By Lucky Kidd
McPHERSON COUNTY, Kan. — The possibility of changing the publication used for legal notices by McPherson County came up during Monday’s McPherson County Commission meeting.
This topic came up as Commissioners were going through approval of checks and claims, specifically related to a more than $8,600 bill for publication of the county’s delinquent tax list in The McPherson Sentinel, a cost that had gone up more than $2,000 from a year ago.
During discussion the idea of using the Rural Messenger, a free-distribution publication based in Haven that some townships in Harvey County have used, came up.
The Rural Messenger was under consideration last year by Reno County Commissioners for designation as the official county newspaper, however it does not hold second class mailing privileges that would entitle it to be a “legal publication” under state law.
Ultimately Reno County Commissioners voted to change their official publication from The Hutchinson News to a Pretty Prairie based weekly paper that is considered a legal publication.
In McPherson County there are two other publications that would meet the state requirements to be an official newspaper, The Lindsborg News-Record and the Marquette Tribune.
While some cities, McPherson among them, have designated their city websites as their official publication for most notices, counties and school districts at present do not have that authority.
