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Commission keeps Newton Kansan as official newspaper for county legal notices in 2026
Summary
After reviewing an RFP that produced a single response, the commission voted 2-1 to continue using the Newton Kansan for publication of the county's legal notices in 2026; Commissioner Becky Reimer opposed the decision citing circulation and local ownership considerations.
The Board of Harvey County Commissioners voted 2-1 to continue contracting with the Newton Kansan to publish the county's legal notices for 2026. County Administrator Kevin Frymire reviewed responses to the publication RFP and reported that Harvey County Now submitted the only RFP response; staff recommended retaining the Newton Kansan because its per-column-inch rate would result in a lower budget impact than the alternate proposal.
Chad Frey, managing editor of The Newton Kansan, reminded the commission of the statutory requirement for third-party publication. "Kansas statutes require publication of legal notices by a 3rd party (newspaper) but do not restrict publication on websites or other sources," Frey said. Commissioners discussed circulation figures, municipal practices and whether statutory requirements remain relevant given the county posts legal notices on its website. Commissioner Terry Scott moved to continue using the Newton Kansan, Don Schroeder seconded, and the motion passed 2-1 (opposed: Becky Reimer). Staff and commissioners discussed issuing a new RFP for 2027 prior to budget deliberations.
