The Limon Leader, a weekly newspaper that has long served Lincoln County and a cluster of towns on the Eastern Plains, this week announced that it will close by the end of the year, and possibly sooner, leaving yet another rural news void in Colorado.
But while many papers have succumbed to flagging economic fortunes, the Leader’s closure reflects “realities of today’s environment, coupled with our key personnel seeking to retire soon,” according to a letter to readers and advertisers under the byline of Catherine Thurston, who operates the publication.
Thurston would like to step away but there’s “nobody to replace me,” she told Corey Hutchins of the newsletter “Inside the News in Colorado.” In one byline her duties were described as “Manager, Editor, Publisher and Chief Bottle Washer” of the Leader.
Although the paper continues to be profitable, Thurston said that while she would be willing to sell the Leader, she has been unable to find a buyer — or reliable help with the everyday challenges of covering the region. The business side of the operation, as well as the day-to-day journalism, have become increasingly difficult to sustain.
Locals may now turn to social media for their local news, Thurston told Hutchins.
“They think Facebook is everything out here,” she said.
The closing of the Limon weekly continues a discouraging trend on the Eastern Plains and other rural areas of the state. Hutchins, of Colorado College, and David Coppini of the University of Denver produced a 2023 Colorado Media Project report that counted 52 newspapers across Colorado shutting down between 2004 and 2023. Since then, Hutchins said in his weekly newsletter that detailed the Limon closing, he has counted more than a dozen more, one-third of them in the eastern half of the state.
If the Limon paper closes as planned, it would leave Lincoln County without a dedicated newspaper, joining Cheyenne County as a so-called “news desert,” according to the Colorado News Mapping Project that Hutchins oversees.
The Limon Leader also serves the towns of Arriba, Genoa, Hugo and Karval in Lincoln County. Recent stories on the paper’s website have ranged from results of a 4-H state shooting competition to impacts of recent storms to an item on the grand marshals of the Arriba-Flagler homecoming parade later this month — as well as the announcement of the paper’s closure. Editions include public notices as well as public meeting agendas, obituaries and extensive schedules of school activities and lunch menus.
In January, Thurston announced in a bylined story that rising expenses necessitated an increase in both subscription and advertising rates. A subscription currently costs $80 per year, which includes both the print edition and access to the online version. An online only subscription costs $50 annually.
Still, at that time she expressed optimism about the paper’s future, owing at least in part to a poll that indicated local readers support and value the paper. She wrote that asked if the Leader is still important to the community, readers responded positively by a 53-1 count, and voted 53-18 that they would be willing to pay more for the coverage.
“This newspaper has been a cornerstone of local life for generations, providing news and a sense of connection,” she wrote. “However, the realities of modern publishing demand innovation and collaboration to sustain this vital resource for the future.”
She also noted that the paper continued to seek “volunteers or contractors” to cover meetings and events — and an ad on the same page sought reporters and particularly encouraged high school students to apply.
Recent news in the Leader also included one journalistic bright spot. A story introduced the staff of the Flagler Forward, a student-run publication that Thurston said she hopes inspires similar efforts at other area schools.
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