Over the past few weeks, we’ve shared a glimpse of local journalism across the northern United States, presenting publications in various states of survival. But not every newspaper is winning the fight.

The Anaconda Leader, a twice-weekly newspaper serving Anaconda and surrounding Deer Lodge County, Montana, closed its doors on Monday, June 8, 2026, after 55 years in business. The closure came just a few days after our road trip began.

The Leader joins a long list of news operations shuttered in the 21st century – over a fourth of all US papers closed down between 2005 – 2020. Three counties in Montana are true news deserts, without any devoted news coverage at all, and many more rely on a single source. Deer Lodge County is the latest to join those ranks.

The Anaconda Leader was started by Dean Neitz in December 1970, and published Wednesdays and Fridays ever since. Neitz’s son Van took over ownership in 2019, and it was he who announced the closure last month, citing financial troubles due to rising costs. James Rosien, editor of the Leader, was taken by surprise. He told the Montana Free Press that he’d been planning to cover a baseball game for the coming week when he heard the Leader was to be closed.

Rosien took to the Leader’s website to share the news with the public, and to say his goodbyes. It’s a long reminiscence, hearkening back to his early days at the Leader. He moved to Anaconda and worked there as a journalist for 15 years, covering everything from murder cases to high school graduations. He estimates having written and edited thousands of stories over the years.

According to his piece, published June 9, just one day after the closure announcement, the town of Anaconda is mourning the loss of the Leader.

“I cannot even begin to express how completely and utterly bowled over I am by all the people who have been reaching out to me, on the phone, via text, email, passers-by on the street, at the grocery store, everywhere,” he wrote.

Anaconda is the county seat, with a population of around 9,500 (large by Montanan standards), but to Rosien, it’s a tight-knit place, loyal to its long-standing businesses. Surrounded by mountain ridges, the downtown streets have a similar vista to Ellenville’s, looking down Canal Street.

Rosien promised in his column to maintain his post as a storyteller for Anaconda in any form he could, and the Billings Gazette reported that he has attended some newsworthy events in the Anaconda area in recent weeks, camera in hand.

“Anaconda is my home, I have been deeply privileged to be here and to tell this town's stories, and I will continue to do so as long as I'm able. It will be in a different format under a different banner, but the stories and the storyteller will remain,” he wrote.

On Monday, July 6, the Gazette reported that Rosien has a new publication in the works, hoping to rescue Anaconda from its news desert fate. The Anaconda Community Media Company will operate as a nonprofit public benefit corporation, and will publish a weekly newspaper, the Anaconda Weekly Review. The paper is not yet in operation, but Rosien hopes it will answer residents’ need for reliable information, in reliable print.

The nonprofit model has become more attractive for publications as news has become harder to monetize. Nonprofit news sites like ProPublica and The City attract millions of viewers every month, while supported by donors and foundations. As the Neitz family moves away from the news industry, journalism in Anaconda will forge this new nonprofit path.