Missouri Valley Times-News

What Missouri Valley Times-News does

Missouri Valley Times-News is a weekly community newspaper serving Harrison County, Iowa, and surrounding areas in southwestern Iowa. Founded in 1871, it operates as part of the Creative Circle Media Solutions network and functions as the primary local news source for the county. The publication maintains a small editorial staff (11-50 employees) — including Editor Lee Zion, Sports Editor Matt Gengler, and reporter Jill Schaben — covering community news, local sports, government, and civic affairs for a rural readership.

The company's product set spans print and digital: a weekly print newspaper distributed via home/mail routes, a website serving as the digital front door, an e-edition (digital replica of the print edition) for online subscribers, and an online classifieds marketplace. Revenue is generated through multiple streams typical of community newspapers: print and digital subscriptions, classified advertising, display/feature advertising, announcement services such as obituaries and special sections, and public notices tied to state statutory publication requirements. The business is essentially a hyperlocal advertising and information platform whose monetization depends on the demographic and small-business health of a single rural Iowa county.

Name

Missouri Valley Times-News

Legal name

Missouri Valley Times-News

Website

https://missourivalleytimes.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1871

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Community newspaper serving Harrison County, Iowa since 1871, delivering weekly print editions, digital e-editions, online classifieds marketplace, and local advertising services as part of the Creative Circle Media Solutions network.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Local Newspaper Publishing

NAICS

Newspaper Publishers (513110)

SIC

Newspapers: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2711)

akta.pro primary industry

Local & Regional Newspapers (Print & Digital) (MPAJADAB)

Keywords

• Local newspaper publishing
• Community news coverage
• Classified advertising
• Public notice publishing
• Digital news subscriptions

Headquarters

HQ city

Missouri Valley

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Subscription Revenue: The newspaper generates primary revenue through print and digital subscriptions. Both print-only and combined print/web subscription options are available. Subscribers receive access to premium content and E-editions.
2. Classified Advertising: The classifieds section includes automotive, for rent, for sale, garage sales, jobs, miscellaneous, services, pets, and statewide categories. Paid placement advertising for individuals and businesses.
3. Public Notices: Government and legal public notices including city council meeting minutes, board meeting minutes, estate notices, property notices, and municipal announcements. The publication hosts 1463 public notice results.
4. Feature Ads: Display advertising from local businesses and organizations featured throughout the website and print edition.
5. Announcement Services: Paid announcements including obituaries, wedding announcements, engagement announcements, birthday announcements, anniversary announcements, birth announcements, and classified submissions.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Missouri Valley Times-News publishes a local newspaper covering news, sports, and community events for Harrison County, Iowa, distributing both print and digital editions to area residents. It also sells display advertising, classified ads, obituaries, and legal/public notices to local individuals and businesses in its service area.

Product overview

Missouri Valley Times-News operates as a traditional local newspaper with a unified print and digital offering. The core product is the newspaper itself, available both in print and through E-Editions (digital flipbook replicas). The portfolio includes content verticals for obituaries, sports, news, and opinion, supplemented by a Classifieds/Marketplace for local advertising. Public notices are published as a community service. Special publications provide themed regional content. The site also offers various announcement submission forms for readers to submit life event notices. All products are delivered through the creativecirclemedia.com publishing platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Missouri Valley Times-News Print Edition
• Missouri Valley Times-News Digital Edition
• Display and Classified Advertising
• Legal and Public Notice Publication

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Schurz Communications: Private media company operating a portfolio of community newspapers, broadcasting, and digital media properties across the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic. Comparable as a regional community-newspaper operator, though more diversified across media types and at larger scale.
• Lee Enterprises: Publicly traded media company operating a large portfolio of local newspapers across the Midwest, including many in Iowa. Comparable because of overlapping rural Iowa market exposure and similar subscription / public notice / advertising revenue mix, though at substantially larger scale.
• Ogden Newspapers: Family-owned operator of dozens of community newspapers across the U.S., including many small-town and rural dailies and weeklies. Highly comparable as a multi-title community newspaper group with a similar subscription + public notice + advertising model, but at much larger network scale.
• Gannett: Largest U.S. local newspaper publisher (USA TODAY network), operating hundreds of community dailies and weeklies including titles in Iowa. Comparable as a community-newspaper operator with overlapping revenue mix, but operating at vastly larger scale and with a heavier digital focus.

Direct peers

• Mapleton Press: Iowa community newspaper also published under the Creative Circle Media Solutions network. Closely comparable small-town Iowa weekly with identical platform, same revenue model, and adjacent rural Iowa market dynamics.
• Burt County News: Nebraska community newspaper also part of the Creative Circle Media Solutions network. Closely comparable small-town Midwestern newspaper with the same revenue mix (subscriptions, public notices, classifieds) and similar rural market dynamics.
• Pilot Tribune & Enterprise: West Point, Nebraska community newspaper operating under the same Creative Circle Media Solutions parent platform and sharing the same publishing infrastructure. Most directly comparable as a sister title with identical tech stack, revenue model, and rural-market positioning.
• The Dunlap Reporter: Local newspaper serving Dunlap, Iowa within Harrison County, also operated under the Creative Circle Media Solutions network. Shares overlapping geographic coverage, identical platform, and effectively the same editorial team (Lee Zion) as Missouri Valley Times-News.
• West Point News: Nebraska community newspaper also part of the Creative Circle Media Solutions network. Closely comparable as a sister title with identical publishing platform, subscription + public notice + classifieds revenue mix, and small-town Midwestern market positioning.
• Boone Newspapers Sentry Investments: Family-owned group operating more than 80 community newspapers across the U.S. South and Midwest. Closely comparable as a multi-title community newspaper operator with similar revenue mix and rural-market focus, including public-notice and subscription monetization.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/missourivalleytimes

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

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 Missouri Valley Times-News