About Us

Name and location

The Leadville Chronicle

Leadville, Colorado

When was it founded and by whom?

Swift Newspapers

Any history as to the frequency of publications?

December 1998 started as an insert into the Summit Daily news on a weekly basis.

Today’s publication schedule and circulation figures:

Published on Thursdays, 4500 circulation

Number of full-time and part-time employees:

FT Kathy Bedell – General Manager

FT Kay Doan – Reporter

FT Stephanie Lovern – Community Editor

Total region served and anything of special interest about the area:

Leadville is a National Historic Landmark District encompassing over 70 square blocks. Most of the buildings were built between 1880 and 1905 and complete the charm with their Victorian architecture. Leadville was incorporated in 1878, and it is the highest incorporated city in the continental United States at 10,152 feet above sea level. It is also the county seat of scenic Lake County.

Anything of special interest about the newspaper:

What began as an insert in the Summit Daily News in the fall of 1998 quickly became the news alternative for Leadville and Lake County readers. Prior to 1998, Leadville readers had only one news source: the venerable Herald Democrat (published since 1878).

Widely known as “the free paper” in Leadville and Lake County, the Chronicle has now grown to a circulation of 4,500 and 28 pages. The Leadville Chronicle’s distribution reaches through all of Lake County, including Twin Lakes and as far south as Buena Vista and Salida (for our special publications).

Competition between the newspapers continues today, a rarity in small-town journalism. Having two sets of journalistic ears covering some of the same events provides the reading public with two perspectives on local and regional news events. The Leadville Chronicle’s eye toward investigating and providing in-depth accounts of community news has been a refreshing break in a trend of coverage based on meetings alone.

Ten years after its humble beginnings, The Leadville Chronicle’s momentum is firmly in place. One thing is for sure: The Leadville Chronicle will be around for the next ten years to bring Lake County the news.

Leadville’s existence as both a historical mining district and a community on the brink of a brand-new mining operation allows The Leadville Chronicle plenty of subject matter.

Cleanup in the California Gulch Superfund Site, which includes Leadville, has been ongoing for more than 20 years. Across the Arkansas River from the Superfund site, nonprofits, federal agencies and the Colorado Mountain College-Timberline are working to clean up additional acid mine drainage.

In 2008, a declaration of a State of Emergency by Lake County Commissioners brought national coverage to some of Leadville’s environmental issues. The commissioners were worried a blowout in the Leadville Mine Drainage Tunnel could negatively impact Lake County residents and the Arkansas River.

Emergencies aside, 2007 and 2008 have been an optimistic year for Lake County. Climax Mine’s 2010 re-opening, a proposed luxury resort in Red Cliff and buildout in the surrounding resort areas have led to growth predictions by local officials, developers, real estate agents and the state demographer. In 2007, nine subdivisions submitted applications to the Lake County Planning and Zoning Department.

This optimism has been long-awaited: when the Climax Mining Company discontinued operations in the early 1980’s, Lake County suffered a major loss in county tax revenue and jobs. For many years, the bulk of Lake County citizens have been forced to work in either Summit or Eagle Counties.

The three top goals of the newspaper in 2008:

1) Provide readers with accurate, up-to-the-minute community news as Leadville experiences a healthy growth stage with the re-start of the Climax Mine and the Ginn Development along Highway 24.

2) Cohesive teamwork among the LC staff as well as within the CMNM group. This will be fostered by regular meetings and open communication and support among colleagues. Weekly staff meetings will include not only editorial coverage, but also advertising leads for prospective clients and an overview of upcoming events and issues.

3) Continued distribution commitment. Bundles of newspapers and summer guides will no longer sit in the office, waiting for someone with that "job description" to re-stock racks. Everyone on staff is willing to get papers out on the streets. But if there aren’t any papers left or readers are out of town, they can also depend on the Chronicle being up-to-date online.

Anything of special interest about current or former employees:

Kathy Bedell was the first woman to run for Mayor of Leadville. She was also the first woman to lose. Kathy's Uncle Angie was President Ford's lead secret service

agent.

Stephanie Lovern makes all her own peanut butter.

Kay Doan decided after patrolling at Breckenridge for four years and taking people rafting all summer for the past five years, it was time to sit behind a desk more often.