About La Conner Weekly News

The La Conner Weekly News has the unique legacy of continuing the tradition of publishing weekly in La Conner since 1879 - the longest continuous weekly publishing in Washington state.

Every issue today “Covers La Conner and its Rich Agricultural Region,” as the Puget Sound Mail, the first La Conner weekly newspaper proclaimed at the top of its page 1 for decades.

La Connerites and the over 4,000 residents in the local school district take their newspaper seriously. Not many towns of 900 people (along with neighboring communities) support a weekly printed newspaper anymore. La Conner does.

The Weekly News cover events and activities on both sides of the Swinomish Channel and extending out to Bayview, Conway, Anacortes and Mount Vernon. Community, schools, sports, fire districts and local government meetings and decisions are reported.

The paper proudly lists on its front page the tag line “Your independent hometown award-winning newspaper.” It is each of those: As a 2017 editorial heralding new ownership put it: “We are rightfully proud of each of those descriptions: This paper is autonomous; without strings attached, or pulled by anyone, locally owned, of consistently good quality and recognized by professional journalists. Call us ornery, local, proud and smart.”

Besides the important ongoing featuring of local happenings, the paper emphasizes the local food economy, arts and culture, moving into a sustainable future, and the necessary ongoing participation required by citizens in a democracy. The paper is proud of its active editorial voice emphasizing local issues, primarily.

Citizens are invited to write and share their views on any topic of interest to them. Letters up to 350 words are welcome. A contribution of 500 words is printed as a guest column on page 2. Reflections, reminiscences and poems are all published.

The Weekly News prints 1,100 copies for Wednesday distribution. Annual print and online subscriptions are available, or purchase papers at red news boxes, stores, and coffee shops in La Conner and Rexville.

The Weekly News connects you to the goods and services our advertisers offer.

Subscribe, read us online, or stop by the office for a paper and to share what is on your mind.

Publisher and Editor Ken Stern

Ken Stern moved to La Conner to purchase the Weekly News in June 2017 and started his publishing career that July. The Weekly News was his first newspaper job since his 1980 college graduation when he minored in journalism. Still, over the next 40 years, he freelanced and contributed to several newspapers and websites, publishing over a hundred articles, editorials and book and theatre reviews.

Ken jumped enthusiastically into all aspects of editing, from assigning stories, through covering events and local governments, editing articles, issue layout, and taking photographs. He takes publishing seriously, championing a sustainable future for La Conner, and challenging its residents. He is proud of his role in advocating for a new library building throughout 2018 and 2019.

Interns are welcome and their growth through their time at the Weekly News welcome.

He is thrilled to have work that fits him like a glove and offers him the opportunity to be himself each and every day.