Neepawa Banner


The Neepawa Banner & Press was established in 1989 by Ken and Christine Waddell in Neepawa, Manitoba. Originally named the Neepawa Banner, the paper's first edition was printed on Oct. 29, 1989 and included an initial print run of 3,000 copies distributed to the town of Neepawa and surrounding communities.
The Banner office was originally located in the Moyer Dental building on Mountain Avenue and employed a staff of four. In 1990, the Banner moved to 272 Hamilton Street and later in the ‘90s, to 275 Hamilton Street in Hamilton Square. In 1998, the paper once again moved, this time to its current location at 243 Hamilton Street.
In 1993, the Neepawa Banner expanded into the town of Rivers, Manitoba with the purchase of the Rivers Gazette-Reporter and renamed it the Rivers Banner. For a short period of time, a third paper, the Hamiota Banner, was established in the town of Hamiota. It operated from 1992-1995.
By 2014, the Neepawa Banner had established its weekly circulation numbers at 8036 copies. It is currently one of the largest circulation weeklies in rural Manitoba. and largest rural weekly in western Manitoba.
In September 2015, the Banner purchased its competition and one of Manitoba's oldest community newspapers, the Neepawa Press.
The Neepawa Press, which first published in 1896, has been sold by B.C.-based Glacier Media Group to Ken and Christine Waddell. The Press would publish weekly, albeit with some changes in format and distribution.
After two years of running the Banner & the Press as separate newspapers, the pair were amalgamated. The final edition of the Neepawa Press as a stand-alone paper was published on September 27, 2017
In 2018, the Banner & Press employs a workforce of seven full-time employees, several columnists as well as numerous part-time workers who perform flyer stuffing and newspaper distribution duties.
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