The Grand Island Independent Jobs and Profile

As many as eight newspapers tried to survive in Grand Island, Neb., in the 19th century but only one survived, The Grand Island Independent. It emerged from a 20-year struggle between the Grand Island Times and The Platte Valley Independent.

The area's first newspaper was the Platte Valley Independent, established in 1869 by Seth Mobley and Maggie Eberhart who would marry in 1871. The Platte Valley Independent was a weekly paper, and referred to as a Republican paper.

Charles Williams began another weekly paper also considered to be Republican, Grand Island Times, in July of 1873. By 1881, the Mobleys were forced to sell the Independent to Fred Hedde, who converted the weekly into a daily in 1883. In the early 1890s, both the Independent and the Times struggled with severe economy depression, grasshoppers and drought to where the Times went out of business.

Eventually the name of the surviving newspaper changed to The Grand Island Independent, which also changed from afternoons to mornings in May of 1994. The newspaper became part of Morris Communications the following year with the purchase of Stauffer Communications.