• by Ray Schultz , January 1, 2025

The Ainsworth (Nebraska) Star-Journal has been saved by a last-minute purchase that the co-owner Rod Worrell calls a “Christmas miracle.”

The paper is being taken over by a group that includes local radio station owner Graig Kinzie and Clint and Katie Painter, who own a car dealership in Ainsworth, the Nebraska Examiner reports. Also in the group are Kirk and Chelsea Peterson,

Kinzie was preparing to assume ownership of the paper, but couldn’t find anyone to run it in the tight labor market. But the Painters came forward and said their daughter Erin is returning to town and is interested in doing the job. 

“I’m really excited,” says Worrell, according to the Examiner.  “I wasn’t looking forward to being the one to shut down a newspaper that’s been around in one form or another for 142 years.”

The Valentine Midland News, another paper run by Worrell and his wife Kathy, has also been saved by a separate group.