The Southeast Iowa Union — your source for local news

The Southeast Iowa Union offers local coverage of Fairfield, Mt. Pleasant and Washington plus surrounding communities.

The regional newspaper was launched in August 2019, but it’s history is more than 135 years old. That’s how long the newspapers that make up the Union have been in business.

The Fairfield Ledger, Mt. Pleasant News and Washington Evening Journal have deep roots in their communities. Over the decades. these newspapers have been covering the events of their communities, most important, covering the lives of those people who live and work here.

What marks these newspapers and the staff that produces them is the passion for their communities, the passion for quality journalism and the passion for providing residents with advertising that helps them live better lives.

“I cannot say enough about your Union team,” Publisher Matt Bryant says. “They have a passion, and most certainly the talent, to produce a high quality newspaper.”

The Southeast Iowa Union features news, information and advertising from all three of the publications' readership area. It is published four days a week — Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. On Thursdays, subscribers receive their traditional Ledger, News and Journal.

In recent years, the Union has improved its online newspaper, the SoutheastIowaUnion.com. Readers don’t have to wait for the print edition to come out to read the latest news. It is provided on the website.

While many newspapers across Iowa have closed their doors or cut back on the days they publish. The Southeast Iowa Union continues to be published five days per week.

'We have heard from a number of people in our communities who tell us they appreciate the fact that we have a five-day-per-week publication in cities of our size,“ Bryant says.

Washington is the second smallest town in Iowa, based on population, that still boasts a daily paper of at least five days per week. Mt. Pleasant and Fairfield are the fifth and sixth smallest.

Bryant, like all of the staff working for the Southeast Iowa Union, lives in the community. Decisions on stories to cover in the newspaper are made right here in our communities.

In addition to the daily newspapers, the Union also publishes three stand-alone advertising publications — the Fairfield Town Crier, Mt. Pleasant Shopper and Washington County Shoppers’ Guide. These one-time per week publications are distributed through the U.S. Post Office to over 35,000 homes in southeast Iowa, stretching from Cantril to Riverside and West Point to Keota. All three carry grocery store, auction, entertainment, retail and a variety of other advertising at no charge to the reader.

The Southeast Iowa Union is owned by The Gazette in Cedar Rapids. This offers numerous advantages. The Gazette prints the newspaper overnight, and then it is delivered to post offices throughout Henry, Jefferson and Washington counties.

The Gazette bought the three newspapers in late 2016. The company was attracted to these newspapers because each is a respected leader in its community.

Stories are shared between the two newspapers, providing the Southeast Iowa Union with regional and state coverage and providing The Gazette with coverage from the southeast corner of Iowa.

The Gazette purchase improved the reproduction quality of the local newspapers with its state-of-the art printing plant.

When The Gazette bought the Fairfield, Mt. Pleasant and Washington newspapers, the former owners talked about the resources and commitment to quality that the Cedar Rapids newspaper brought to these publications.

That commitment continues to this day with plans that stretch into the future.