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 Johnson Publications owners Lori and Russ Pankonin, at left, and Brenda Brandt, at right, are pictured with Lloyd Mullen, who along with his brother, Jesse Mullen, purchased the Johnson Publications papers in Imperial, Grant and Holyoke, Colorado on Friday, Nov. 19.

Johnson Publications sells Nebraska, Colorado papers

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    Brothers Jesse and Lloyd Mullen, doing business as High Plains News North LLC, are the new owners of The Imperial Republican, The Grant Tribune-Sentinel and The Holyoke Enterprise.
    The Mullens signed papers with Johnson Publications Inc. owners Russ and Lori Pankonin and Brenda Brandt on Friday morning, Nov. 19, to make the sale official. Office buildings for the three publications were also included in the purchase.
    All current staff members at the newspapers were retained by the Mullens in the transaction.
    With Brenda and Lori’s dad, Loral Johnson, starting at The Imperial Republican right out of high school in 1952, it’s been 69 years that the Johnson name has been linked to newspapering in this area.
    The four Johnson children, including Brenda and Lori’s brothers, Randy and Kurt, took on responsibilities at the news office at early ages.
    Brandt and the Pankonins are grateful to have connected with buyers who grew up in the newspaper business, currently operate weekly newspapers and who have the same sense of community that has been a part of the Johnson business philosophy for close to seven decades.
    The Mullens said they were impressed with the three communities, which served as a motivator to purchase the three papers.
    Jesse Mullen and his wife, Sasha, own and operate four newspapers in Montana and Idaho, and currently reside in Deer Lodge, Montana, with their children, five dogs, three horses and a geriatric mule. They own the Browsing Bison bookstore group in southwest Montana.
    Jesse has been involved with newspapers since he got his start as a newspaper delivery boy at the Sioux City Journal. He has been an editor and publisher at community newspapers in Iowa, Montana, Wyoming, Washington state and Oregon.
    Prior to returning to community journalism, he was an executive with Civitas Media based in Charlotte, North Carolina, where he worked closely with journalists across the United States at Civitas’ more than 100 newspapers. He is president-elect for the Philipsburg, Montana, Rotary Club.
    Jesse looks forward to getting involved in the community.
    “We’re honored to be the new caretakers of the Grant Tribune-Sentinel, Imperial Republican and Holyoke Enterprise,” Jesse said.
    “Growing up in a newspaper family in eastern Wyoming gave us a great love for small town journalism,” Jesse said.
     “Lloyd and I are excited to protect and grow these newspapers for decades to come.”
    Lloyd Mullen, his wife, Karen, and their two Irish terriers, Ronin and Nula, live in Port Townsend, Washington.
    Lloyd grew up in the newspaper business with his brothers, Jesse and Louie. Towed in the back of a little red wagon, he used to hand newspapers to his big brothers on their paperboy routes.
    Lloyd is an avid photographer and traveler and found a home away from home in Iceland, where he and his wife travel frequently. Lloyd enjoys spending his winter weekends in the Cascades and is a mediocre skier. He graduated with a degree in international studies from the University of Wyoming.
    “We are so excited that Brenda, Bob, Lori and Russ have welcomed us to their communities,” Lloyd said.
    Loral and Elna Johnson’s direct involvement in the newspapers ended April 1, 1999, when they sold Johnson Publications Inc. to the Pankonins and Brandt.
    “I am thrilled for my family and am so pleased that they have been able to turn the newspapers over to another family that has the same values for community newspapering that Loral and I had,” said Elna.
    This business transaction will mean retirement from the weekly newspaper routine for the Pankonins and Brandt. They anticipate assisting with the transition for several weeks, then will move forward.
    Being a part of their communities has been significant for them, and they see that continuing in retirement.
    The Pankonins will continue to call Imperial their home, and Brandt and her husband, Bob, will maintain their home base in Holyoke, Colorado.
Johnson joins Imperial
Republican in 1952
    Loral Johnson joined The Imperial Republican staff in 1952, and after he and Elna Christensen were married in 1954, Elna worked as a linotype operator at the Republican until they started their family.
    She worked off and on in the front office from 1963 until the Johnsons purchased the Republican from Ruth Naylor on Jan. 1, 1968, at which time Elna became fully involved.
    Johnson Publications Inc. was officially organized in 1977 when the Johnsons purchased The Holyoke Enterprise and The Grant Tribune-Sentinel. In 1982, The Wauneta Breeze was added to the family of community newspapers, and it merged with the Republican one year ago.
    The Pankonins and Brandt purchased Johnson Publications Inc. 22 and a half years ago on April 1, 1999, when the Johnsons retired.
Pankonins joined Johnson Publications in 1982
    Russ and Lori Pankonin earned business degrees from the University of Nebraska at Kearney in 1980 and 1981, respectively. Russ sold real estate and Lori worked in a company accounting department in Kearney until they joined the family newspapering operation in 1982 as co-editors of The Wauneta Breeze.
    They became involved in various phases of Johnson Publications and moved to Imperial in December 1997 in preparation for the eventual transition to ownership.
    Lori has been involved primarily on the business side of Johnson Publications since moving to Imperial. She also handled news and feature writing in Wauneta and wrote a popular personal column for all the papers.
    Russ has primarily served on the news editorial side, sharing his technological and photography skills with all of the Johnson Publications papers. He assumed the editor role of the Tribune-Sentinel in his hometown of Grant for the last two years.
    Their daughter, Brooke Robertson, worked in the family business as the third generation. She served in Imperial and then as office manager and later editor in Grant.
    The Pankonins and Robertson all served on the Nebraska Press Association board of directors. Russ was president for both NPA and the Nebraska Press Advertising service.
    Russ and Lori served as co-membership ambassadors for Nebraska for the National Newspaper Association.
    During their 15 years in Wauneta, the Pankonins were very active with community support, and they have been involved in numerous organizations that make a difference in Imperial, as well.
    Lori’s involvement with the Imperial Community Foundation Fund began at its inception in 1999. She credits having grown up with a passion for building relationships and making a difference as a driving force to help pass the $2 million mark in assets in order to provide active hope for future generations.
    The Pankonins have two daughters and nine grandchildren.
    Brooke and Nathan Robertson and their five children live in Ogallala. Brooke is a financial planner, and Nathan is involved in his family irrigation business.
    Celeste and Mathew May live in Lincoln with their four children. Celeste is a speech pathologist with Lincoln Public Schools, and Mathew works for Hudl.
Brandt ends 42-year career
at Holyoke Enterprise
    Brandt started as news editor of the Enterprise in June of 1979, assuming the role of managing editor a year later and eventually becoming the publisher. She has served as advertising manager since 1994.
    In more recent years, she took on sales team manager duties for Johnson Publications, coordinating the multiple special sections on which the newspapers have collaborated.
    She earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism and math education from the University of Nebraska at Kearney in 1977, then taught journalism and geometry at Aurora High School in Nebraska for two years.
    Experiencing newspaper life at the Enterprise in Holyoke during the summers of 1977 and 1978, Brandt left teaching after the 1978-79 school year to join the family operation.
    She is a past president of the Colorado Press Association and was named CPA’s Newspaper Person of the Year in 2017. She also served for a number of years as Colorado membership ambassador for the National Newspaper Association.
    Brandt has had extensive involvement in community activities and is blessed to have had a rewarding career in such a fine community.
    She and her husband, Bob, have two children. Duncan is CTO co-founder of an emerging tech company in the growing industry of emissions detection. Molly works for a refugee resettlement agency in Denver.

 

The Imperial Republican

308-882-4453 (Phone)

622 Broadway St

PO Box 727

Imperial, NE 69033