• by Tony Silber , April 6, 2022

Rust Communications, owner of more than 40 newspapers, specialty publications and 17 radio stations, has sold eight northwest Iowa publications -- including the Le Mars Daily Sentinel, the Cherokee Chronicle Times, the Storm Lake Pilot-Tribune and the Spencer Daily Reporter to Hallmark II Publishing, the owner of its own newspaper chain.

At the close of the deal with Rust Communications, Hallmark II Publishing entered an agreement with the owners of the Storm Lake Times to sell them both the Cherokee and Storm Lake papers. 

Terms of the transactions were not disclosed. Rust Communications was represented by the M&A firm Cribb, Cope & Potts in the first deal. 

“Chris [Hall] and I are tremendously excited for the opportunity to purchase our hometown newspaper,” Hallmark owner and President Gene Hall said in a press release from Cribb, Cope & Potts. “I’m grateful to Jon Rust for his assistance."

“We're happy to entrust the award-winning newspapers of Northwest Iowa to the Hall family,” Rust Communications President Jon K. Rust said. “They are an Iowa family that knows Iowa well, and they know Spencer well. We are appreciative of all our staff at each of the newspapers who have worked hard and with incredible dedication to serve their communities with great affection, high standards and care. With the Halls’ ownership, the future looks bright.”

Hallmark is headquartered in Charles City, Iowa, and owns that city's newspaper and a central printing facility there, as well as newspapers in nearby communities including New Hampton, Nashua and Algona.

Rust Communications, based in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, is a second-generation media company with 33 newspapers (as of the sale) and minority ownership in the 17 radio stations, in nine states.

Storm Lake Times owner Art Cullen won a Pulitzer Prize in 2017 for reporting on water quality in the region.

The Times will be merged with the Rust/Hallmark Storm Lake Pilot-Tribune.

Art Cullen will be editor and publisher of the combined publication, the AP reported, while his brother John will be the president.

The twice-weekly Times will be published on Wednesdays and Fridays.