The Crane Chronicle Closed
Employees of the Crane Chronicle, and parent Branson Tri-Lakes News, were told yesterday that the company was closing, according to posts on social media.
Crane.news has reached out to Lancaster Management, the parent company based in Gadsden, Alabama, but has not received a response.
The Crane Chronicle's roots trace back to 1904, when it was established as a weekly newspaper serving Crane and the surrounding area. The paper changed hands and merged with other local publications several times over the following century - most notably combining with the Stone County Republican in 1982 to form the Stone County Republican/Crane Chronicle.
Lancaster Management, Inc. (LMI), an Alabama-based newspaper chain that also owns papers in Kentucky, Iowa, Mississippi, Texas and West Virginia, acquired Branson Tri-Lakes News back in 2013. LMI purchased the Stone County Republican/Crane Chronicle and the Barry County Advertiser separately, in October 2023 — meaning the Chronicle had been under its current ownership for less than three years before yesterday's closure.
LMI has not issued a public statement. A source who worked at the Chronicle told Crane.news that the company is declining to comment and has otherwise gone quiet since the closures.
Reaction from the newsroom
Word of the closures spread first through social media, catching current and former staff off guard.
One employee who worked across the three papers said on social media that she had lost both her job and a second household income, describing the loss of a role that let her reach "all parts of our community."
A former Managing Editor who spent several years at Branson Tri-Lakes News said he was angry that a publication with over a century of history — through name changes, owners and formats — "is suddenly just gone. No farewell." He said the company gave no public statement to staff or the community when given the chance.
State Rep. Brian Seitz also weighed in publicly, saying he'd valued the paper's coverage of local officials for more than 40 years and noting he'd appeared on the cover of what turned out to be the final issue, alongside State Sen. Brad Hudson, discussing tourism legislation and the signing of Senate Bill 1000 by Gov. Mike Kehoe.
What this means locally
If the Chronicle served as Stone County's newspaper of record, its closure could affect how certain government and court legal notices are published going forward — a requirement under Missouri law that typically falls to a qualifying local paper. Crane.news is seeking comment from the Stone County Clerk's office on how that gap may be handled.
The closure also adds Crane to a growing list of rural Missouri communities losing local news coverage. More than 20 Missouri newspapers have ceased publication since 2022, according to the Missouri Press Association, part of a broader trend of chain consolidation and closures hitting small-town papers across the state.
