Sparks Tribune

On Sept. 21, 1892, the first issue of the weekly Wadsworth Dispatch was published in Wadsworth, Nevada.^[1] In 1905, the newspaper was relocated to Sparks, Nevada, and was renamed to the Sparks Dispatch. Joseph J. Jackson was manager.^[2] In January 1906, a stock company under the management of Louis Purcell acquired the Dispatch from Jackson and N.A. Hummel, renamed it to the Nevada Forum and expanded it into a tri-weekly.^[3][4]

In October 1906, Purcell moved the paper to a larger headquarters and added a Linotype machine to its printing plant.^[5] In 1907, the paper expanded from a tri-weekly to a daily.^[6] In 1909, Purcell sold the Sparks Forum to A. Grant Miller.^[7] In April 1910, Miller suspended the paper after two lawsuits were filled against the business seeking money owed and the sheriff's department seized the printing plant.^[8]

Banker Patrick Howard Mulcahy was appointed receiver of the Forum.^[9] Miller lost both suits.^[10] In August 1910, Mulcahy took charge of the paper and renamed it to the Sparks Tribune.^[11] P.H. Mulcahy died in 1922.^[12] His son Edwin C. Mulcahy inherited the paper and operated it until his death in 1949.^[13] His widow sold her half interest to Carl B. Shelly in 1950.^[14]

In 1955, Shelly beat a lawsuit filled by a former employee seeking company stock, which was denied after terms of an agreement were not met.^[15] In 1956, Shelly sold the controlling interest in the business to his son Bruce Shelly.^[16] In 1958, George Lill bought the paper from the Shelly family.^[17] At some point the paper reverted to a weekly. In 1959, the Tribune resumed daily publication. At the time it had a circulation of 1,500^[18]

In July 1961, Gill was jailed for writing a check to an employee with insufficient funds to cover it. He was released on bail.^[19] The charges were latter dismissed and the suit was dismissed after restitution was made. However, Lill was charged with contempt of court for another case.^[20] The Internal Revenue Service seized and closed the Tribune for nonpayment of employee withholding taxes.^[21] Gill came up with the money and the paper reopened after a day.^[22] Gill failed to appear for a court date in his IRS case due to a misunderstanding and the contempt charges were dropped.^[23]

In August 1961, that same former employee filled another lawsuit against the paper seeking back pay.^[24] Lill sold the newspaper to Elizabeth Ehrlich. In November 1961, the business filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.^[25][26] Bankruptcy R.B. Fuhrman took charge of the Tribune and put it up for sale.^[27] In March 1962, Ira Jacobson acquired the paper for $2,600. He owned Nevada Printing Co., which published the Tonopah Times-Bonanza & Goldfield News, Reese River Reveille, Eureka Sentinel and Overton Echo. Jacobson appointed Bill Henley as editor and Allen Knox as general manager.^[28]

In December 1962, Jacobson sold the Tribune to Jack Carpenter, an administrative assistant to Sen. Alan Bible.^[29] In January 1965, W. Stanley Barker, former publisher of the Placerville Mountain Democrat, bought the paper from Carpenter.^[30] In 1967, Donald L. Woodward Jr. was named managing editor.^[31] In 1969, Woodward became the majority stock owner.^[32] In 1971, Woodward purchased a partial interest in the Gardnerville Record-Courier.^[33] In 1977, James B. McClatchy board chairman of McClatchy Newspapers, bought a90% stake in the Sparks Tribune.^[34]

In 1981, McClatchy and Woodward sold the paper to Kearns-Tribune Corporation, owner of The Salt Lake Tribune. At that time the paper had a circulation of 14,000.^[35] In 1998, Kearns-Tribune sold the Sparks Tribune to A.L. Alford Jr., owner of the Lewiston Morning Tribune and Moscow-Pullman Daily News.^[36] In 2003, Alford sold the Tribune to Randy Frisch and Dominic Welch.^[37] In 2015, Battle Born Media, which owned five other papers in Nevada, acquired the Tribune.^[38]