Newspaper weathers the COVID storm

Your West Central Voice wins four awards in its inaugrual year

By Jordan Parker

Perennial Southwest Saskatchewan newspaper publisher Kate Winquist could always feel something calling her back to her roots.

When COVID-19 hit, she worked for the Maple Creek News-Times, and the downward shift in economics led to an advertising void and wage cut.

“It was strange, to begin with, working in Maple Creek. I spent so much time working for myself,” said Winquist, whose previous pursuits took her to Shaunavon, where she started the Boomtown Morning News in 1995 and then to Gull Lake as the new owner of the Gull Lake Advance in 2009-2017.

“With the wage cut, I had to move back to Gull Lake and begin travelling an hour a day back and forth from Gull Lake to Maple Creek. I didn’t know what was going to happen next. No one did.”

Though newspapers were considered essential, Winquist found herself in the unenviable position of many others – she was struggling to make ends meet in a stressful work environment.

While in her capacity as a board member of the Saskatchewan Weekly Newspaper Association, she heard the papers in Kindersley and surrounding areas folded in February 2020. As a girl from the area, it broke her heart. But it also laid out an opportunity.

“I was born and raised there. My grandparents settled in the Glidden area in 1908, and my dad took over the farming after my grandfather passed. He and my mom married in 1955 and stayed on that farm until 2002. There’s a long tradition of people in my family being in Kindersley and the area,” she said.

“When I heard there weren’t papers serving Kindersley, Eston, Elrose, Kerrobert and Leader, I realized what a void that was. I had always wanted to go back, and this was my shot.”

Winquist and her daughter took a day trip up on May 14, 2020, on what she later realized would have been her parents’ 65th anniversary.

“We stopped at the Dankin elevators between Eatonia and Glidden. They’re just iconic, and that’s where my dad farmed. I began taking pictures, and I had an epiphany. I felt like I was home again.”

She would soon set up a paper in Kindersley that served the area called Your West Central Voice. She then added The Oyen Echo in January 2021, when the editor retired after 52 years.

Though she’s celebrating the year milestone, it was a lot of hard work to get here.

“I put a Facebook post up on the Kindersley Buy and Sell. I knew I needed community support. I figured 500 people signing up would give me what I needed to get going. When I opened, we had about 200 people paying for subscriptions before they even saw the product. That spoke volumes about their trust in me,” she said.

“We put out our first paper on July 6, and it was just a blur. Now we’re at a subscriber base of nearly 1,000 people, and I can’t believe the support we get from Kindersley and all over.”

The one thing Winquist is loving is going back to working for herself. She has for the majority of her newspaper career and loves working as an entrepreneur.

“I’m a little quirky and so passionate about the business. I’ve always been creative and love being my own boss. I love history and sharing it with others, and a newspaper presents a great way to do that. I’m hoping this is my final destination before retirement,” she said.

The paper is coming off a big win at the Better Newspaper Competition, put on by the Saskatchewan Weekly Newspaper Association this past week. Nominated for four prizes, the newspaper in its infancy swept its categories.

It won for its Salute To The Veterans as well as Best Special Section for that edition; Winquist won Best Feature Photo for her picture of the Canada Day fireworks that appeared in its first edition, and for Best Photo Essay that featured the town of Kerrobert.

“I’m just feeling really good about where we’re at, and I feel like I’m home. I’m fitting in, serving the area and am enjoying myself,” she said. “It’s not about money, fame and fortune. I want to provide good news in difficult times.”

Kate Winquist’s father used to farm the land around Dankin, SK. Strong winds last week blew the top off of the 847 elevator.

Publisher Kate Winquist is all smiles after receiving 4 first place awards in her first year at Your West Central Voice.