Idaho Mountain Express

What Idaho Mountain Express does

Idaho Mountain Express is a privately held community newspaper founded around 1975 in Ketchum, Idaho, serving Sun Valley, Ketchum, Hailey, Bellevue, Carey and Blaine County. It publishes a twice-weekly print edition (Wednesday and Friday), a daily-updated website at mtexpress.com, an e-edition digital replica, an email newsletter (The Roundup), and active Facebook, X (Twitter), and Instagram accounts. The Wood River Journal operates as a co-branded features section, and an annual Best of the Valley readers' poll anchors community engagement.

The publication is built on the BLOX Content Management System from BLOX Digital, which supports both print and digital workflows. Core content spans local government (Sun Valley, Ketchum, Hailey, Bellevue, Blaine County), education, environment, recreation, high school and mountain sports, arts and events, opinion, obituaries, classifieds, and a community calendar. Legal notices are distributed via the Idaho Public Notices platform, and classifieds are served through a dedicated marketplace portal.

The business model is a multi-stream local-media structure: print and digital subscriptions (annual billing), display advertising in print and online with separate rate cards, classified transaction fees, obituary submission fees, sponsored special sections (e.g., Best of the Valley, Fourth of July coverage), and statutory legal notices. Headcount is in the 11-50 range, consistent with a single-title community newspaper; no revenue, ownership, or investor information is publicly disclosed. The publication celebrated its Fiftieth Anniversary in 2025-2026, signaling continued operating stability in a small but affluent resort market.

Name

Idaho Mountain Express

Legal name

Idaho Mountain Express

Website

https://mtexpress.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1975

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Idaho Mountain Express is a privately held community newspaper founded in 1975 in Ketchum, Idaho, serving Sun Valley, Ketchum, Hailey, Bellevue, Carey and Blaine County through twice-weekly print, a daily website, e-edition, newsletter, and the Wood River Journal features section.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Ketchum

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Print and Digital Subscriptions: The newspaper offers print subscription services delivering the paper weekly, plus full digital access including the e-edition version. Subscription options include print-only and combined print-plus-online packages.
2. Display Advertising: The newspaper sells display advertising space in both the print edition and on the website. Multiple ad formats are available including 300x250 banner ads, with separate rate cards for printed advertising and online advertising.
3. Classifieds: The classifieds section generates revenue through individual ad submissions for jobs, real estate, marketplace items, and other categories. Classified advertising is available both through the print edition and online marketplace portal.
4. Special Sections and Event Coverage: Revenue generated from special editorial sections such as Best of the Valley, Fourth of July coverage, and other sponsored or special editorial content packages.
5. Legal Notices: The newspaper publishes legal notices, a traditional revenue stream for community newspapers that is often mandated by local governments.
6. Obituary Submissions: Revenue from obituary submissions and announcements published in both print and online.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Idaho Mountain Express is a community newspaper publishing local news, sports, arts, events, opinion, obituaries, and classifieds for Sun Valley, Ketchum, Hailey, Bellevue, Carey and Blaine County, Idaho. The publication is delivered through weekly print editions (Wednesday and Friday), a digital website (mtexpress.com), an e-edition replica, and email newsletters, supplemented by display advertising, classified advertising, legal notices, and obituary submission services.

Product overview

Idaho Mountain Express is a local newspaper serving the Sun Valley, Ketchum, Hailey, Bellevue, Carey and Blaine County, Idaho area. The publication offers a comprehensive suite of products including its core print and digital newspaper, the Wood River Journal special section featuring community profiles and the 'Best of the Valley' poll, e-Edition digital replicas, and a Marketplace classified platform. Coverage spans news, sports, arts & events, opinion, obituaries, calendar listings, and photo galleries. The company distributes through print, website (mtexpress.com), email newsletters, social media channels, and subscription services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Wood River Journal: A features and community section of the Idaho Mountain Express covering local features, valley people, news of record, obituaries, mountain town news, special sections, community stories, and the Best of the Valley awards.

Products and services

• Idaho Mountain Express Newspaper The primary weekly newspaper publication serving Sun Valley, Ketchum, Hailey, Bellevue, Carey and Blaine County, Idaho, delivering local news, sports, arts, events, opinion, obituaries, and classifieds through print (Wednesday and Friday editions) and digital formats for individual readers and local households.
• Wood River Journal A community-focused editorial section of the Idaho Mountain Express that publishes local feature stories, Valley People profiles, news of record, community news, and the annual Best of the Valley readers' poll and awards.
• e-Edition Digital Replica A digital replica of the print newspaper accessible online, providing subscribers with electronic access to the full print edition, including current and archived issues.
• Marketplace Classifieds An online classified listings marketplace that allows users to browse and submit classified advertisements across multiple categories, integrated with the print edition's classified section.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Wood River JournalcoreOthersThe Wood River Journal is a companion publication/section within the Idaho Mountain Express covering features, valley people, news of record, obituaries, community news, and special sections including the Best of the Valley annual awards and Sun Valley Guide to Everything.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Regional players

• Montana Standard: Regional daily newspaper serving Butte and southwestern Montana — adjacent mountain-state market with subscription/advertising model serving a similar resort-and-rural readership profile.

Direct peers

• Vail Daily: Local newspaper serving Vail and Eagle County, Colorado — a comparable high-end mountain resort market with print, e-edition, and subscription/advertising revenue model similar to the Idaho Mountain Express.
• Tahoe Daily Tribune: Daily community newspaper serving the Lake Tahoe basin in California/Nevada — a resort market similar to Sun Valley with overlapping revenue model and audience profile.
• Summit Daily News: Local newspaper serving Summit County, Colorado ski-resort communities (Breckenridge, Frisco, Silverthorne) with parallel print + digital subscription, advertising, and classified model.
• Sky-Hi News: Local newspaper covering Grand County, Colorado ski-resort communities; operates with print + digital subscriptions, display ads, and classifieds targeting a mountain community.
• Jackson Hole News&Guide: Community newspaper covering Teton County, Wyoming — similar resort-economy market with subscription, advertising, classifieds, and legal notices as revenue pillars.
• The Park Record: Community newspaper covering Park City, Utah — another affluent ski-resort market with print + digital subscriptions, classifieds, and local advertising as the primary model.
• Aspen Daily News: Independent daily newspaper serving the Aspen/Pitkin County area in Colorado — comparable mountain-resort community with subscription, display ad, and legal notice revenue streams.

Others

• Bloomsburg Press-Enterprise: Independent community newspaper serving a single rural Pennsylvania county — comparable small-footprint community paper model with display ads, legal notices, classifieds, and subscription revenue.

Broad incumbents

• Idaho Statesman: Boise-based statewide newspaper operating as part of the McClatchy/MediaNews group — same state, regional coverage footprint that overlaps portions of the Mountain Express's state/regional news category.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/IdahoMtExpress
• Facebookfacebook.com/MountainExpress
• Instagraminstagram.com/idmtexpress
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/express-publishing-inc-

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Idaho Mountain Express