When the newspaper makes the news

   Well, the news is out… The Monticello Express has been sold!

   Last week was a whirlwind for the Express staff as we met our new owners, Trevis and Nancy Mayfield. Their corporation, Sycamore Media, owns three hometown newspapers in Eastern Iowa: the Maquoketa Sentinel-Press, the DeWitt Observer, and the Bellevue Herald Leader. The Monticello Express is the perfect fit for Sycamore Media, and vice versa.

   To our subscribers, our readers, our advertisers, you will not notice a difference. The staff who work hard to publish your weekly newspaper and Shoppers’ Guide are not going anywhere. Pete Temple and I will still be covering all things news, sports, and ag. Jill Cigrand will still be designing ads and piecing the paper together. Rae Ann Manternach will be out and about selling ads.

   The only big difference, Mark and Darcey Spensley won't be here.

   When news of their plans to leave Monticello was shared with our staff, I’m not going to lie, some tears were shed.

   For 15 years, I went to Mark for reassurance about story ideas, about how we should cover this event or that event, about whether a certain Letter to the Editor should be published or not. It never hurts to have someone to bounce ideas off of, to make you feel like you're on the right track.

   Darcey kept me sane, especially on hectic days. But what we really have in common is our shared love of books and reading. More than her level head, I'll miss our daily talks about what we're reading, about a new bookstore opening up, about the great deals we scored buying books via an online discount website.

   At almost 40 years of age, I never worked an 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. job. When I was 12, I babysat for a neighbor in Earlville, where I grew up. Those were some early mornings, late evenings, and weekends. When I turned 14, I got a job doing dishes at the only restaurant in Earlville at the time. As I got older, I worked my way up to waitress and then bartender. I worked there from the age of 14 to 24 when I was hired by the Express.

   Working in the food service industry, that is not an 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. job. I worked late into the night, most every weekend.

   I've been with the Express since 2009. Working in the newspaper industry, you have to know that you will be working nights and weekends and some holidays.

   So in my 40 years, I've had three jobs, and not a one included working standard hours during the day.

   I won't lie, I've fantasied about what it might be like working a standard job, but what would I do with myself after 5 p.m.?

   This is what I know. It was very refreshing to know that the Mayfields and Sycamore Media pride themselves on providing top-notch coverage of the communities their newspapers serve. That is no different than what we have been doing year after year here at the Express.

   We will still be at city, school board, and county board meetings. We will still be covering school events and activities. We will still be at sporting events. We will still be at the "Five Best Days of Summer." We will still share stories about people and places within our community and so much more.

   So while you're out and about, stop by the Express to meet our new owners. Stop in and thank Mark and Darcey for their years of dedication to the Express. Stop in and continue to give your printing business to Dan Goodyear to keep him busy.