The McCall Star-News

Marcus "Mark" Ayres Bates worked at a newspaper in Caldwell before launching the Parma Herald in 1903 in Parma.^[1][2] In 1915, Richard Ralph Womack moved to Cascade, Idaho and launched a weekly newspaper called the Cascade News. The printing plant was manufactured in Portland, Oregon.^[3][4] Two years later Womack sold the News to Burt Venable.^[5] In 1918, Bates relocated his Parma print shop to McCall and then launched the Payette Lake Star.^[1][2]

In 1921, Venable sold the News to Ray E. Coleman.^[6] Bates suspended the Star in 1925 due to a lack of patronage.^[7] A few months later, a stock company was set up to run the Star and allow Bates to retire.^[8] In 1933, former Star publisher J.C. Allen died from lead poisoning, which he contracted while working on the Payette paper.^[9]

In 1934, the Star was sold at auction by Valley County sheriff R.L. Wilson for delinquent taxes to the paper's editor, W.C. Peer.^[10] In 1937, Coleman retired and sold the News to Gordon Squires, who previously operated the Power County Booster in American Falls.^[11] A year later Squires acquired the Star from Peer.^[12] Squires published both papers until his death in 1962.^[13] His widow Doris Squired then sold the News and Star to Don McMahan of Council and Glen Youngblood of Cascade.^[14][15]

At some point, Youngblood exited the business and the two papers were merged to form The Star-News. Jan and Bob McMahan sold the paper in 1977 to Michael D. Parfit. At that time the paper had a circulation of 2,500.^[16] Two years later the Parfits sold the Star-News to A.L. "Butch" Alford Jr., publisher of the Lewiston Morning Tribune, and Tribune business manager Bill Brigs.^[17] CherryRoad Media acquired the Star-News from them in 2022.^[18][19]