Publisher

The Tri-City Reporter’s history dates back to 1892 when records indicate the first newspaper was established in Dyer, Tennessee. Named the Dyer Enterprise, the newspaper was owned by W.E. Grimes. The office and printshop was located upstairs in the Hutchison Building, noted in history books as Dyer’s first brick building. For the next few decades, the newspaper history involved many names—lots of movement, more than space would allow to be chronicled. By 1921, several issues of the paper were missed and a group of local citizens rescued the newspaper equipment- as had been done previously. But this time they placed it under the management of Luther L. Robinson Jr. According to a local history: “It was under Mr. Robinson’s management that the newspaper became a dependable and regular part of the life of Dyer.” In 1924, Robinson hired Turner Mingle as a typesetter. Mingle progressed in the business and endeared himself with tireless effort on behalf of the paper. Robinson sold the Tri-City in 1969 to J. Frank Warmath of Warmath Communications of Humboldt. It was at this time, Mingle became the devoted editor. At Mingle’s death in 1977, Ray Baird rose from managing editor to editor. As Mingle chafed at the new printing methods of the 70s, Baird disdained the computer methods of the 80s. He retired in the late 1980s. After Baird’s retirement, Clint Warmuth, son of the newspaper owner, was editor. He was followed by Robert Barbour. In 1995, Barbour was replaced by April Garner Jackson. Jackson became publisher of both the Tri-City and its sister newspaper, the Humboldt Chronicle in 1999. At that time Cindy East of Rutherford became the managing editor of the Tri-City Reporter. Her small staff includes reporter Michael Enochs and advertising representative Mindy East. Bookkeeping is handled by Lee Ann Butler who also is the Chronicle bookkeeper and office manager. A host of regular contributors also work to help bring the news of north Gibson County to Tri-City Reporter readers. American Hometown Publishing in Franklin, Tenn. purchased the Humboldt Chronicle and The Tri-City Reporter in 2007. For many years, The Tri-City Reporter was officed in the original Bank of Dyer building, constructed in 1904, and later in the Bone Building, both in downtown Dyer. In 2010, the Tri-City moved to the former Edwards Dance Studio, a few blocks from downtown but still on Main Street in Dyer. With its longstanding dedication to its readers, the Tri-City Reporter remains the newspaper of choice in Dyer, Rutherford, Kenton, Yorkville and a host of surrounding communities.