Company History
Western News & Info, Inc.® has a long history in the business of printing and publishing. Western News & Info,
Inc.®,a holding company, was established in January, 1978. The Soldwedel family owns the voting stock in
the privately-held company.
Prior to 1978, the company had its beginning in the mid-1930s when Mr. Foy F. McNaughton purchased The Yuma
Daily Sun. In 1953, after Foy's daughter, Luda, married Don Soldwedel, the couple moved to Yuma to run the
McNaughton's 50% interest in the Yuma newspaper.
Combining efforts through the years, the McNaughtons and Soldwedels purchased or started additional newspaper
properties. In the 1960s the Prescott Courier,
Casa Grande Dispatch, Lake Havasu City
Herald and partial interests in the Mohave
(Kingman) Miner were purchased.
In the 1970s, the Mohave Valley News in Bullhead City, the
Verde Independent in Cottonwood and the
Camp Verde Bugle also were purchased.
After the holding company was formed and into the early 1980s, the Lake Powell Chronicle,
Navajo-Hopi Observer,
Foothills Sentinel in Cave Creek, the
Palo Verde Valley Times
in Blythe, California, the
Quartzsite Times
in Quartzsite, Arizona, the Laughlin Gambler and Douglas Dispatch were added. The Dispatch and Chronicle
were later sold.
The Soldwedels also were involved in commercial printing and television operations in conjunction with
newspaper publishing during this time period.
In 1984, the Soldwedels sold all of their Yuma interests in the Yuma Daily Sun, Foothills News and
Sun Television to Cox Newspapers. Since 1985, Western News&Info, Inc.® has entered the outdoor advertising
and sign business. The company also added the Golden Valley Enterprise, the Weekender, the
Chino Valley Review
and the
Prescott Valley Tribune
to its list of newspaper properties since 1985.
As of the end of 1995, Western News & Info, Inc.® boasted 15 newspapers, a sign advertising company,
a variety of shoppers and real estate guides, and three commercial printing businesses with more than 300
employees.
In 1991, Western News&Info, Inc.® sold its three newspapers in Bullhead City and Laughlin and purchased
the Kingman Booster which became the
Kingman Prospector.
Williams Grand Canyon News
and Canyon Shopper were added, and in 1995,
Today's News Herald
and Parker Pioneer were also added in partnership with Wick Communications.
In January of 1997 Western News&Info Inc.® invested in a 50% ownership of radio stations
Outlaw Country 1400 AM
and
Z-93.
Keith Lewis is our partner in this radio venture. KCYK (frequency: AM 1400) and KLJZ Z-93 (frequency: FM 93.1)
stations are located in Yuma, Arizona.
In 1998, Western News&Info, Inc.® expanded its print media business throughout Northern Arizona with the
addition of Community Directory phone books covering Prescott, Prescott
Valley, Chino Valley, Cottonwood, Sedona, Flagstaff, Lake Powell and Williams.
In April 2007, Western News&Info, Inc.® purchased the advertisement shopper Ad-King in
Cottonwood. Later the same year, WNI closed the Winslow Mail & Reminder. Western News&info,
Inc.'s® previous Prescott-area advertisement shopper Sun Shopper was closed in 2010 and a
second edition of the Ad-King was created exclusively for the
Quad-Cities.
In August of 2010, Western News&info, Inc.® acquired
Pop Rocket,
an alternative publication showcasing arts & entertainment in the Prescott area.
Western News&info, Inc.'s® corporate offices are located in Yuma, Arizona.
Soldwedel family timeline
Here are the highlights of the family’s start-ups and acquisitions since 1950:
