that he once made to me — ‘Only 50 percent of your advertising dollars are effective, but which 50 percent works.’”  
Kepka said Gaston could be quite intimidating, but underneath, he had a heart of gold.  
“He was passionate about Ellsworth and did whatever he could to improve the community,” Kepka said. “I’m not saying that we didn’t have our differences, but somehow we were able to work them out. I felt like we got close over the years. I was honored to carry Dorothy, Karl’s wife, to her grave. It was great loss how everything ended up.”
Kepka said without the Independent-Reporter, Ellsworth County residents would have to rely on other sources that may or may not be credible.
 “The only way the paper will succeed is to continue to provide in-depth reporting,” he said. “A subscriber has to have a need to read it. If all we get is a family reunion story, or the latest sports scores, that’s not going to catch it. There are those that read the area history and receive some insight from the pastor’s podium, which is good, but not strong enough to maintain your subscription base.”

Agnes Kepka
Terry Kepka’s wife, Agnes, worked for Gaston at the Reporter in the late 1980s.
She said reaching 150 years is a feat for any business.
“Maintaining quality is the key,” Kepka said. “I like reading about local meetings, and how decisions in government might effect the local community.”
Kepka said she often clips articles that have meaning out of the Reporter, just like her mother did.
“Without a local newspaper, you would need to rely on word of mouth,” she said.