Dear Editor,
I am writing to further the thoughts and conversations from the Jan. 21 Allen County commission meeting, specifically relating to the county’s partnership with the Iola Register.
First and foremost, it is important to note how critical it is to Allen County to have both The Humboldt Union and The Register.
But to trade off who will publish public notices is unnecessary.
I was surprised when a couple of the commissioners said they wanted to instead focus on sharing public notice updates on social media. Just two days prior to their meeting, a very large social media network was shut down.
Social media will not always be here.
The Iola Register already has a very large presence with multiple ways to reach people via print, email, text, radio, online and podcast.
The Register’s Tim Stauffer pointed out that the cost for printing public notices with the paper is less than $20,000 and represents 0.2% in the county’s budget. Even if the commissioners were to hire an individual to handle their social media presence, could it be comparable to that, especially when we have a trusted and reliable Register wanting to continue what they’ve done for many years?
If our county can’t afford 0.2% of its budget for a business that provides valuable information to us during important times, then perhaps the budget should be reevaluated.
— Kylee Geffert,
Humboldt, Kan.
